An unofficial OTW Elections tumblr

Random info and signal-boosting about this year's Organization for Transformative Works elections. (Not an official OTW or Elections outlet.)

[otwelections-unofficial]

OTW elections 2022 link roundup

Sorry, folks, 2022 has been…A Year. But anyway, OTW elections are happening and here’s what you need to know.

When are the OTW elections? August 12–15

Who can vote? Anyone who’s donated US$10 to the OTW in the year up to June 30 and chosen the “membership” option. Unsure? Write in.

Three Board seats are up this year, one of which is for a two-year term (here’s why).

Five candidates: Heather M, Michelle S, Natalia G, Noémie B, and Tiffany G. These links contain their platforms and Q&A answers per candidate.

The candidates’ Q&A answers about Communication, Diversity and Inclusion, and Board Work (TBA on July 28) have been posted.

There will be candidate chats on Discord on July 30, July 31 and August 1. Please check the announcement post for times and how to join.  

If you’re a registered voter, you’ll get an email on July 23 with instructions on how to vote. If you don’t and you think you should have, please contact Elections.

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Update: The OTW candidate chats happened, and one of them got unusually lively, featuring some discussion of the Archive’s TOS regarding works about underage characters. If you haven’t had a lot of time to read all the things yet, make sure to check out the transcript of the August 1 chat, particularly the responses from this point onwards:

You’ve mentioned in the Q&As and in these chats that you’d be interested in changes to the TOS and our policies — can you expand more on what changes you think might be interesting?

FFA had a long discussion about it (fair warning, it got pretty messy in the middle there).

The OTW elections will take place on August 12–15. Please read up on the candidates and vote!

[otwelections-unofficial]

OTW elections 2022 link roundup

Sorry, folks, 2022 has been...A Year. But anyway, OTW elections are happening and here’s what you need to know.

When are the OTW elections? August 12–15

Who can vote? Anyone who’s donated US$10 to the OTW in the year up to June 30 and chosen the “membership” option. Unsure? Write in.

Three Board seats are up this year, one of which is for a two-year term (here’s why).

Five candidates: Heather M, Michelle S, Natalia G, Noémie B, and Tiffany G. These links contain their platforms and Q&A answers per candidate.

The candidates’ Q&A answers about Communication, Diversity and Inclusion, and Board Work (TBA on July 28) have been posted.

There will be candidate chats on Discord on July 30, July 31 and August 1. Please check the announcement post for times and how to join.  

If you’re a registered voter, you’ll get an email on July 23 with instructions on how to vote. If you don’t and you think you should have, please contact Elections.

[otwelections-unofficial]

OTW Elections 2021 roundup

Another year, another OTW election. Here’s what you need to know:

4 candidates, 2 seats

Names and platforms: Antonius Melisse, E. Anna Szegedi, Kari Dayton, Laure Dauban

The election will take place on August 13–16

You can vote if you are an OTW member and donated US$10 by June 30

Candidates are currently submitting their responses to the anonymous Q&As sent to the Elections team. The first set of answers, covering the OTW’s goals and racism, is here: Antonius Melisse, E. Anna Szegedi, Kari Dayton, Laure Dauban.

There will be open chats with the candidates on Discord on July 20, 23, 24 and 31. More info on the elections timeline page and on the OTW elections website.

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Here are the links to the second Q&A set, on the OTW’s projects: Antonius Melisse, E. Anna Szegedi, Kari Dayton, Laure Dauban.

And the third Q&A, on Board work and communication: Antonius Melisse, E. Anna Szegedi, Kari Dayton, Laure Dauban.

The first Discord chat with candidates took place yesterday, with more to come on July 23, 24 and 31. Check out this post for detailed times and the chat link.

[otwelections-unofficial]

You can now vote. If you’re eligible to vote in this year’s OTW elections, you should have received your ballot via email. This election will take place between August 13 and 16.

If you want to check out the transcripts of the candidate chats mentioned above, they’re on the OTW elections website.

[otwelections-unofficial]

OTW Elections 2021 roundup

Another year, another OTW election. Here’s what you need to know:

4 candidates, 2 seats

Names and platforms: Antonius Melisse, E. Anna Szegedi, Kari Dayton, Laure Dauban

The election will take place on August 13–16

You can vote if you are an OTW member and donated US$10 by June 30

Candidates are currently submitting their responses to the anonymous Q&As sent to the Elections team. The first set of answers, covering the OTW’s goals and racism, is here: Antonius Melisse, E. Anna Szegedi, Kari Dayton, Laure Dauban.

There will be open chats with the candidates on Discord on July 20, 23, 24 and 31. More info on the elections timeline page and on the OTW elections website.

[otwelections-unofficial]

Here are the links to the second Q&A set, on the OTW’s projects: Antonius Melisse, E. Anna Szegedi, Kari Dayton, Laure Dauban.

And the third Q&A, on Board work and communication: Antonius Melisse, E. Anna Szegedi, Kari Dayton, Laure Dauban.

The first Discord chat with candidates took place yesterday, with more to come on July 23, 24 and 31. Check out this post for detailed times and the chat link.

[otwelections-unofficial]

OTW Elections 2021 roundup

Another year, another OTW election. Here’s what you need to know:

4 candidates, 2 seats

Names and platforms: Antonius Melisse, E. Anna Szegedi, Kari Dayton, Laure Dauban

The election will take place on August 13–16

You can vote if you are an OTW member and donated US$10 by June 30

Candidates are currently submitting their responses to the anonymous Q&As sent to the Elections team. The first set of answers, covering the OTW’s goals and racism, is here: Antonius Melisse, E. Anna Szegedi, Kari Dayton, Laure Dauban.

There will be open chats with the candidates on Discord on July 20, 23, 24 and 31. More info on the elections timeline page and on the OTW elections website.

[otwelections-unofficial]

OTW Elections 2020 roundup

It’s time for yet another OTW election, and the timing for this one coincides with heightened discussion in various corners of fandom about AO3/OTW’s role in perpetuating racism and what changes AO3 should make to address this, among other angles. It’s worth noting that none of the candidates in the running have stressed tackling issues related to diversity or racism as a core goal in their platforms.

This election in a nutshell:

3 open seats, 6 candidates  

Names and platforms: Alex Tischer; Jess White; Kati Eggert; Nicole Abraham; Tyme LaDow; Zoë Tucker

To vote: become an OTW member ($10 donation) by June 30. Voting takes place from August 14 to 17.

To send in questions for the candidates to answer: here’s the Elections contact form, deadline is June 29

A recent FFA thread has some tl;dr on the platforms and additional info on the candidates.

[otwelections-unofficial]

The first three (out of six) sets of candidate answers are now live, covering the following themes:

OTW Communication and Future (Alex T., Jess W., Kati E., Nicole A., Tyme L., Zoë T.)

OTW Multiculturalism and Growth (Alex T., Jess W., Kati E., Nicole A., Tyme L., Zoë T.)

Racism in the OTW and Its Projects (Alex T., Jess W., Kati E., Nicole A., Tyme L., Zoë T.)

There will be open chats with the candidates on August 1 and 2. For chat times and more information on how to access the Discord server, check out this news post.

[otwelections-unofficial]

One of the candidates, Tyme LaDow, has now dropped out of the OTW election. You can read more in the withdrawal announcement. This means that there are now 5 candidates and 3 open seats.

Two more sets of candidate answers have been published, with the last one (”Communication, Conflict and Others”) scheduled to go live on July 31.

AO3 features (Alex T., Jess W., Kati E., Nicole A., Zoë T.)

AO3 content policy and warnings (Alex T., Jess W., Kati E., Nicole A., Tyme L. [withdrew], Zoë T.)

Reminder: the candidates’ open chats will take place on August 1 and 2. See this post for details about the chats.

[otwelections-unofficial]

Last update before the election:

Here’s the last set of Q&As (’Communication, Conflict and Others’): Alex T., Jess W., Kati E., Nicole A., Zoë T.

There have been two live chats with the candidates and the chat transcripts have been published: chat 1 (Nicole A., Zoë T.) and chat 2 (Alex T., Jess W., Kati E.).

All OTW members eligible to vote in this election should have received an email with voting instructions by now. If you haven’t, contact the Elections team.

OTW elections use IRV (what’s that?). To vote, rank your preferred choices in order of preference. Leave out completely any choices you do not like.

You can vote between August 14 and 17.

[otwelections-unofficial]

OTW Elections 2020 roundup

It’s time for yet another OTW election, and the timing for this one coincides with heightened discussion in various corners of fandom about AO3/OTW’s role in perpetuating racism and what changes AO3 should make to address this, among other angles. It’s worth noting that none of the candidates in the running have stressed tackling issues related to diversity or racism as a core goal in their platforms.

This election in a nutshell:

3 open seats, 6 candidates  

Names and platforms: Alex Tischer; Jess White; Kati Eggert; Nicole Abraham; Tyme LaDow; Zoë Tucker

To vote: become an OTW member ($10 donation) by June 30. Voting takes place from August 14 to 17.

To send in questions for the candidates to answer: here’s the Elections contact form, deadline is June 29

A recent FFA thread has some tl;dr on the platforms and additional info on the candidates.

[otwelections-unofficial]

The first three (out of six) sets of candidate answers are now live, covering the following themes:

OTW Communication and Future (Alex T., Jess W., Kati E., Nicole A., Tyme L., Zoë T.)

OTW Multiculturalism and Growth (Alex T., Jess W., Kati E., Nicole A., Tyme L., Zoë T.)

Racism in the OTW and Its Projects (Alex T., Jess W., Kati E., Nicole A., Tyme L., Zoë T.)

There will be open chats with the candidates on August 1 and 2. For chat times and more information on how to access the Discord server, check out this news post.

[otwelections-unofficial]

One of the candidates, Tyme LaDow, has now dropped out of the OTW election. You can read more in the withdrawal announcement. This means that there are now 5 candidates and 3 open seats.

Two more sets of candidate answers have been published, with the last one (”Communication, Conflict and Others”) scheduled to go live on July 31.

AO3 features (Alex T., Jess W., Kati E., Nicole A., Zoë T.)

AO3 content policy and warnings (Alex T., Jess W., Kati E., Nicole A., Tyme L. [withdrew], Zoë T.)

Reminder: the candidates’ open chats will take place on August 1 and 2. See this post for details about the chats.

[otwelections-unofficial]

OTW Elections 2020 roundup

It’s time for yet another OTW election, and the timing for this one coincides with heightened discussion in various corners of fandom about AO3/OTW’s role in perpetuating racism and what changes AO3 should make to address this, among other angles. It’s worth noting that none of the candidates in the running have stressed tackling issues related to diversity or racism as a core goal in their platforms.

This election in a nutshell:

3 open seats, 6 candidates  

Names and platforms: Alex Tischer; Jess White; Kati Eggert; Nicole Abraham; Tyme LaDow; Zoë Tucker

To vote: become an OTW member ($10 donation) by June 30. Voting takes place from August 14 to 17.

To send in questions for the candidates to answer: here’s the Elections contact form, deadline is June 29

A recent FFA thread has some tl;dr on the platforms and additional info on the candidates.

[otwelections-unofficial]

The first three (out of six) sets of candidate answers are now live, covering the following themes:

OTW Communication and Future (Alex T., Jess W., Kati E., Nicole A., Tyme L., Zoë T.)

OTW Multiculturalism and Growth (Alex T., Jess W., Kati E., Nicole A., Tyme L., Zoë T.)

Racism in the OTW and Its Projects (Alex T., Jess W., Kati E., Nicole A., Tyme L., Zoë T.)

There will be open chats with the candidates on August 1 and 2. For chat times and more information on how to access the Discord server, check out this news post.

[otwelections-unofficial]

OTW Elections 2020 roundup

It’s time for yet another OTW election, and the timing for this one coincides with heightened discussion in various corners of fandom about AO3/OTW's role in perpetuating racism and what changes AO3 should make to address this, among other angles. It’s worth noting that none of the candidates in the running have stressed tackling issues related to diversity or racism as a core goal in their platforms.

This election in a nutshell:

3 open seats, 6 candidates  

Names and platforms: Alex Tischer; Jess White; Kati Eggert; Nicole Abraham; Tyme LaDow; Zoë Tucker

To vote: become an OTW member ($10 donation) by June 30. Voting takes place from August 14 to 17.

To send in questions for the candidates to answer: here’s the Elections contact form, deadline is June 29

A recent FFA thread has some tl;dr on the platforms and additional info on the candidates.

[otwelections-unofficial]

OTW Elections 2019 roundup

Hello! (Yes, yes, sorry, Yet Another Election for you to worry about, but hey, luckily this one’s way less dramatic! Er, at least this time! Let’s hope it stays that way for a good long while, we have enough dumpster fires literally everywhere else.)

Here’s what you need to know about this year’s OTW elections:

When is the vote? August 9–12, 2019.

Can I vote? OTW donors who gave at least US$10 between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019 and selected the “membership” option can vote. Not sure? Contact OTW Development & Membership.

Who are the candidates? There are three candidates this year: Morgan Schroeder (AO3 Documentation, Tag Wrangling), Rebecca Sentance (Fanlore, AO3 Documentation, Transformative Works and Cultures) and Kirsten Wright (Communications). The fourth, Astrid Olin (Policy & Abuse), has withdrawn from the race for personal reasons.

What sort of information is available about the candidates? Each candidate has published a short biography and their answers to the standard platform questions: Morgan S., Rebecca S., Kirsten W.. They’ve also published their answers to the questions submitted to them on the following themes:

Part 1: 5/10-year vision for OTW; what’s the greatest problem facing fandom?; raising awareness of the OTW; OTW paid staff (Morgan S., Rebecca S., Kirsten W.)

Part 2: changing AO3 TOS; should AO3 allow dark fic and RPF?; censorship and freedom of expression; timeline/transparency re: AO3 internationalisation and media (Morgan S., Rebecca S., Kirsten W.)

Part 3: racial/international diversity and OTW; negative experience as a volunteer; changing committee policy; something positive about fellow candidates (Morgan S., Rebecca S., Kirsten W.)

Is there anything else I should know?

There will be a chat with the candidates tomorrow, Sunday, July 21, from 4–5:30PM UTC (what time is that for me?). The chat will take place in the OTW Elections Discord server. More info on the OTW Elections website.

This tutorial on instant runoff voting explains how the votes are tallied and how you should fill out your ballot when you get it.

[otwelections-unofficial]

The OTW elections have begun! (You can vote until August 12.)

If you’re an eligible voter, please check your email for your ballot. If you don’t have a ballot, contact the OTW’s elections team.

[otwelections-unofficial]

OTW Elections 2019 roundup

Hello! (Yes, yes, sorry, Yet Another Election for you to worry about, but hey, luckily this one's way less dramatic! Er, at least this time! Let's hope it stays that way for a good long while, we have enough dumpster fires literally everywhere else.)

Here’s what you need to know about this year’s OTW elections:

When is the vote? August 9–12, 2019.

Can I vote? OTW donors who gave at least US$10 between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019 and selected the "membership" option can vote. Not sure? Contact OTW Development & Membership.

Who are the candidates? There are three candidates this year: Morgan Schroeder (AO3 Documentation, Tag Wrangling), Rebecca Sentance (Fanlore, AO3 Documentation, Transformative Works and Cultures) and Kirsten Wright (Communications). The fourth, Astrid Olin (Policy & Abuse), has withdrawn from the race for personal reasons.

What sort of information is available about the candidates? Each candidate has published a short biography and their answers to the standard platform questions: Morgan S., Rebecca S., Kirsten W.. They've also published their answers to the questions submitted to them on the following themes:

Part 1: 5/10-year vision for OTW; what's the greatest problem facing fandom?; raising awareness of the OTW; OTW paid staff (Morgan S., Rebecca S., Kirsten W.)

Part 2: changing AO3 TOS; should AO3 allow dark fic and RPF?; censorship and freedom of expression; timeline/transparency re: AO3 internationalisation and media (Morgan S., Rebecca S., Kirsten W.)

Part 3: racial/international diversity and OTW; negative experience as a volunteer; changing committee policy; something positive about fellow candidates (Morgan S., Rebecca S., Kirsten W.)

Is there anything else I should know?

There will be a chat with the candidates tomorrow, Sunday, July 21, from 4–5:30PM UTC (what time is that for me?). The chat will take place in the OTW Elections Discord server. More info on the OTW Elections website.

This tutorial on instant runoff voting explains how the votes are tallied and how you should fill out your ballot when you get it.

[otwelections-unofficial]

If you’re eligible to vote in these elections, you should have received a ballot via email by now. Please check our roundup post for more information about the candidates, and don’t forget to send in your ballot before August 13 (11:59PM UTC, timezone conversion here).

[otwelections-unofficial]

OTW elections info roundup

This year’s OTW elections will take place on August 10–13. There are four candidates running, and two seats open. 

Here’s all the info that’s been published about the candidates:

Candidate bios and platforms with basic questions: C. Ryan Smith, Lex de Leon, Michelle Schroeder, Natalia Gruber

Q&As:

Group 1 answers (expectations for board term; five-year plan for the OTW; stressful communication; most urgent OTW structural change)

Group 2 answers (board issues; board-OTW disconnect; personal weakness; paid OTW staff)

Group 3 answers (say something nice about the other candidates; suicide as AO3 warning; AO3 sustainability)

Candidate chat transcripts:

Transcript 1 (July 22)

Transcript 2 (July 28)

If you’re planning to vote in these OTW elections, please remember to read up on the candidates. When the time comes to cast your vote, you will be asked to rank them in order of preference. (If there are any that you do not wish to see elected at all, remember to skip them entirely.)

If you have any questions, please contact the actual Elections team! 

[otwelections-unofficial]

The candidates for this year’s OTW elections have been announced, and you have 24 hours to send questions for this year’s Q&A. To send questions, use this contact form.

Here are the candidates and their platforms:

C. Ryan Smith’s platform

Lex de Leon’s platform

Michelle Schroeder’s platform

Natalia Gruber’s platform

There are two spots open this year on the OTW board. The election will take place on August 10-13, and the deadline to donate in order to vote is June 30.

If you have any questions to ask the candidates, don’t forget to send them in today!

[otwelections-unofficial]

The candidates for this year’s OTW elections have been announced, and you have 24 hours to send questions for this year’s Q&A. To send questions, use this contact form.

Here are the candidates and their platforms:

C. Ryan Smith’s platform

Lex de Leon’s platform

Michelle Schroeder’s platform

Natalia Gruber’s platform

There are two spots open this year on the OTW board. The election will take place on August 10-13, and the deadline to donate in order to vote is June 30.

If you have any questions to ask the candidates, don’t forget to send them in today!

[transformativeworks]

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The Elections Committee is proud to present the following new Directors: Claire P. Baker, Danielle Strong, and Jessie Camboulives. Learn more here: https://goo.gl/tr4ej4

[transformativeworks]

The election has opened!

Every member who joined between July 1, 2016, and June 30, 2017, should receive a ballot shortly, if they haven’t already. If you do not receive one by 2 a.m. UTC Friday (what time is that for me?), please check your spam folder first, then contact us via our contact form.

The election will run through 11:59 p.m. UTC on Monday, Aug. 14; check this time zone converter to find out what time that will be for you. Once you’ve voted, you can head over to Twitter and use the hashtag #OTWE17 to let us know!