Today's Agenda:

• Decisions taken since the previous meeting
• Dissolution of Content Policy subcommittee
• Update on OTW's Diversity Work
• AOB (Any Other Business - this is where we'll take and answer questions)

Decisions taken since last meeting:

• approved minutes of last meeting
• approved filing fee for a UDRP (Uniform Domain Resolution Procedure) for a page impersonating the Archive for phishing purposes
• approved signing letter to US Senate re Section 230
• approved filing fees for various states
• approved audit fees
• approved purchase of new database servers
• approved purchase of replacement storage for VMs
• approved purchase of software for current and future VMs
• approved increased bandwidth allotment cost
• approved ticketing software for Open Doors
• approved purchase of training software for Policy & Abuse
• approved purchase of additional domain name
• approved purchase of additional licenses for volunteer management software
• approved Kristina Busse as co-chair for Transformative Works and Cultures
• approved Amy2 as co-chair for Development and Membership
• ongoing communications/answering questions from press, users, members, and volunteers

Around 30 people attended the meeting, with board member kcdayton running it much like Natalia did the last one, explaining each step so people knew what to expect. It seems this is the way they'll be run going forward. If so, it's a welcome change. Much more organized and far less intimidating.

Decisions taken since last meeting: I asked what domain they purchased, and the answer was otw.org. Satsuma asked if there was a public copy of the Section 230 letter, and after some confusion the answer turned out to be yes.

There was no finance update as they'll be publishing the 2023 budget in a few weeks.

Dissolution of Content Policy subcommittee:

kcdayton: 'Content Policy' was a subcommittee inside of Legal, mainly responsible for AO3 content policies and Terms of Service. However, for many years now, all members of Content Policy have also been members of the Legal committee, and in practice, all of Legal gets consulted on any policy decisions, as well as the Board of Directors and any other OTW committees that might be affected (such as the Policy & Abuse committee).

That multi-committee approach has shown to be helpful in making sure we have more points of view and a more pluralistic perspective on policy matters, and Content has agreed that's also their preferred way to work. To formalize this situation, we have discussed with Legal and Content Policy leaders, and we think the best way forward is to dissolve the Content subcommittee, and officially fold their responsibilities into Legal.

Should this motion be approved, all responsibilities of Content Policy will be transferred to the full Legal committee, with no impact expected to any ongoing or future policy work. The only current member of Content Policy, Rebecca Tushnet, is also a current Legal committee member, and will continue to serve in that capacity.

With a majority of votes in favor, the motion to dissolve the Content Policy subcommittee was approved by the Board.

Update on OTW's Diversity Work:

kcdayton: Today, we would like to share an update about the OTW's work on anti-racism and diversity in our organization. This section will be a permanent addition to all Board of Directors public meetings going forward, as we realize the OTW needs to be more transparent and proactive with regards to keeping fans in the loop with regards to what we have been able to do so far to make our organization and projects safer and more welcoming to fans of color.

We know we have not historically been efficient enough when sharing updates - we hope this will be a step in the right direction, and are committed to continue sharing as much as we can on a regular basis. We are also studying whether any other communications paths could be feasible for our organization. We appreciate the feedback and suggestions fans continue to share with us, and we consider every idea carefully.

In our first update, we'd like to talk a bit about the work our Diversity Consultant Research Officer has been doing. As a reminder, the role of this officer is to liaise with the organization in order to assess our specific needs for an external diversity consultant, and also to look into available consultants who could work within our organization and our specific challenges, such as a fully online environment, international workforce, the full anonymity of most of our volunteers, and so on.

In the first quarter of 2023, Zoë has presented the Board with a plan to contact different stakeholders in our organization, so she can get a clearer picture of what OTW leadership and volunteers expect from a consultant, what concerns they have, and what they see as priorities for this work. She will be reaching out to the organization gradually, to make sure she can dedicate proper time and attention to each person who wishes to communicate with her.

Additionally, she has begun some preliminary research into potential hires, and while it is still too soon for us to determine whether specific companies would be suitable and able to work with us, we are hopeful that we will find a company to that can contribute in a meaningful manner towards making the OTW a more diverse and anti-racist space.

Board has also met with the Strategic Planning committee this month in order to discuss, among other things, the Diversity section of the upcoming plan. We know that many people are anxious for updates on this area since the OTW's Vision Statement got published last year, and we would like to reassure you that discussions and feedback are ongoing, in order to help us create a plan that is helpful, efficient, and has achievable steps for our organization.

When two people asked if there was a timeline for this work, kcdayton replied:

Zoë expects the first round of interviews, focusing on OTW leadership, should last about two months, in between asynchronous and live chats. Once that part of the work is reaching conclusion, she'll begin planning for a wider round of feedback and discussion with OTW volunteers, which will likely take a few months, depending on how much response there is.

Since there was some discussion about this after the last meeting, I asked what Natalia meant when, during discussion of the diversity consultant research officer's work, she'd said "our goal is definitely to conclude this project in the next 5 years." What did that specifically refer to? Just the process of hiring a diversity consultant or hiring one and putting their recommendations into practice?

Natalia responded: I would hope to have hired a consultant in that timeframe, and ideally for them to have already concluded or made great progress in their work, so that we're able to implement changes on the OTW.

Satsuma asked: What is the approximate timeline for hiring someone then?

Approximately ten minutes later (and I only point this out because the meeting itself is just 60 minutes long) Natalia's response was:

I'm afraid we aren't able at this time to provide an estimate for specific steps on the project. We understand that this project is as important to you as it is for us, and that asking for your patience is unfair when people have already been waiting for so long. Unfortunately, there are many aspects that make it hard for us to have detailed timelines for large projects in the OTW. For one thing, while we can occasionally rely on the work of contractors, the vast majority of OTW work is done by volunteers who need to balance their responsibilities to our organization with their own professional and personal responsibilities. Our volunteers are spread all over the world, and it can be difficult to have the necessary discussions to carry projects forward. We also want to make sure we fully consider every possible aspect of any changes we make, to make sure we're not causing unintended difficulties and problems for our users, volunteers, and organization.

That all means that we often need to change our plans as we go along, and be flexible with timelines. We also don't know at this time, once we managed to find a Consultant, how long they will need to get familiar with the OTW and its problems, whether they will be able to start working with us right away or need to finalize other contracts, and whether we'll managed to get our first option, or have to move through more than one company.

Satsuma: Last meeting someone suggested paying for the research work, to ensure it can be completed relatively promptly—has the board discussed the idea at all since?

kibigo! seconded this question: yes i was just going to say—can it be done by not-volunteers?

Natalia:

We have discussed having this work be done by non-volunteers. Parts of it can be, we definitely want the consultant to be external to us, to make sure they have a clearer, less biased view.

But the decision making process, and the liaising with OTW leadership and volunteers is something we feel would be better done by someone already familiar with our processes and our org. Zoë has been a volunteer for many years, and was chosen due to her excellent project management skills and her passion for the OTW and making it better.

While there are many skilled people in fandom who might be interested in helping, the process for selecting and training such a person might delay this research further, which was never the goal, as a volunteer could start immediately. However, we haven't discarded the possibility entirely, and should there be a need, we would of course find a way to find such a contractor.

They weren't taking further questions because the meeting ran long, or I would have asked if there was a possibility they could hire people from inside the org. I guess that's a question for next time.

While I'm glad the board has added the OTW's diversity work to its meeting agenda—in no small part due to our letting writing, I'm sure—I'm appalled that it took three years for this small acknowledgment of the necessity of such an update, especially as it's something I assume they've been capable of since, oh, 2020, if not long before. As Amara1783 pointed out to the Board, it's been fifteen years since RaceFail '09. RaceFail occupied the first half of that year; AO3 entered open beta at the end of that year, in November 2009.

I'll admit I was getting pretty frustrated by the end of this meeting. The Board may be, as they say, dedicated to making the OTW's spaces and projects more diverse and welcoming to fans of color, but we've seen little progress in this area. I've personally asked them about the search for a diversity consultant in every meeting since December 2021, and this is the first time we've gotten a substantial answer. The meeting wasn't long enough for all our questions and the Board's constant reminders that they are always available for feedback and questions over email only reminded me how they hadn't replied to my last email, nor did I get a response to the most recent one I sent to Communications. I was literally growling mad at the end.

But I'm not giving up. We've made some progress, tiny though it is, and we're learning the right questions to ask, which is half the battle with an organization as unforthcoming as this one. I really appreciate everyone who showed up and who asked questions. We just have to keep asking until we get answers...and then ask them again four months later.

The next meeting should be sometime in July.

The minutes from this meeting won't be up for a while yet, but if you're logged in and have agreed to the rules, you can read back through the meeting in the Discord channel.