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The OTW board is exploding in fire and mayhem!
Well, I mean, if you read the official post it sounds like business as usual, chaos disguised in politely worded sentences and punctuation. Luckily, fandom reporters got us covered.
My take? The board is always going to have to deal with constituencies who don't agree with everything they have done. (See: Unions!) Buuuuuut, on the internet, it's going to be magnified times A THOUSAND.
A lot of people have been (rightly!!) complaining that the OTW board was becoming insular and combative. Which is definitely true. But gosh, you couldn't pay me enough to be a board member*. Make one small mistake, or even just a decision that isn't universally adored, and you will be CRUSHED under the negative feedback spiral.
It can get kinda hard to separate the signal to the noise in that scenario. And frankly, I too would hide behind my star-spangled shield and sing the pokemon theme song to drown it all out. I don't agree with every decision the board made, but I do think they cared. I actually do with them the best.
Going forward, I'm almost considering donating and becoming a voting member. I have zero spare time, but this matters to be and I think this could be a great opportunity moving forward. And everyone is super excited about the potential. But if we really think the OTW should be run and contributed to by everyone, we too have to take responsibility in how we contribute.
The board screwed up. I'm not trying to defend the things they did wrong. I'm just saying it's so easy for the internet (you know, where fandom is) to end up in some very unproductive and damaging communication styles. And it's not always easy to find the blame for fallout.
*Not true. I'm looking at my job options these days AND YOU COULD PAY ME ENOUGH. Just don't make me bill out at 6-minute increments.
ETA: Also, the OTW has some pretty awesome legal staff, I vote we stop saying that stuff that was happening was illegal.
Well, I mean, if you read the official post it sounds like business as usual, chaos disguised in politely worded sentences and punctuation. Luckily, fandom reporters got us covered.
My take? The board is always going to have to deal with constituencies who don't agree with everything they have done. (See: Unions!) Buuuuuut, on the internet, it's going to be magnified times A THOUSAND.
A lot of people have been (rightly!!) complaining that the OTW board was becoming insular and combative. Which is definitely true. But gosh, you couldn't pay me enough to be a board member*. Make one small mistake, or even just a decision that isn't universally adored, and you will be CRUSHED under the negative feedback spiral.
It can get kinda hard to separate the signal to the noise in that scenario. And frankly, I too would hide behind my star-spangled shield and sing the pokemon theme song to drown it all out. I don't agree with every decision the board made, but I do think they cared. I actually do with them the best.
Going forward, I'm almost considering donating and becoming a voting member. I have zero spare time, but this matters to be and I think this could be a great opportunity moving forward. And everyone is super excited about the potential. But if we really think the OTW should be run and contributed to by everyone, we too have to take responsibility in how we contribute.
The board screwed up. I'm not trying to defend the things they did wrong. I'm just saying it's so easy for the internet (you know, where fandom is) to end up in some very unproductive and damaging communication styles. And it's not always easy to find the blame for fallout.
*Not true. I'm looking at my job options these days AND YOU COULD PAY ME ENOUGH. Just don't make me bill out at 6-minute increments.
ETA: Also, the OTW has some pretty awesome legal staff, I vote we stop saying that stuff that was happening was illegal.
