Archive of Our Own

Remembering Tiger Lily Roar, a multi-fandom fanfiction archive, is being imported to the Archive of Our Own (AO3).

Tiger Lily Roar was a fanfiction writer. She wrote works for several fandoms under two pen names, Lily Ann Lyones and Tiger Lily Roar. She passed away in 2023. Her fanworks will be preserved by her fans and friends.

Open Doors will be working with Eva to import Remembering Tiger Lily Roar into a separate memorial account on the Archive of Our Own.

We will begin importing works by Lily Ann Lyones to the AO3 after February. You will find them on the rememberingtigerlilyroar_memorial account.

We'd also love it if fans could help us preserve the story of Tiger Lily Roar on Fanlore. If you're new to wiki editing, no worries! Check out the new visitor portal, or ask the Fanlore Gardeners for tips.

We're honored to be able to help preserve the works of Lily Ann Lyones, and while we mourn the loss of her, we also realize that we are fortunate that she had a friend who was given permission to collect and preserve her works on the AO3 so that they will not be lost. Thinking about the death of a fandom friend may be difficult, but it can also be an opportunity to consider what will happen to your fanworks and accounts and those of your friends after your deaths. The Archive of Our Own has an option to name a Fannish Next of Kin, someone who would be able to gain access to your accounts in the case of your death or incapacitation. By naming someone who can act on your behalf, you can decide ahead of time how you want your AO3 accounts handled going into the future.

- The Open Doors team and Eva

Commenting on this post will be disabled in 14 days, on January 13th. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments regarding this import after that date, please contact Open Doors.

We are pleased to publish the OTW's 2023 Annual Report, available in PDF or HTML formats. The report provides a letter from our Board of Directors, a summary of our activities during the past year and our financial statements for 2023.

Some highlights from 2023 include a survey for AO3's 16th anniversary, major growth in OTW's social media presence, and Legal Advocacy successfully obtaining a renewal of the vidding exemption for the sixth time in our history!

You can access the 2023 report, and all earlier years, on the Reports and Governing Documents page of the OTW website. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

As we're about to enter into a new year, here's a reminder of where you can find the OTW online.

We are aware there may be barriers to accessing our sites, whether it’s a social media account or our sites themselves. This is one of the many reasons we maintain official accounts in multiple locations. Maintaining accounts across multiple platforms allows people to connect with us in whatever place is easiest for them!

This year, we added two new social media platforms to our posting rota: Bluesky and TikTok, to better connect with fans in 2024 (and beyond). This increases the number of social media platforms Communications manually posts on to eight, also including:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Tumblr
• Twitter/X
• Weibo

For a full list of official social media accounts maintained across the OTW, including by projects such as AO3 or committees such as Elections, please refer to Where to Find Us on the OTW website.

Unofficial Accounts

Occasionally, fans will set up unofficial social media accounts, either on the same platforms we use or in spaces where we have no accounts. Unofficial accounts sometimes make that status clear and sometimes they don’t. Similarly, fans on various platforms have set up RSS feeds of our news posts. These feeds are automated accounts and there is no one running them. The information may also only be available temporarily, and while they include official news, they are not controlled by the OTW and you won't be able to reach us there.

The best way to check whether a social media account is official is to refer to Where to Find Us on the OTW website. If you're subscribed to anything not on this list, it's an unofficial account.

Contacting Us

While we receive and try to respond to comments and questions on all our platforms, these accounts are not always moderated and the platforms themselves may restrict our responses in different ways. If you want to make sure you get an answer, you'll have better luck reaching us via our contact form.

If you have an AO3 related question and aren’t sure who to ask, check out the Contacting the Staff FAQ on AO3. If you're still not sure, contact Communications; if we don’t have the answer, we'll pass your message on to the relevant OTW team.

Spread the Word!

It is tremendously helpful to us when fans spread information about our organization, projects, or particular news releases. So, please help us boost relevant news and reduce misinformation by pointing people to our official accounts.

You can also let other fans know about the OTW website: what kind of information can be found on it and how it has contact forms you can reach us at! If you come across unofficial accounts which don't label themselves as such, please let us know.

Thanks for your help!

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

MuggleNet Fan Fiction, a Harry Potter fanfiction archive, is being imported to the Archive of Our Own (AO3).

In this post:

• A bit of background explanation
• What this means for creators who have work(s) on Mugglenet Fan Fiction
• And what to do if you still have questions

Background explanation

MuggleNet Fan Fiction is a Harry Potter fanfiction archive founded in 2004 by staff at MuggleNet.

During one of the many website transitions MuggleNet underwent in the last decade, MuggleNet Fan Fiction was broken, and the software became unfixable despite many attempts by the volunteer staff. MuggleNet cares about preserving the history of their work and Potter fandom as a whole, and is passionate about restoring MuggleNet Fan Fiction. While MuggleNet Fan Fiction will never be what it once was, they want to make the beloved works that were hosted on the site accessible again and are turning over stewardship to AO3, who is better situated to care for it.

The purpose of the Open Doors Committee’s Online Archive Rescue Project is to assist moderators of archives to incorporate the fanworks from those archives into the Archive of Our Own. Open Doors works with moderators to import their archives when the moderators lack the funds, time, or other resources to continue to maintain their archives independently. It is extremely important to Open Doors that we work in collaboration with moderators who want to import their archives and that we fully credit creators, giving them as much control as possible over their fanworks. Open Doors will be working with MuggleNet to import MuggleNet Fan Fiction into a separate, searchable collection on the Archive of Our Own. Eventually, links to the old site will redirect to the collection on AO3, which can be searched and filtered in order to locate individual imported works.

We will begin importing works from MuggleNet Fan Fiction to the AO3 after January 2025. However, the import may not take place for several months or even years, depending on the size and complexity of the archive. Creators are always welcome to import their own works and add them to the collection in the meantime.

What does this mean for creators who have work(s) on MuggleNet Fan Fiction?

We will send an import notification to the email address we have for each creator. We'll do our best to check for an existing copy of any works before importing. If we find a copy already on the AO3, we will add it to the collection instead of importing it. All works archived on behalf of a creator will include their name in the byline or the summary of the work.

All imported works will be set to be viewable only by logged-in AO3 users. Once you claim your works, you can make them publicly-viewable if you choose. After 30 days, all unclaimed imported works will be made visible to all visitors. We will then permanently close down the site.

Please contact Open Doors with your MuggleNet Fan Fiction pseud(s) and email address(es), if:

1. You'd like us to import your works, but you need the notification sent to a different email address than you used on the original archive.
2. You already have an AO3 account and have imported your works already yourself.
3. You’d like to import your works yourself (including if you don’t have an AO3 account yet).
4. You would NOT like your works moved to the AO3, or would NOT like your works added to the archive collection.
5. You are happy for us to preserve your works on the AO3, but would like us to remove your name.
6. You have any other questions we can help you with.

Please include the name of the archive in the subject heading of your email. If you no longer have access to the email account associated with your MuggleNet Fan Fiction account, please contact Open Doors and we'll help you out. (If you've posted the works elsewhere, or have an easy way to verify that they're yours, that's great; if not, we will work with MuggleNet to confirm your claims.)

Please see the Open Doors Website for instructions on:

• importing your works to the AO3
• adding your works to the new collection MuggleNet Fan Fiction

If you still have questions...

If you have further questions, visit the Open Doors FAQ, or contact the Open Doors committee.

We'd also love it if fans could help us preserve the story of MuggleNet Fan Fiction on Fanlore. If you're new to wiki editing, no worries! Check out the new visitor portal, or ask the Fanlore Gardeners for tips.

We're excited to be able to help preserve MuggleNet Fan Fiction!

- The Open Doors team and MuggleNet

Commenting on this post will be disabled in 14 days, on 2 January. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments regarding this import after that date, please contact Open Doors.

Every month or so the OTW will be doing a Q&A with one of its volunteers about their experiences in the organization. The posts express each volunteer's personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of the OTW or constitute OTW policy. Today's post is with Cesy, who volunteers with the Finance Committee.

How does what you do as a volunteer fit into what the OTW does?

Finance committee manages paying bills and keeping us legally compliant, publishing the accounts and getting them audited, filling in the right forms so we remain registered as a non-profit and can collect employer matching donations. We work with the rest of the org to budget our money.

What is a typical week like for you as a volunteer?

Very variable - most weeks will be a mix of answering emails within the committee or from other committees, replying to a discussion in committee group chat, or attending a committee meeting and taking minutes. We review payment requests that come in from other committees to determine if the requests are in line with the OTW’s financial policies and procedures. We may have follow-up questions with the volunteer who requested the item, or send it to Board for their review.

Other weeks will be busier if it's budget time and we need to check spreadsheets to compare figures, email out to all the committee chairs, or proofread posts. Other members of the committee do monthly bookkeeping and record various accounting transactions, save all of the relevant documentation needed such as invoices or receipts, produce the annual financial statements, work with the auditors for the annual audit report or sort our state registrations. In the USA, we have to be registered both federally and in every single state that we might receive donations from, which needs a lot of paperwork to be signed and posted, though some states accept forms online these days.

What made you decide to volunteer?

I originally joined in 2009 while Archive of Our Own (AO3) was still in closed beta, as l'd been a coding volunteer for Dreamwidth, and they mentioned AO3 as being another friendly project. I wanted to improve my programming skills and spend time with fannish friends doing something useful. Over the years, l've held a variety of roles within the OTW. I rejoined Finance after there had been a change of Treasurer and Board to help the new team find missing info, document what had been done previously and sort things out.

What has been your biggest challenge doing work for the OTW?

Dealing with people - we have many different cultures represented, lots of styles of business and volunteer communication, and it’s easy to make a mistake and upset people. A moment of carelessness or tactlessness can take a lot of time and effort to recover from and repair the relationship.

What fannish things do you like to do?

I read a lot of fic. I’m mostly an old-school lurker, I try and kudos or comment or bookmark or rec. I write a little, I’ve tried recording podfic, and I watch vids occasionally. I’m known among my friends for picking up new fandoms by osmosis and never watching canon, because I struggle to watch long-form TV or films.

Now that our volunteer’s said five things about what they do, it’s your turn to ask one more thing! Feel free to ask about their work in the comments. Or if you'd like, you can check out earlier Five Things posts.

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

Recently, the Australian Parliament passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill as part of the Online Safety Act of 2021 amendment. Starting in late 2025, the bill will prevent teenagers under 16 from using social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter/X. The bill plans to apply enormous fines to tech companies that don’t take measures to prevent minors from creating social media accounts.

Despite its intentions of protecting minors' mental health, the ban has sparked debate over digital censorship and privacy – raising notable concerns related to identity verification, digital access, and freedom of expression. One frequently cited concern is that this ban separates young people from any information and online support networks they may have: many young people primarily receive news on current events from social media and have cultivated online communities where they connect with other young people.

Others critique that setting a ban will lead to problems going unreported by teens who successfully circumvent it. In addition, social media companies have raised further concerns that this bill lacks guidance or advice on implementation.

Experts also comment that the bill lacks input from the group it impacts most – young people. The Australian government has said that they will solicit further expertise from young people, but critics argue that it's too late.

You can read more about the Australian Act here.

Outside of Australia, other countries have put forth or are discussing similar ideas:

• In Norway, the prime minister has announced plans to raise the minimum age to use social media from 13 to 15 in order to better protect young people from the "power of algorithms."
• Meanwhile in Turkey, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority announced plans to ban users under 13 from media applications; however, following news of Australia's ban, they adjusted their direction and are now considering a ban of all users under 16.
• In the UK, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology has also said that a social media ban for people under 16 is "on the table" in the name of online safety.

Understandably, bills like these have raised concerns regarding what counts as "social media" – more directly, whether this bill will affect OTW projects. While the Legal committee is keeping their eye on these and other bills that may affect us, we do not believe these bills will affect any of our projects, including AO3.

While bills like these may not affect AO3, they are a reminder to stay alert and aware of legal changes in your jurisdiction. If applicable, you may also want to contact your local representatives and submit concerns regarding how legislation will affect fans in your country.

Is there a new law that might affect fans or fannish activities in your country? Send us a message about legislation you think we should know about. (Submitting a concern doesn’t guarantee that it will be included in a future Spotlight on Legal Issues post.)

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

In October and November we prepared for and then deployed the updated Terms of Service. We also included a variety of smaller improvements from as many contributors as we could.

Special thanks and welcome to our first-time contributors Amy Lee, anechol, Dev21Maker, lydia-theda, MarleaM, minionluvr, Mugdha Gupta, mystyrust, nil-cipher (Wanda), Paola Solari, phthallo [Annabel Quach], and slavalamp!

Credits

• Coders: Amy Lee, anechol, Bilka, Brian Austin, Cesium-Ice, Dev21Maker, lydia-theda, MarleaM, Mugdha Gupta, minionluvr, mystyrust, nil-cipher (Wanda), Paola Solari, phthallo [Annabel Quach], Sarken, slavalamp
• Code reviewers: Bilka, Brian Austin, james_, lydia-theda, Sarken
• Testers: Bilka, Brian Austin, calamario, Deniz, Flerken, lydia-theda, Sarken, Taki, Teyris, therealmorticia, wichard

Details

0.9.379

On October 5, we deployed a bug fix in preparation for the upcoming changes to the Terms of Service as well as two other small fixes.

• [AO3-5538] - Tag set pages containing a nomination for an existing canonical tag used to give a 500 error if the wrangling team edited the canonical tag's suffix (e.g., " - Freeform") or diacritics. Now the nomination gets updated correctly and the error will no longer happen.
• [AO3-6815] - We made some tweaks to our README and CONTRIBUTING documentation on GitHub.
• [AO3-6816] - We bumped our version of reviewdog/action-rubocop from 2.19.0 to 2.19.1.

0.9.380

On November 4, we did a small deploy relating to the planned updates to the Terms of Service.

• [AO3-6825] - When tag wranglers changed a tag's suffix (e.g., " - Freeform") or diacritics, the changes were not being reflected on any bookmarks where the tag was used as a bookmarker's tag. We've added some cache expiration to make sure they'll get updated going forward.
• [AO3-6824] - Some of the automated tests we run using GitHub Actions require a dependency called ImageMagick, which used to be installed on Actions by default. An update to Actions stopped including it, so we updated our tests to install it.
• [AO3-6828] - We wrote some code that allowed us to email all AO3 users to inform them about the TOS update and Underage warning rename.

0.9.381

On November 19, we deployed the updates to the Terms of Service that were announced earlier in the month.

• [AO3-6838] - We updated the text and format of the TOS and TOS FAQ pages. This also required us to update various references to those documents across the Archive, including the prompt that requires you to agree to the TOS before accessing the site.
• [AO3-6831] - As part of the Terms of Service update, we've renamed the "Underage" warning tag to "Underage Sex" to make its meaning and purpose easier to understand. Please refer to the "Clarification to the Archive Warning for underage sexual content" section of the AO3 Terms of Service: 2024 Update Guide for more information.
• [AO3-6837] - We switched our Docker setup for automated testing to Chromium instead of Chrome to support Apple Silicon.

0.9.382

On November 24, we updated the DMCA Policy and implemented a number of small improvements all over the Archive.

• [AO3-4283] - The HTML classes on the marked for later section of the homepage were inconsistent with the classes we use on the marked for later page itself, so we've standardized things a bit.
• [AO3-5421] - On works, news posts, and various other places, the vertical spacing between lines of text could vary a bit depending on whether the text was in a paragraph or, for example, a list. We made some adjustments to keep it consistent.
• [AO3-5951] - If you tried to use an unordered list in your work summary or bookmark notes, the list displayed horizontally on the blurb. We've made it display vertically, as you'd expect from a list.
• [AO3-6244] - We removed an extra underline from hovered links in the Notes section of works.
• [AO3-6268] - Emails generated by gift exchanges would be sent as only one email to all owners at once. Now they will be sent to each owner individually, so each email can be translated separately in the future.
• [AO3-6376] - The browser page titles for changing username, password, and email had an extra "User" at the end. We've removed it.
• [AO3-6819] - We fixed some invalid and inaccessible HTML on the Blocked Users and Muted Users pages.
• [AO3-6834] - We made the "Parent Thread" link accessible when reviewing comments left on works or news posts with comment moderation.
• [AO3-6821], [AO3-6826], [AO3-6827], [AO3-6839] - Our automated dependency updater updated several of our dependencies: webrick from 1.8.1 to 1.8.2, Rails from 7.0.8.4 to 7.0.8.5, rexml from 3.3.6 to 3.3.9, and codecov-action from 3 to 4.
• [AO3-6768] - Did you ever look at the browser page title on your drafts page? It used to say "Drafts Work," which was just weird. Now it says "username - Drafts," much like your works page says "username - Works."
• [AO3-6829] - We updated the DMCA Policy page with new text from our Legal and Policy & Abuse teams that better explains the difference between Abuse reports, DMCA takedown notices, and DMCA counternotices – what each of them are, how to submit one, and how we handle them.
• [AO3-6840] - We added a link to the TOS FAQ to our site map.
• [AO3-6841] - In response to feedback from the 2024 TOS Update news post, Policy & Abuse has updated the definition of the "Underage Sex" warning to read "sexual activity involving characters under the age of 18" in order to more clearly indicate that the "Underage Sex" warning is required whether or not the sex is consensual. (All works featuring non-consensual underage sex must carry both the "Rape/Non-Con" and "Underage Sex" Archive warnings, or else use the "Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings" label.)
• [AO3-6842] - As part of AO3-6838, we updated the work posting and editing forms to include links to the Content Policy and the TOS FAQ. Now that reminder also appears on the forms for posting or editing a chapter, previewing a draft, importing a work, and editing a work's tags.
• [AO3-6843] - To make it easier to log in if you've already agreed to the TOS, or to follow explanatory links from the TOS if you're still deciding whether to agree to them, we've stopped the TOS popup from appearing on the homepage, FAQs, and login page. We've also fixed an issue where the popup appeared on error pages for the Support and Policy & Abuse forms.

I. UPDATES TO AO3 TERMS OF SERVICE

Board has voted to approve the new AO3 Terms of Service (TOS), which is now live. The 2-week feedback period prior to the vote received several thousand comments, and Policy & Abuse (PAC) worked with Communications' News Post Moderation subcommittee to respond to more than 400 of them. The overall reaction was positive, and everyone involved is excited by the number of users who agreed this is an improvement to the TOS. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback!

Accessibility, Design & Technology (AD&T) and PAC worked hard throughout October and November to roll out the new page changes, including some accessibility improvements. In the coming months, PAC plans to add new questions to the Terms of Service FAQ addressing some of the comments they received.

II. CONNECTING WITH FANS

In November, Communications engaged with fans in social media-specific posts. One series was dedicated to warning users about the U.S. congressional bill HR 9495, and another highlighted AO3-related trivia commemorating the site’s 15th anniversary. The OTW is also now on TikTok! Initial videos have gotten lots of engagement, and Communications is excited to connect with fans on a new platform.

Fanlore ran the new Fandom Friendships Challenge for the first time, in collaboration with Communications' Fanhackers. The challenge ran from November 11 to 24, with 24 editors participating and 18 editors completing all six tasks. Congratulations in particular to FaalThien and Indes, as well as Lianne from Fanhackers, for their effort in organizing this new challenge from scratch!

Legal responded to several queries about law and fandom, and they worked with other committees to coordinate responses about how U.S. electoral and legislative developments might affect the OTW and AO3. The short answer is: the OTW will continue to provide an inclusive space for fannish expression. The OTW will stand up for fans' free expression in court and legislatively, in the U.S. and worldwide.

We have seen that fans have been a powerful force for promoting free expression. We will continue to pay close attention to political matters that may affect us, and we will continue to let people know when there are opportunities for their voices to be heard.

III. ELSEWHERE AT THE AO3

Since the code changes involved in TOS updates concluded, AD&T published a new release featuring code from several new contributors to welcome them to the AO3 project. As a reminder, AD&T welcomes code contributions from the community: check out AO3's contribution guidelines for more information!

Open Doors announced the import of the Fan Fiction Writers Archive, a multifandom fanfiction archive that began in the 1990s as a GeoCities website. They also shared a roundup post regarding the fanzine fanworks preserved so far via the AO3 Fanzine Scan Hosting Project (FSHP).

In October, Support received 1,761 tickets, while Policy & Abuse received 2,626 tickets. Tag Wrangling wrangled more than 410,000 tags across over 20,600 fandoms: more than a thousand tags per active wrangler!

IV. GOVERNANCE

Board has selected and approved new co-chairs for the new User Response Translation committee. They are glad to see the new committee established and will continue to assist with its initial setup. They are also monitoring trending topics that may potentially influence the OTW’s development.

Board has also continued Board training for new Directors, asynchronous check-ins with various committees, and working with the OTW Organizational Culture Roadmap team.

Board Assistants Team (BAT) worked on a host of projects and tasks: writing replies to volunteer feedback about the OTW Whistleblower FAQs, drafting or updating internal documentation, investigating non-profit training, working on the OTW website, assisting with the OTW Culture Roadmap, and more!

Finance issued and filed the 2023 Form 990, and the 2023 audit report is in its last stages! Both will be uploaded to the OTW website soon.

Translation also finished their translations of the latest Budget update, which is now available in 28 additional languages.

Transformative Works and Cultures is looking forward to the upcoming publication of our Centering Blackness in Fan Studies special issue on December 15!

V. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PEEPS

Volunteers & Recruiting conducted recruitment for 4 roles for 3 committees this month: AO3 Documentation, Fanlore, and Elections.

From October 22 to November 21, Volunteers & Recruiting received 211 new requests, and completed 180, leaving them with 98 open requests (including induction and removal tasks listed below). As of November 21, 2024, the OTW has 941 volunteers. \o/ Recent personnel movements are listed below.

New Board Members: Kathryn Soderholm (Vice President), Qiao Chu (Secretary), Jenni D. and Kate G (Paid Staff Transition Leads — non-Director, non-Officer roles)
New Committee Chairs: Qiao Chu and Taki (User Response Translation), Dan-i (Strategic Planning)
New AO3 Documentation Volunteers: Ariel Godwin, AuroraT, jothefanbeing, Leja, and 1 other Editor
New BAT Volunteers: Deniz and Lucia S.
New Elections Volunteers: 1 Communications Specialist and 1 Voting Process Architect
New Fanlore Volunteers: cbaryo, Hiely, and Yumi (Graphic Designers)
New Open Doors Volunteers: Al L., arahith, Bit, Doogle, Fandoms_addict, Jamie KB, MT, pan, Teanderthal, Wynne, and 6 other Import Assistants
New Tag Wrangling Volunteers: 17pansies, AliceMk, Anah, Anita, annanomaly, Cell, Curve, Donna, DracoLunae, Ember J, Entity, Fishy, Hylluto, Inar, Jules R, Kate1648, Koma, LaReveuse, Leonids, LilyMae, LilyP, Lost_for_good, LumiAna, Mari C., meat, Meg Creamer, Morgan Drake, PhoenixAsh, Quinn V, Raikki, Recc, Rosie R, silver_greystorms, Starlings, Strawb, Sunflower, surefireshore, SWColeson, and vi
New Translation Volunteers: thestarlesscity (Volunteer Manager) and 1 other Translator

Departing Directors: Zixin Zhang (Secretary role only)
Departing Committee Chairs: Morgan Drake (AO3 Documentation) and 1 Strategic Planning Chair
Departing Communications Volunteers: 1 Graphics Volunteer and 1 Site Moderator-Weibo
Departing Communications News Post Moderation Volunteers: 1 Volunteer
Departing Elections Volunteers: 3 Team Coordinators
Departing Fanlore Volunteers: 1 Policy & Admin Volunteer
Departing Open Doors Volunteers: Hesandi (Import Assistant) and 1 Technical Volunteer
Departing Policy & Abuse Volunteers: 1 Policy & Abuse Volunteer
Departing Strategic Planning Volunteers: 1 Strategic Planning Volunteer
Departing Support Volunteers: Jocelin and 32 other Support Volunteers
Departing Tag Wrangling Volunteers: 1 Chair Assistant; Beth B (Supervisor role only) and 1 other Supervisor; Art, Cherie, Ella B., Felix Engler, Gretal, Issay, lasttai, Laula, Laurie G, Monnie, Rook, Vincent, Yuan, YunShan, Yun D., Zhal, and 11 other Tag Wranglers
Departing Translation Volunteers: 1 Task Assistant; Alba, Aline, Kathleen P, Noemie, shirasade, Sofia M, Vincent, and 7 other Translators
Departing TWC Volunteers: 1 Proofreader
Departing Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteers: Erica, whetherwoman, and 2 other Volunteers

For more information about the purview of our committees, please access the committee listing on our website.

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

The Slash Advent Calendar, a multifandom archive for fanfiction and fanart, is being imported to the Archive of Our Own (AO3).

In this post:

• A bit of background explanation
• What this means for creators who had work(s) on the Slash Advent Calendar
• And what to do if you still have questions

Background explanation

The Slash Advent Calendar was a multifandom slash challenge that ran every December from 2002 to 2005. Founded by kira-nerys at Lady Kardasi Productions, it included works from fandoms such as Star Trek, Harry Potter, The Sentinel, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Unfortunately, in 2010, the domain name hosting the Slash Advent Calendar was lost, and along with it went a lot of fandom history. Although many of the works are still accessible via the Wayback Machine, some of these were not saved - including most of the artwork and the works posted in 2005. Creators who still hold copies of their own works are encouraged to contact Open Doors!

In 2006, with a new moderator, the Slash Advent Calendar became focused on Star Trek. A series of Kirk/Spock Advent Calendars ran from 2006 until 2017, and then relaunched in 2022.

As the forerunner of a long term fandom institution, the Slash Advent Calendar is well worth preserving. (Open Doors would be delighted to help preserve the older Kirk/Spock Advent Calendars as well, if the moderators are happy to do so.)

The purpose of the Open Doors Committee’s Online Archive Rescue Project is to assist moderators of archives to incorporate the fanworks from those archives into the Archive of Our Own. Open Doors works with moderators to import their archives when the moderators lack the funds, time, or other resources to continue to maintain their archives independently. It is extremely important to Open Doors that we work in collaboration with moderators who want to import their archives and that we fully credit creators, giving them as much control as possible over their fanworks. Open Doors will be working with kira-nerys and Sahviere to import years 2002 to 2005 of the Slash Advent Calendar into separate, searchable collections on the Archive of Our Own. As part of preserving the archive in its entirety, all fanart currently in the Slash Advent Calendar will be hosted on the OTW's servers, and embedded in their own AO3 work pages.

We will begin importing works from the Slash Advent Calendar to the AO3 after January. However, the import may not take place for several months or even years, depending on the size and complexity of the archive. Creators are always welcome to import their own works and add them to the collection in the meantime.

What does this mean for creators who had work(s) on the Slash Advent Calendar?

We will send an import notification to the email address we have for each creator. We'll do our best to check for an existing copy of any works before importing. If we find a copy already on the AO3, we will add it to the collection instead of importing it. All works archived on behalf of a creator will include their name in the byline or the summary of the work.

All imported works will be set to be viewable only by logged-in AO3 users. Once you claim your works, you can make them publicly-viewable if you choose. After 30 days, all unclaimed imported works will be made visible to all visitors. We will then permanently close down the site.

Please contact Open Doors with your Slash Advent Calendar pseud(s) and email address(es), if:

1. You'd like us to import your works, but you need the notification sent to a different email address than you used on the original archive.
2. You already have an AO3 account and have imported your works already yourself.
3. You’d like to import your works yourself (including if you don’t have an AO3 account yet).
4. You would NOT like your works moved to the AO3, or would NOT like your works added to the archive collection.
5. You are happy for us to preserve your works on the AO3, but would like us to remove your name.
6. You have any other questions we can help you with.

Please include the name of the archive in the subject heading of your email. If you no longer have access to the email account associated with your Slash Advent Calendar account, please contact Open Doors and we'll help you out. (If you've posted the works elsewhere, or have an easy way to verify that they're yours, that's great; if not, we will work with the Slash Advent Calendar mods to confirm your claims.)

Please see the Open Doors Website for instructions on:

• importing your works to the AO3
• adding your works to the new collection Slash Advent Calendar

If you still have questions...

If you have further questions, visit the Open Doors FAQ, or contact the Open Doors committee.

We'd also love it if fans could help us preserve the story of the Slash Advent Calendar on Fanlore. If you're new to wiki editing, no worries! Check out the new visitor portal, or ask the Fanlore Gardeners for tips.

We're excited to be able to help preserve the Slash Advent Calendar!

- The Open Doors team, kira-nerys and Sahviere

Commenting on this post will be disabled in 14 days. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments regarding this import after that date, please contact Open Doors.

As many of you are aware, H.R. 9495—also known as the "nonprofit killer"—passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last Thursday, November 21. OTW Legal has received a number of comments from understandably concerned users, and we'd like to take this opportunity to provide more information about this bill as it makes its way to the U.S. Senate.

Section 4 of H.R. 9495 would give the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury unilateral power to revoke the 501(c)3 status of any nonprofit, with minimal due process, simply by claiming it is affiliated with terrorism. The bill allows the Secretary to limit the disclosure of evidence against an accused nonprofit and places the burden of proving its innocence on that nonprofit—meaning a nonprofit could be forced to defend itself without being told why it has been accused in the first place.

You can read the text of the bill here.

While this bill is unlikely to pass in the current U.S. Senate, many organizations anticipate its return under the incoming presidential administration and U.S. Congress. If H.R. 9495 is ultimately passed into law, there is a danger that it could be enforced biasedly or used to further political agendas.

This bill poses a direct threat to the nonprofit sector as a whole, including many fannish nonprofits. Concerned U.S.-based fans can and should contact their senators and urge them to vote no on H.R. 9495. If you live outside the U.S., you can help spread the word by sharing this, our posts on social media, or resources from other organizations fighting for internet freedom, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Action Center.

Our Legal committee is keeping a close eye on this bill. Based on where it stands right now, we don't see an immediate risk to the OTW or AO3 but we will inform you if this changes.

Is there a new law that might affect fans or fannish activities in your country? Send us a message about legislation you think we should know about. (Submitting a concern doesn’t guarantee that it will be included in a future Spotlight on Legal Issues post.)

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

It's time to celebrate another milestone for the Archive of Our Own! We are incredibly excited to announce that AO3 now hosts more than 14 million fanworks. We only passed our last fanworks milestone in May, meaning fans have collectively contributed nearly 2 million works this year alone. The quill of collective fandom truly never rests! This incredible achievement is only possible because of the tireless and passionate work of fans all over the world in creating, reading, and sharing content across different fandoms and platforms.

International Fanworks Day
Did you know that there is a special day dedicated to celebrating our fannish community? Every February we come together for International Fanworks Day (IFD), where you can meet fellow fans, play fun games together, and talk to some of our volunteers. All those activities take place on our IFD Discord server, which we open only for the occasion. If you’re interested in joining, mark the date in your calendar. And keep your eyes peeled for more details as February approaches!

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

Fan Fiction Writers, a multi-fandom fanfiction archive, is being imported to the Archive of Our Own (AO3).

In this post:

• A bit of background explanation
• What this means for creators who had work(s) on the Fan Fiction Writers archive
• And what to do if you still have questions

Background explanation

Fan Fiction Writers was a multi-fandom fanfiction archive that began as a GeoCities website in 1991. The four most popular fandoms on the archive were Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Lancer, Lord of the Rings, and X-Men. Fan Fiction Writers offered every fandom writer, no matter their expertise, a home to showcase their talents. Fan Fiction Writers is moving to the AO3 to preserve the works and keep them from disappearing into history.

The purpose of the Open Doors Committee’s Online Archive Rescue Project is to assist moderators of archives to incorporate the fanworks from those archives into the Archive of Our Own. Open Doors works with moderators to import their archives when the moderators lack the funds, time, or other resources to continue to maintain their archives independently. It is extremely important to Open Doors that we work in collaboration with moderators who want to import their archives and that we fully credit creators, giving them as much control as possible over their fanworks. Open Doors will be working with Kaleidopy to import the Fan Fiction Writers archive into a separate, searchable collection on the Archive of Our Own. As part of preserving the archive in its entirety, all fanfiction currently in the Fan Fiction Writers archive will be hosted on the OTW's servers, and embedded in their own AO3 work pages.

We will begin importing works from the Fan Fiction Writers archive to the AO3 after November 2024. However, the import may not take place for several months or even years, depending on the size and complexity of the archive. Creators are always welcome to import their own works and add them to the collection in the meantime.

What does this mean for creators who had work(s) on Fan Fiction Writers?

We will send an import notification to the email address we have for each creator. We'll do our best to check for an existing copy of any works before importing. If we find a copy already on the AO3, we will add it to the collection instead of importing it. All works archived on behalf of a creator will include their name in the byline or the summary of the work.

All imported works will be set to be viewable only by logged-in AO3 users. Once you claim your works, you can make them publicly-viewable if you choose. After 30 days, all unclaimed imported works will be made visible to all visitors. We will then permanently close down the site.

Please contact Open Doors with your Fan Fiction Writers pseud(s) and email address(es), if:

1. You'd like us to import your works, but you need the notification sent to a different email address than you used on the original archive.
2. You already have an AO3 account and have imported your works already yourself.
3. You’d like to import your works yourself (including if you don’t have an AO3 account yet).
4. You would NOT like your works moved to the AO3, or would NOT like your works added to the archive collection.
5. You are happy for us to preserve your works on the AO3, but would like us to remove your name.
6. You have any other questions we can help you with.

Please include the name of the archive in the subject heading of your email. If you no longer have access to the email account associated with your Fan Fiction Writers account, please contact Open Doors and we'll help you out. (If you've posted the works elsewhere, or have an easy way to verify that they're yours, that's great; if not, we will work with Kaleidopy to confirm your claims.)

Please see the Open Doors Website for instructions on:

• importing your works to the AO3
• adding your works to the new collection Fan Fiction Writers

If you still have questions...

If you have further questions, visit the Open Doors FAQ, or contact the Open Doors committee.

We'd also love it if fans could help us preserve the story of the Fan Fiction Writers archive on Fanlore. If you're new to wiki editing, no worries! Check out the new visitor portal, or ask the Fanlore Gardeners for tips.

We're excited to be able to help preserve the Fan Fiction Writers archive!

- The Open Doors team, Kaleidopy

Commenting on this post will be disabled in 14 days, on December 2, 2024. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments regarding this import after that date, please contact Open Doors.

Start the party, the AO3 is turning 15 today! This year has been full of exciting new milestones. Our total number of users has passed 7.5 million, with the number of works on the archive surpassing 13.8 million! (with over 1.6 million of them written in languages other than English)

To celebrate AO3’s birthday, we prepared two fandom-related activities: a trivia game and a prompt challenge. You can find further details below!

Trivia Game!
How much do you know about AO3, beyond where to find your favorite works? About its history, infrastructure, or functionalities? Find out by participating in our AO3 trivia game. Who knows – you might win a cool prize!

For the next 15 days starting today, we will post a new trivia question every day (in this post and on our socials), along with a link to a Google form where you can submit your answer. We will check your submissions at the end of the 15 days, and randomly draw names from the highest scorers; they will receive AO3 merch as a prize!

• Day 1 - How many members does AO3 have (on the day of posting)? Submit your answer here!
• Day 2 - How old is the OTW, the parent organization behind AO3? Submit your answer here!
• Day 3 - What is the title of the fanwork, which currently has the most kudos on AO3? Submit your answer here!
• Day 4 - What is the most expensive donation reward for OTW donations? Submit your answer here!
• Day 5 - In what year was AO3 founded and who first proposed the idea for it? Submit your answer here!
• Day 6 - Which fanwork was bookmarked most by people last year (2023)? Submit your answer here!
• Day 7 - What are our two definitions of the word kudos? Submit your answer here!
• Day 8 - When did AO3 reach 10 million works posted on the site? Submit your answer here!
• Day 9 - The OTW (Organization for Transformative Works) is the volunteer-run parent organization behind AO3. How many volunteers does it have? Submit your answer here!
• Day 10 - What does the term "conceptual drift" mean in the context of metatags? Submit your answer here!
• Day 11 - What are three goals of the OTW Fanhackers Project? Submit your answer here!
• Day 12 - When did AO3 pass 10 million members on the site? Submit your answer here!
• Day 13 - AO3 is one of OTW’s many projects, along with Transformative Works and Cultures (TWC), a peer-reviewed journal on fanworks and practices. When does TWC publish its annual general issue? Submit your answer here!
• Day 14 - What was the first major donation brokered by the OTW Open Doors project? Submit your answer here!
• Day 15 - What is the maximum number of tags an author can add to their work? Submit your answer here!

Prompts!
As a fun challenge for fanwork creators, the AO3 Prompt game will run for 15 days alongside the trivia game. Each day, a new prompt will be posted on our socials and to the collection! Don’t worry about missing one: you can choose prompts as inspiration strikes, using as few or as many as you like. When you’re done writing, you can add your work(s) to our AO3 anniversary collection!

So make sure to keep an eye on our social media channels, where we will post every day!

Thank you for celebrating 15 years of AO3 with us!

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

Every month or so the OTW will be doing a Q&A with one of its volunteers about their experiences in the organization. The posts express each volunteer's personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of the OTW or constitute OTW policy. Today's post is with LPCollins, who volunteers as a Dutch translator and beta reader for the Translation Committee.

How does what you do as a volunteer fit into what the OTW does?

I am part of the Translation committee, more specifically as a translator and beta reader for the Dutch team. (Hallo, iedereen!) I have also recently found my way into the Tag Wrangling committee, but that is all still very new and shiny, so I’ll be focussing on my role in Translation for this post. That role pretty much means that I help with the translation of the AO3 FAQs and tutorials, news posts, email templates and the occasional tag or user ticket that arrives in Dutch, a rare treat when speakers of your language are very accustomed to using English in online spaces. I am very proud of the role that our committee gets to play in diversifying the OTW and slowly but surely making it more accessible for users world-wide. Compared to the userbase speaking Chinese, Spanish or Russian, Dutch may seem like a very tiny, not-so-important piece of that puzzle, but doesn’t that only make it cooler that we can support such languages too?

What is a typical week like for you as a volunteer?

One of my absolute favorite things about the Translation committee is that you get to schedule the work according to your own needs. I am a chaos demon with fluctuating energy levels, so I’m not sure about having a “typical week” and that’s perfectly fine with Translation.

Basically, at some point one of our lovely volunteer managers will send me an assignment, either a document that needs to be translated from scratch or a translation from one of my teammates that I need to beta read. Assignments always have a deadline too, shorter ones for urgent news posts and longer ones for longer documents. Depending on the length of the document, what I need to do with it, my mood and the alignment of the stars, I might do it right away, or spread it out over a week, or just do it on the day of the deadline. Then I let our staff know that I’m done and they send me a new task and so on. There have been weeks when I didn’t complete a single task and there have been days when I completed two, and it just works for me.

What made you decide to volunteer?

Look, I seem to be living in a world where all the paid jobs aren’t very interesting and all the interesting jobs aren’t very paid. (Will take recommendations for other worlds.) Point is, I am always drawn to ways to help organizations that I care about with a hands-on approach. Before I joined the OTW, I was a volunteer for IMAlive’s crisis support chat (big shout-out to Random Acts for providing my training), which I loved doing but unfortunately became too time-consuming when I needed to start working on my master’s thesis. Since I had been spending a lot of time on AO3 for years at that point, the OTW was an easy next target for when I did have some spare time again.

I also have a degree in Dutch and English linguistics and literature, so translator was definitely one of the most appealing OTW positions from the get-go. I distinctly remember waiting for a chance to apply, checking every Translation recruitment post that popped up on AO3 to see if they needed someone for Team Dutch yet, as the committee always recruits for specific languages. As soon as Dutch was listed in one of the posts, I didn’t hesitate about applying, and I was lucky enough to be welcomed to the team. Already two years have passed since then and I haven’t regretted it for a single second.

What has been your biggest challenge doing work for the OTW?

Not gonna lie, I have witnessed some big internal discussions since joining the OTW, both about real-world events and about our own processes. I feel like those have been fought over enough, though, so I’ll share a challenge that’s more specific for Team Dutch.

In case you don’t know, Dutch is an official language in three countries: the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname. Unfortunately, Suriname isn’t currently represented in our team, but we do have both Belgian and Dutch folks, and despite our countries being right next to each other, there are actually some differences between Belgian Dutch and Dutch… Dutch. (Just ask how we end our emails.) They definitely aren’t big enough to separate the languages, but we do try to walk that middle ground in our translations and make sure that everything sounds good for everyone. So sometimes I will be beta reading a document and change something that just sounds way too Dutch to me and sometimes one of my teammates will point out that they would never use my suggested turn of phrase in the Netherlands. As a linguist, I find this very interesting, but it is also quite challenging to avoid colloquialisms when you’re not even always aware of them!

What fannish things do you like to do?

First and foremost, I’m a fanfic writer. Always have been (even before I knew that there was a word for it) and always will be. As a writer, I also have an atrocious habit and it goes something like this: start a very long fic, pour out new chapters religiously for months and months, stumble upon a different fandom, come up with a fic idea for said new fandom that “surely won’t take long and that I just need to get out of my system so that I can return to the existing WIP in peace” aaaaand repeat. Dear reader, if you happen to be following one of my stories, I am so, so sorry, I swear I will finish it one day.

The love of my life is Supernatural and I will always come back to it, but I’m also very good at falling very hard for other fandoms on the side, ranging from The Boys to Danny Phantom to the latest Neil Gaiman-related show to Helluva Boss to anything that Richard Speight, Jr. worked on. One of my favorite things to do is hyperfixate on something new, then grab my friends by the shoulders and shake them until they agree to watch it too so that I can yell at them about it.

Of course I read fanfics too, mostly in short bursts when I’m looking for a very specific type of fic. For my wallet’s sake, I limit the number of Supernatural conventions I can go to to one per year. I perpetually have a Discord tab open to stay in touch with fellow fans, will occasionally scour YouTube for fanvids and spend the rest of my fandom time on the best social media site ever, Tumblr. (Kidding, not kidding.)

Now that our volunteer’s said five things about what they do, it’s your turn to ask one more thing! Feel free to ask about their work in the comments. Or if you'd like, you can check out earlier Five Things posts.

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

I. AO3 TERMS OF SERVICE UPDATE

Policy & Abuse, Legal, and Accessibility, Design & Technology have been hard at work regarding an update to the AO3 Terms of Service. Among other things, this update involves clarifying wording in both the Content Policy and the "Underage" Archive Warning. This update will not affect what fanworks are allowed or not on AO3, nor will it affect how this Archive Warning is enforced.

In conjunction with Communications, a public call for feedback was posted and comments will be accepted until November 18. Please refer to the news post and Policy & Abuse's proposed changes for more detail.

II. OCTOBER MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

Development & Membership worked with Communications to announce the October membership drive! With the help of Translation, the news posts were translated into 28 languages. Finance also posted the 2024 Budget Update in anticipation of the membership drive.

The October membership drive raised almost $215,000 USD from 6,995 donors, 6,020 of whom chose to be members! Development & Membership is now verifying addresses, packaging premiums, and heading to local post offices with the help of their new regional shipping specialists.

III. ELSEWHERE AT THE AO3

In September, Support and Systems were handling issues related to downtime and site slowness. Systems has posted a post-mortem of events and analysis on their official AO3 account, which details the causes and effects of some of the issues.

Due to downtime and other factors, Support received 4,151 tickets in September, around double their usual monthly count. They ask for your patience as they work through the high volume of tickets.

Policy & Abuse received 2,264 tickets in September. They also have an incoming class of new volunteers and look forward to training them.

Also in September, Tag Wrangling volunteers wrangled over 430,000 tags, which amounts to over 1,000 tags per tag wrangler. They also finished their last recruitment round of the year and began inducting their latest batch of volunteers.

Open Doors announced the import of older works from due South Seekrit Santa, an exchange devoted to the Canadian television series due South. They also finished the last details from the West of the Moon archive import, an archive for hobbit-centric gen fanworks. They continue to work on other import projects and documentation for the AO3 Fanzine Scan Hosting Project.

IV. VARIOUS OTW ACTIVITY

Communications is happy to see their email delivery service has been steadily gaining followers since its launch. The service recently passed 1,000 subscribers and now has about 1,100 subscribers!

Fanlore ran a Video Game-themed month in October! You can check out featured articles on their Tumblr.

Development & Membership's convention outreach division organized a table for Confabulation Fan Convention at Chicago, USA. OTW volunteers had a blast talking about their experience volunteering, fan vidding, and exploring world landmarks!

Legal has responded to a number of user queries this month, including queries about YouTube counter-notices, shadowcasting, UK legislation, and academic research on fandom. They also dealt with some apps that are confusing users into believing they’re associated with the AO3.

TWC has been preparing two special issues: Centering Blackness in Fan Studies and Sports Fandoms to be released in the coming months.

V. GOVERNANCE

Board and the Board Assistants Team (BAT) organized Board's fourth quarter public meeting on September 29. They had 55 attendees and answered 9 questions. The official minutes for this meeting were voted on and published on the OTW website.

Official Board turnover happened on October 1, and incoming Board members are getting settled in.

Board and BAT have been participating in several projects and policies related to the OTW Organizational Culture Roadmap. BAT has also been working on procurement documentation, OTW website updates, and various cross-committee tasks. They’ve been assisting the Board on several ongoing projects, including Whistleblower Policy FAQ documentation and responding to external questions directed at the Board.

Strategic Planning is working on compiling internal sustainability plans from all committees as part of the plan’s internal sustainability goal. They're also reaching out to the committees responsible for the Paid Staff goal as those implementation goal dates approach.

VI. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PEEPS

Volunteers & Recruiting has been hard at work training their new recruits and getting them settled in, saying farewell to one of their chairs, Cyn, and welcoming Eevee as the new co-chair. They also conducted recruitment for 3 committees in October: AO3 Documentation, Elections, and Fanlore.

From September 22 to October 22, Volunteers & Recruiting received 149 new requests and completed 135, leaving them with 62 open requests. As of October 22, 2024, the OTW has 924 volunteers. \o/ Recent personnel movements are listed below.

New Committee Chairs: Eevee (Volunteers & Recruiting)
New Communications Volunteers: 1 TikTok Team Lead
New Development & Membership Volunteers: 1 Shipping Specialist
New Fanlore Volunteers: 3 Discord Moderators
New Open Doors Volunteers: Brianna Dardin (Senior Technical Volunteer) and 1 Administrative Support Volunteer
New Policy & Abuse Volunteers: Emka, iwasnttrainedforthis, megidola, Trinity, and 3 other Volunteers
New Translation Volunteers: AnneHelena, Aquiles T. M., hans, Helpi K, Jaya, Luki, tritongue, and 2 other Translators
New Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteers: Alisande and 1 other Volunteer

Departing Directors: Kari Dayton and Michelle Schroeder
Departing Committee Chairs: Cyn (Volunteers & Recruiting)
Departing Board Assistant Team Volunteers: 1 Volunteer
Departing Fanlore Volunteers: 1 Policy & Admin Volunteer and 1 Graphics Designer
Departing Open Doors Volunteers: SonoSvegliato (Import Assistant), Brianna Dardin and 2 other Technical Volunteers; 1 Administrative Volunteer
Departing Strategic Planning Volunteers: Arly Guevara
Departing Tag Wrangler Volunteers: Eevee (Supervisor role only), Lysippe, and 7 other Tag Wranglers
Departing Translation Volunteers: Elintiriel (Volunteer Manager role only) and 1 other Volunteer Manager; Nachali, Parul Hunnargikar, Summerfanreader, and 4 other Translators

For more information about the purview of our committees, please access the committee listing on our website.

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

In order to make AO3's rules clearer to our users, we intend to update the AO3 Terms of Service (TOS) in mid-November 2024. Once this occurs, all users will need to agree to the updated TOS to continue using AO3. The full text has been posted for public review, as well as a detailed explanation of what has (and hasn't) changed:

• AO3 Terms of Service: 2024 Update Guide
• AO3 Terms of Service: 2024 Draft
• AO3 Terms of Service FAQ: 2024 Draft

Summary of changes

As part of reorganizing the TOS for better clarity, the new TOS is structured differently than the old one. A detailed explanation of what was changed and why is available in the update guide. These are the highlights:

• We've clarified the Content Policy, but we haven't changed what works are or are not allowed. If your fanwork was allowed on AO3 before, then it is still allowed.
• The TOS has been split into three pages (General Principles, Content Policy, and Privacy Policy). This should make it easier to find what you're looking for when you want to know about a specific part of the TOS.
• We've simplified the language throughout the TOS and removed redundant or overly specific phrases and passages. When longer explanations would help to provide clarity, we've added new questions to the TOS FAQ instead.
• We've updated the descriptions of how we and our subprocessors collect and process user information (including personal information) in the Privacy Policy.
• The Abuse Policy has been generalized to provide the AO3 Policy & Abuse committee with greater flexibility to determine how to address TOS violations, while still providing protections for fanworks in accordance with AO3's mission.
• The "Underage" Archive Warning, which is used for works that depict or describe underage sex, is being renamed to "Underage Sex". This does not change the meaning of this warning or how it is enforced. When the TOS update occurs, all works with the "Underage" Archive Warning will be recategorized automatically to display the new "Underage Sex" Archive Warning label instead. If you have a work that carries the "Underage" warning and you don't want it to display the "Underage Sex" label, you can replace it with the "Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings" label at any time.

You can read the proposed changes and comment here on this news post with any questions, suggestions, or feedback you might have about the new TOS or TOS FAQ. Comments will remain open until November 18th, 2024. After comments close, the Board of Directors for the OTW (the Organization for Transformative Works, which is AO3's parent organization) will vote on the proposed changes to the Terms of Service. If the Board votes in favor, the Terms of Service will be updated and all users will be required to agree to the new TOS to continue using AO3.

To make your opinion heard prior to the Board vote, make sure to submit your comments here before November 18th.

ETA: We appreciate that all of you have many ideas, but please keep in mind that the Policy & Abuse committee handles AO3 rules, not AO3 features. If you have ideas for a feature (for example, improvements you want to see to Search and Filtering), please contact the Support committee about them instead. We won't be responding to feature requests on this news post.

ETA November 18th, 2024: The two-week review period has ended and comments are now closed. If you have any further feedback for the Board, please submit it using their contact form. If you have any other questions about the Terms of Service or the TOS FAQ, please contact the Policy & Abuse committee.

ETA November 19, 2024: The Board has voted to approve the new TOS, and it is now live. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback; in the coming months, we plan to update the Terms of Service FAQ to address some of the questions raised in the comments on this post.

The AO3 Fanzine Scan Hosting Project (FSHP) is a partnership between the Open Doors committee and fan-run preservation project Zinedom through which fanfiction and fanart originally published in print fanzines is imported to the Archive of Our Own. Fanworks can be imported to AO3 with the consent of either the creators of the works or the publisher of the fanzine in which the fanworks were published.

Today, Open Doors is pleased to announce a list of collections that it has created since September 2023 to house fanworks imported through the FSHP. A collection has been created for each fanzine from which one or more fanworks have been imported, but these collections do not contain every work from each of these zines, and many so far only include one work each in cases where Open Doors only has permission to import that particular work. For full transparency, Open Doors plans to continue to announce collections as they are created that may or may not grow with additional fanworks as additional permissions are obtained from more creators in the future.

As of August 2024, Open Doors has created the following collections to represent fanzines from which it has imported works:

• A Portfolio of Poetry and Portraits
• Amazing Grace
• Astray in the Wilderness
• Beyond Dreams
• Broken Images
• California K/S
• Contact
• CrosSignals
• Daring Attempt
• Enter-comm
• First Time
• Gateway
• Guardian
• Happy Tails
• IDIC
• In the Wilderness
• KaleidoScope
• KisMet
• KSX
• Legacy
• Legends
• Naked Times
• Nightvisions
• Nome
• On the Edge
• One Shot
• Partners
• Potpourri
• Pushin' the Odds
• Quantum Chain
• Scattered Stars
• Sehlat's Roar
• Southern Star
• Spock's Arthropods
• Strange Justice
• The Complete Rack
• The K/S Press
• The Rack & All the King's Horses All the King's Men
• Three Eleven
• Universe Beyond
• Whalesong
• Within the Mirror

For answers to frequently asked questions, please see the FSHP page on the Open Doors website. If you'd like to give Open Doors permission to import any of your fanworks that have been previously published in print fanzines, or if you have any other FSHP-related queries, please contact the Open Doors Committee.

We'd also love it if fans could help us preserve the story of any fanzines in which they may have been published on Fanlore. If you're new to wiki editing, no worries! Check out the new visitor portal, or ask the Fanlore Gardeners for tips.

Thanks for your interest in preserving fannish history for future generations of readers!

- The Open Doors team

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Every month or so the OTW will be doing a Q&A with one of its volunteers about their experiences in the organization. The posts express each volunteer's personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of the OTW or constitute OTW policy. Today's post is with Isis C, who volunteers as a wrangler and Support liaison for the Tag Wrangling Committee.

How does what you do as a volunteer fit into what the OTW does?

My volunteer work fits into three closely-related bins. As a tag wrangler, I connect users' character, relationship, and freeform tags to our canonical tags, and I make new canonical tags as needed. I wrangle about 70 fandoms, mostly historical and SFF book and TV fandoms, with a few video games and RPF fandoms thrown in there.

As a tag wrangling supervisor, I do all sorts of administrative and management tasks related to wrangling. For example, I help manage all phases of wrangler recruitment and training: I evaluate applications, send out acceptances, monitor training progress, and set up training schedules. Sometimes I mentor new wranglers or new supervisors, and there are always random administrative tasks to do.

As a Tag Wrangling/Support Liaison, I ferry user requests for tags to be canonized or re-wrangled to the wranglers of those fandoms, and I answer user questions about wrangling guidelines and processes. (If you ask Support why a search on Trans Danny Fenton returns a few Hawaii Five-O works, or how to find works with a particular AU Sans when they are all merged to Sans (Undertale), I'm probably the person who will answer.) There’s a lot about wrangling that isn’t obvious until you see it from the inside, but I like answering user questions because if users understand the process better, they’re more likely to tag in ways that will accomplish what they want.

What is a typical week like for you as a volunteer?

I have a very flexible schedule and a lot of free time, and I'm online a ridiculous amount of that free time! I find wrangling very relaxing, especially when it's easy - synning misspelled character names to the canonical tags, making relationship tags for characters that already have character tags, and other things that don't need research or a lot of thought - so I like to wrangle for a while before tackling real life things I don't like doing, like taxes or phoning for appointments or vacuuming, or even before writing fic or doing other things that require more brainpower.

Supervisor tasks require a bit more attention, so I like to do them when I have enough free time that I can concentrate on them. Of course I always warm up with a little easy wrangling!

Most of the Support tasks I take on require coordination with other wranglers, and Support requires communication with users to be beta-read by another volunteer before sending out, so I tend to do these in batches as well when I have a block of time. We have a lot of older wrangling-related tickets that have not yet been handled because there was too much work and not enough liaisons, so whenever I feel particularly motivated I try to answer the people who have probably given up on getting answers.

What made you decide to volunteer?

I'm old :-) and have been in mainstream science fiction and fantasy fandom for a very long time, although I didn't get into fanfiction-type fandom until 2002. (Which I realize is probably before many of the people reading this were born!) I get super enthusiastic about my hobbies and like to help organize things, so for example in 2002 and 2003, when fandom was mostly on mailing lists and fandom-specific forum sites, I coordinated an effort to help get fandom going on LiveJournal by collecting invite codes, which were required at the time, and distributing them to fanfiction writers and fanartists. I used to edit various fandom newsletter communities, back when that was a thing, too. Anyway, a fandom friend who was a wrangler encouraged me to apply during a recruitment, and that was all it took! When I became a supervisor, one of the tasks I enjoyed the most was helping out with support tickets, so when I got the chance to be a Support Liaison I immediately said yes please!

What has been your biggest challenge doing work for the OTW?

As I mentioned, I'm old, and I started out on mailing lists where tags were fandom, characters, and pairing, and that was it. I never managed to get into Tumblr, which I suspect is where the use of descriptive tags started. Often I look at freeform tags that reference memes, or Gen Z slang, or newer terms for sexual identity, and I am completely baffled! Fortunately, the wrangler chat is a wonderful research source, and other wranglers are always kind about helping this little old lady across the street decipher tags.

What fannish things do you like to do?

I write and read fic, although not so much these days as way back when. (But I still get a smile on my face when my old works get kudos or comments!) I used to vid a little, too, but even though I haven't participated in Festivids for many years, I still enjoy watching the vids people create for small fandoms, and recommending the ones I love best. I also really like to beta read fic, because that way I can help good stories become great stories.

But my most intensive fannish involvement these days is being a fanwork exchange moderator. I moderated a number of small single-fandom exchanges pre-AO3, and wow, AO3 makes it so much easier. I love small fandoms, and I participated in Yuletide nearly from the beginning, so I was super excited to be invited to become part of the moderation team some years back. I also co-mod the current incarnation of the Worldbuilding Exchange, and sometimes I help out with other exchanges.

Now that our volunteer has said five things about what they do, it’s your turn to ask one more thing! Feel free to ask about their work in the comments. Or if you'd like, you can check out earlier Five Things posts.

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

The Organization for Transformative Works's October membership drive is over and we are delighted to say that we are finishing with a total of $214,698.86 raised. We are particularly pleased that 6020 donors chose to either take up or renew OTW membership with their donation, far exceeding our goal of 4,500 members.

These donations came from 6,955 people in 86 countries: thank you to every single one of you, as well as to all of you who posted and shared the news about the drive! The OTW would not exist without its users all around the world, and your continued support for us is our absolute pride and joy! We are so glad to know that our ongoing mission to support, protect, and provide access to the history of fanworks and fan culture continues to resonate with the people that matter most of all: the fans themselves.

If you were intending to donate or join and haven't yet done so, don't worry! The OTW accepts donations year-round, and you can always choose to become a member with a donation of US$10 or more. Memberships run for one calendar year from the date of your donation. If you donate now, you'll be able to vote in next year's OTW Board election, which will take place in August 2025. Our exclusive thank-you gifts are also available whenever you donate!

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

Do you remember that one fanfic that kept you reading until dawn for the very first time? Or the fan art or video that led you to dig out all the works its creator shared? Have you ever tried to look into the stories of the authors who wrote fics before you were even born? You can find all this and more on Fanlore - the wiki for fanworks, fan creators, and fannish history!

Fanlore is a project run by the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) with the goal of providing fans a place to record and share their histories, experiences and traditions. Fanlore records both the history and current state of our fan communities – fan works, fan activities, fan terminology, individual fans and fannish-related events. You can read about what fandoms were like in the olden days and document memorable events in your own fandoms, all on Fanlore! Check out the wiki’s New User Portal or join the Fanlore Discord server to connect with other editors and users.

We would not be able to preserve these cherished pieces of fandom history without the generous donations of our fellow fans and volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep all our projects running. As always, we have some shiny new donation gifts!

You can choose to display your love for fandom with some of our new thank-you gifts. For a US$40 donation, we have a new sticker set featuring popular AO3 tags. You can show off a bumper sticker saying "my other car is a ship" for a donation of US$50. For a donation of US$75 or more, you could carry home your groceries with a white and red shopping bag or you can announce your love for AO3 with our rainbow kudos pin.

You can also set up a recurring donation and save towards the gift of your choice. Select the gift you want, and if the total for that donation doesn't reach the amount needed for the gift you selected, future donations will be applied to the gift you’re saving for. Those of you in the U.S. might also be able to double your contribution via employer matching: contact your HR department to find out if this is an option for you.

A donation of US$10 or more will also allow you to become a member of the OTW. OTW members can vote for the Board of Directors – the OTW’s governing board. Donating now and checking the “I wish to be a member” box will make you eligible to vote in the 2025 OTW Board Election.

We hope that many of you will take this opportunity to donate and become a member to support projects like Fanlore, Open Doors, Legal Advocacy, Transformative Works and Cultures, and the Archive of Our Own. Your contributions help keep our projects successful for new and long-time fans alike!