However, it extremely, deeply sucks that major international security policy and/or the last gasps of the "rules-based international order" that strongmen authoritarians so disdain, now rests entirely on whether ~15,000 people in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, or Michigan feel like voting for a fascist because eggs were too expensive after a pandemic.
okay i need someone else who's been at least tangentially aware and/or involved with NaNo to watch this video and chat with me about it because I have THOUGHTS™ (below the cut).
Here's the thing—aside from the fact that NaNo's PR has been slowly imploding for the past ~five years, this video itself feels VERY MUCH like a CYA from the Interim Director (a fact bolstered by both the fact that it's being posted on the "NaNoWriMo Kilby" account, not the formal NaNo one AND the fact that at multiple points, it's tosses out what Kilby specifically did to "help" things) as well as an indictment of long-time participants (despite the claims that it's not, Kilby states in the PPT that "[the board of directors] heard repeatedly from other would-be grassroots supporters that they aligned with [NaNo]...but that the community vitriol was a problem," then in the audio overlay specifically calls out that "a lot of people who viewed [NaNo] as a welcoming community had that view challenged this year. and it wasn't because of what HQ was doing, but because of what they were seeing from people who were self-identified Wrimos", then later pins the collapse of the organization on people not giving enough money to support NaNoWriMo) rather than a solely objective analysis of what's happened.
Genuinely sad that this is happening, but imo this video felt condescending as fuck, between what feels like a thinly disguised "you all didn't know everything that was going on" mantra being hammered home every few slides, the fact that it's a recorded slideshow instead of a video or a comprehensive written report with verifiable evidence of the steps taken to mitigate the legitimate concerns that were raised with their team regarding organizing and child safety on their platforms, AND the fact that near the conclusion, Kilby states "what hurt the organization far more and for far longer [than the genuinely BAFFLING stance that they took on AI in late August of 2024]...was the fact that many members of a very large, very engaged community let themselves believe the service we provided was free."
(for context, the below screenshot was taken today and conspicuously notes that "Oh, and best of all, it's free!")
Kilby makes a salient point that artistic/creative efforts—especially non-profit organizations—are struggling to find funding from their communities. That's real, and it should be cause for concern for any of us on here/elsewhere who find value in the arts, whether as creators or enjoyers of it.
That said, as much as the financial concerns of NaNo may have been the driving factor behind the shutdown Kilby is discussing, it's kind of wild to hear the narration go from such clinical descriptions of what they did when grooming allegations were raised to "but you all didn't bother to donate enough so now we're shutting down >:(" energy.
The decline of the org is clearly a multi-faceted thing, and while I appreciate that many of those factors were discussed here, to me the tone of this video felt off-putting and a bit like a last-ditch effort from someone trying to clear their name before bailing on a sinking ship.
