2022 Annual Report

2022 Annual Report - Organization for Transformative Works - cover by Maple

Table of Contents

Letter from the Board of Directors

Dear OTW donors, supporters, and volunteers,

2022 was a year filled with both difficulty and accomplishments for the OTW.

In May, we suffered a terrible attack on our volunteers that took its toll on us all. While we have recovered as an organization, we would like to take this opportunity to once again thank our volunteers for their service and recognize their efforts. In the aftermath of these attacks, we have taken steps to increase security for the Organization as a whole and especially for our volunteers, including tightening access volunteers have to each other’s personal information and addressing organization security in the upcoming strategic plan draft.

Our election this past year was also more difficult than most, with one of our candidates becoming the victim of a harassment campaign. Our Elections Committee, in partnership with Development & Membership, handled over 600 inquiries from our membership over the span of the election and did their utmost to keep the electorate informed and up to date on all proceedings. Kudos to them for the hard work of their teams! In the time since the 2022 election, the Elections Committee has worked with the Board and other relevant committees to improve our elections processes and candidate requirements.

In terms of accomplishments, the Board has appointed a Diversity Consultant Research Officer who has begun their work in earnest by presenting a plan to contact stakeholders within the OTW about what concerns and priorities they have as we work toward hiring a consultant. We are happy to see progress being made on this front, and we eagerly anticipate the update we’ll be able to make in next year’s letter. We are also actively working to improve transparency on this matter.

Our various committees have progress and achievements of their own to share as well, and we would especially like to highlight the following:

  • Accessibility, Design & Technology protected AO3 users by introducing the abilities to opt out of gift works and to block comments from specific users.
  • Systems deployed a significant upgrade to Fanlore’s MediaWiki software, including a new Visual Editor mode that is much more intuitive to editors than Fanlore’s source editor.
  • Legal gathered stories from Hongkongers to submit as a comment regarding changes to the Hong Kong government’s Copyright Ordinance.
  • Open Doors imported or legitimized the import of 17 archives and announced the AO3 Fanzine Scan Hosting Project (FSHP), an initiative to import works from printed fanzines to the AO3.
  • TWC’s new coeditors, Mel Stanfill and Poe Johnson, fully replaced Karen Hellekson and Kristina Busse.

As always, we appreciate the hard work of every volunteer and the support of all of our members. We would also like to thank fans of every fandom who come together in support of our mission and of each other. We do this work with you and for you.

With gratitude and best wishes,

The Board of Directors

Kari Dayton
Natalia Gruber
Antonius Melisse
Michelle Schroeder
Alex Tischer

Projects

Archive of Our Own

In its thirteenth year, the Archive of Our Own (AO3) continued to grow, jumping from 8 million posted works (in 2021) to over 10 million and surpassing 5 million registered users. Traffic remained high across the year, with 2.24 billion page views in January 2022 and 2.22 billion in December 2022. AO3 saw a low of 61.8 million page views per day on April 29 and a high of 83.9 million on December 31.

Thanks to the Accessibility, Design & Technology (AD&T), Systems, and Tag Wrangling Committees, AO3 continued to improve while keeping pace with its growing traffic throughout the year. AD&T updated AO3 with 19 releases in 2022, including a new preference to disallow gift works from other users, a feature giving AO3 users the ability to block specific logged-in users from commenting on their works and replying to their comments, an upgrade to Rails 6.0, and big improvements to AO3’s tag search. Systems brought capacity and performance improvements to AO3 and moved it to a new certificate provider. Meanwhile, Tag Wrangling added approximately 7,500 canonical fandoms and wrangled approximately 4.85 million tags in total (2021: 5.03 million).

The Policy & Abuse Committee received 22,300 tickets (2021: 29,500), while the Support Committee received 18,000 tickets (2021: 16,000). It is a testament to the dedication of AD&T and Systems that Support’s ticket trendline has remained relatively flat since 2017 despite the surges AO3 has experienced in users and traffic each year (see below). Meanwhile, in addition to minor updates across its suite of FAQs, the AO3 Documentation Committee made major updates to four of them: the Downloading FAQ, Posting and Editing FAQ, Profile FAQ, and Pseuds FAQ.

Tickets received by AO3 Support from August 2011 to December 2022.

Tickets received by AO3 Support from August 2011 to December 2022.

AO3 weekly page views in millions from January to December in 2012-2022.

AO3 weekly page views in millions from January to December in 2012-2022.

Fanlore

Fanlore’s biggest news of 2022 was the Systems Committee’s deployment of a significant upgrade to Fanlore’s MediaWiki software, including a new Visual Editor mode that allows users to create and edit pages without the use of wiki markup. In total, Fanlore saw 3,000 new pages and 43,000 new edits made, ending the year with 60,000 articles and 1,200,000 edits exploring the history, culture, people, and artifacts that make up fandom.

Across the year, the Fanlore Committee engaged with editors and fans through a Featured Article Face-Off on Twitter and Tumblr in which people voted for their favorite Featured Articles of 2021, as well as three months of themed posts on social media: Femslash February, Fandom in Colour, and Fanimangalore. Additionally, Fanlore hosted three annual challenges—the IFD Fanlore Challenge, the Bingo Challenge, and Stub September—which awarded participants with badges for completing editing challenges.

Legal Advocacy

The Legal Committee kept busy in 2022 working for the benefit of fans. It participated in several sessions and submitted comments to the U.S. Copyright Office for considering Technological Protection Measures, or detecting and preventing copyright infringements under section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). It also did some research and analysis regarding legal developments concerning online service providers and U.S. nonprofits and attended a U.S. Copyright Office oversight hearing.

Legal joined allies several times in 2022 to work toward common goals. With others, Legal opposed U.S. trademark legislation that would harm online marketplaces; filed an amicus brief in the case of Hunley v. Instagram, which concerned linking and embedding on the Internet; and sent a letter to United States government bodies opposing a treaty proposed by the World Intellectual Property Organization. With the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Legal also filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Warhol v. Goldsmith and participated in an online town hall to discuss fan-unfriendly proposed U.S. online filtering mandates and technical measures.

Legal conducted fan engagement activities several times throughout the year. In response to a call for input from the Hong Kong government regarding changes to its Copyright Ordinance, Legal gathered stories from fans that it then submitted as a comment. Additionally, on behalf of Legal, Communications released a post about three U.S. legal issues to watch, including fan-unfriendly proposals to change trademark law, attacks on LGBTQ+ expression online, and proposals to mandate technological copyright filtering on the Internet.

Furthermore, Legal conducted its own outreach and responded to press inquiries to educate fans about legal issues to watch. It presented on two panels at San Diego Comic Con, one about fan clubs and intellectual property law, the other about intellectual freedom for educators. Committee members Betsy Rosenblatt and Rebecca Tushnet presented in a webinar about fanworks and fair use law hosted by Library Futures, while Betsy also attended a copyright policy roundtable with participants from a variety of library, technology, public policy, and creator advocates to discuss copyright policy proposals and strategies. Finally, Legal responded to press inquiries regarding new U.S. litigation over The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical and about ongoing litigation about copyright fair use that would soon be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Open Doors

The Open Doors Committee had a very active 2022! The biggest news of the year was the announcement of the AO3 Fanzine Scan Hosting Project (FSHP), an initiative to import works from printed fanzines to the AO3 in conjunction with its partner, Zinedom. The FSHP falls under Open Doors’ Fan Culture Preservation Project (FCPP), which was further expanded in 2022 to include additional partners who will join longtime FCPP collaborator University of Iowa Libraries.

The following 12 imports of archives to AO3 were announced:

  • The 9 Forum (9 (film 2009))
  • All About Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
  • Animators, Inc. (Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter)
  • The Bureau of Time and Space (Flint the Time Detective)
  • By Your Command (Battlestar Galactica (Original Series))
  • Dragonfayth (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
  • LeBeau Library (X-Men)
  • The Library of Moria (Tolkien, Lord of the Rings RPF)
  • My Mongoose (The Sentinel)
  • Pony Fiction Archive (My Little Pony)
  • Slashknot (Slipknot (band) RPF)
  • WWFSML (World Wrestling Federation RPF)

Meanwhile, the following 17 imports of archives to AO3 were completed or legitimized:

  • All Things Rat (The X-Files)
  • Animators, Inc. (Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter)
  • Big Block of Cheese (The West Wing)
  • The Bureau of Time and Space (Flint the Time Detective)
  • By Your Command (Battlestar Galactica (Original Series))
  • The Croft Codex (Tomb Raider)
  • Elusive Lover (Star Wars)
  • FrodoHealers (Tolkien)
  • The Harry Potter FanFic Archive (Harry Potter)
  • The Kirk/Spock Fanfiction Archive (Star Trek: TOS)
  • Oded Fehr Weaver of Dreams (actor Oded Fehr RPF)
  • Of Elves and Men (Tolkien, Lord of the Rings RPF)
  • Pony Fiction Archive (My Little Pony)
  • SpringFen (Prince of Tennis)
  • The Snape/Weasley Archive (Harry Potter)
  • Thin Line (Harry Potter)
  • West Wing Fanfiction Archive (The West Wing)

Open Doors also signed 4 Memorandums of Agreement with archive moderators in 2022.

Internally, Open Doors implemented a new ticket tracking system and formalized its mission and values statement, which are now available on its website.

Fanworks migrated through Open Doors from 2012 to 2022 in thousands

Fanworks migrated through Open Doors from 2012 to 2022.

Transformative Works and Cultures

The OTW’s international peer-reviewed online journal of academic fan studies, Transformative Works and Cultures, released two issues in 2022: No. 37, “Fandom Histories,” edited by Philipp Dominik Keidl and Abby S. Waysdorf, in March and No. 38, a general issue, in September. Both were released on schedule—a hallmark of TWC’s publication since the start. In 2022, two special issues were announced, to be published in 2024: one on “Platforms” and one on “Centering Blackness”. In addition, TWC added an “Article” section, replacing “Theory/Praxis”, and expanded the word length for “Symposium” pieces as of issue No. 38. As was announced in 2021, Drs. Mel Stanfill and Poe Johnson fully replaced Kristina Busse and Karen Hellekson as coeditors of the journal.

Fundraising & Outreach

Development & Membership held two successful membership drives in 2022. The April drive raised US$275,724.51 donated by 7,528 people in 84 countries, including 5,810 who chose to begin or renew OTW membership. Meanwhile, the October drive raised US$276,467.69 from 7,683 donors in 78 countries, and 6,147 of those donors chose to begin or renew OTW membership. For each drive, the Finance Committee provided a budget update outlining the OTW’s current expenses and revenues, and the Development & Membership Committee developed new donation premiums and worked with Communications to produce two news posts. The Translation Committee translated the April posts into 26 languages and the October posts into 30 languages.

On top of preparing the OTW’s budget, Finance has supported the OTW by paying the bills, completing the 2021 financial audit, and ensuring that standard accounting procedures have been met.

Communications and PR

Communications continued to maintain the OTW’s social media presence throughout 2022 with growth in subscribers on most accounts. The AO3 Status Twitter account once again showed the biggest growth, adding over 73,000 new followers for a total of 283,946. This made the AO3 Status Twitter the OTW’s most followed social media account, surpassing Weibo, which added around 6,000 new followers to reach 273,377. The OTW News Tumblr and Facebook accounts both reached milestones in 2022 for a total of over 20,000 followers on Tumblr and over 2,000 followers on Facebook. Meanwhile, the TWC Twitter, which debuted in 2021, doubled its followers to reach almost 1,000 by year’s end.

Communications continued several series of monthly posts during 2022. These included the internal and external OTW Newsletters and the Five Things an OTW Volunteer Said series, which help familiarize readers with committee activities and what a volunteer’s experience is like. OTW Guest Posts continued to showcase a breadth of fandom activities to visitors, while OTW Signal reported on stories that connect to the OTW’s mission and projects. Communications also assisted other committees such as Elections, Development & Membership, Open Doors, Volunteers & Recruitment, Board, TWC, and Legal in releasing content including announcements and information for fans.

Readership in 2022 reflected the major disruption in May which shut down posting for a month and which restricted commenting until September and October for the AO3 and OTW blogs, respectively. A Statement on Malicious Email Attacks was not only the most read post of the year but one of the OTW’s most read posts to date.

In terms of event planning, Communications celebrated International Fanworks Day in February with a variety of activities including a mini fanworks fest and online games. September marked the OTW’s 15th anniversary, which was also celebrated with a scavenger hunt conducted on Twitter that encouraged participants to explore the OTW’s websites and outlets. Communications also released a post in December commemorating International Volunteer Day.

In addition, Communications handled queries from fans, website visitors, and the press throughout the year, either responding directly or referring questions to other committees. Communications recorded 17 media mentions of the OTW and its projects, ranging from news articles to podcasts, some of which involved interviews with Communications volunteers or other OTW volunteers. Two in particular, one from Slate and another from Vice, also focused on the Open Doors project’s newly announced AO3 Fanzine Scan Hosting Project.

People & Planning

The OTW held its eighth consecutive contested election for the Board of Directors, fielding five candidates for three open seats. Each provided a biography and platform, which were translated into 20 languages by the OTW’s Translation Committee, and participated in a series of Q&As and live chats. Ultimately, 4,574 ballots were cast, representing a turnout of 39.3% of eligible OTW members, who chose to elect Heather McGuire and Natalia Gruber to three-year terms and Michelle Schroeder to a two-year term to replace resigning Director E. Anna Szegedi.

The Volunteers & Recruiting Committee recruited for 20 roles throughout the year, processing 1,094 applications and completing 326 inductions and 368 removals. At the end of the year, the OTW had 938 volunteers.

OTW 2022 BY THE NUMBERS

OTW 2022 By the numbers, 25.3 billion AO3 views: last year 23.1 billion. This averages out to 69 million page views of AO3 per day. 3.9 million tags wrangled. Last year: 5 million. 18,000 Support tickets received. Last year: 16,000. 22,300 Policy & Abuse Tickets received. Last year: 29,500. 19 AO3 releases deployed. Last year: 15. 17 archives imported to the AO3 via Open Doors. Last year: 12 archives. 3,000 Fanlore pages created. Last year: 3,500. 43,000 Fanlore edits made. Last year: 82,500. 95 News posts published. Last year: 105. 13 Fanhackers posts published. Last year: 20. 2 issues of Transformative Works and Cultures released. Last year: 2 issues.

OTW 2022 By The Numbers – infographic by Maple.

Timeline 2022

January

  • Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed one release (0.9.312).
  • Communications named a new co-chair, Kirsten Wright.
  • Open Doors announced the upcoming import of Sentinel ezine collection, My Mongoose.
  • Policy & Abuse received approximately 3,100 tickets.
  • Support received approximately 1,500 tickets.
  • Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 542,000 tags.
  • Translation co-chair Ori stepped down.
  • Webs rolled out a new theme for the OTW’s website.

February

  • Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed three releases (0.9.313-15), including a new preference to disallow gift works from other users.
  • Communications celebrated International Fanworks Day (IFD) with several activities, including a remix fanworks challenge, a rec fest, and online games.
  • Fanlore hosted its fifth annual IFD Fanlore Challenge, consisting of a week of daily editing challenges.
  • Communications and Legal collaborated on a post about three U.S. legal issues to watch, including fan-unfriendly proposals to change trademark law, attacks on LGBTQ+ expression online, and proposals to mandate technological copyright filtering on the Internet.
  • Fanlore honored Femslash February with a month of femslash-themed social media posts.
  • Legal committee member Rebecca Tushnet participated directly in the U.S. Copyright Office roundtable process for considering Technological Protection Measures.
  • Legal submitted a comment to the Hong Kong Government in response to its call for input regarding changes to its Copyright Ordinance.
  • Open Doors announced the upcoming import of Tolkien and Lotrips archive, Library of Moria.
  • Open Doors completed the import of Tomb Raider archive, The Croft Codex.
  • Policy & Abuse received approximately 2,100 tickets.
  • Support received approximately 1,300 tickets.
  • Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 283,000 tags.
  • Translation translated and uploaded several news posts into 39 languages for International Fanworks Day.

March

  • Board, Elections, and Volunteers & Recruiting worked together to update the eligibility requirements for future Board elections so that any volunteer who has served for nine months in the past year may be considered as a candidate.
  • Legal joined allies in opposing U.S. trademark legislation that would harm online marketplaces.
  • Open Doors announced the upcoming import of Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter archive, Animators, Inc.
  • Open Doors completed the import of The West Wing archive, Big Block of Cheese.
  • Policy & Abuse received approximately 2,600 tickets.
  • Support received approximately 1,400 tickets.
  • Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 387,000 tags.
  • Transformative Works and Cultures released issue No. 37, “Fandom Histories.”

April

  • Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed three releases (0.9.316-18), including an upgrade to Rails 6.0 and big improvements to AO3’s tag search.
  • AO3 Documentation completed an internal review of its public-facing documentation and released an updated Posting and Editing FAQ.
  • Board held its first public meeting of 2022.
  • Board appointed a Diversity Consultant Research Officer to help the OTW formulate its next steps towards hiring a diversity consultant or firm.
  • Development & Membership raised US$275,724.51 from 7,528 donors in 84 countries in the April membership drive.
  • Development & Membership announced a new card deck premium showcasing various AO3 tropes, tags, and memes, which proved very popular.
  • Elections announced the 2022 election timeline and membership deadline.
  • Legal continued advocacy work opposing proposed U.S. online filtering mandates and technical measures legislative proposals. Legal chair Betsy Rosenblatt participated in an online town hall with allies from the EFF to discuss these fan-unfriendly proposals.
  • Open Doors announced the upcoming imports of My Little Pony archive Pony Fiction Archive and pro wrestling archive WWFSML.
  • Policy & Abuse received approximately 2,200 tickets.
  • Support received approximately 1,500 tickets.
  • Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 387,000 tags.
  • Translation translated and uploaded content for the April membership drive in 26 different languages.

May

  • Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed two releases (0.9.319-20), including preparations for comment blocking.
  • Legal submitted comments in response to a U.S. Copyright Office inquiry regarding “technical measures,” or detecting and preventing copyright infringements under section 512 of the DMCA.
  • Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,600 tickets.
  • Support received approximately 2,000 tickets.
  • Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 418,000 tags.
  • Translation named two new co-chairs, Heleen and Priscilla.
  • In response to malicious email attacks against OTW volunteers containing illegal child sexual abuse material (CSAM), OTW recruitment was suspended, the OTW’s news and social media posting schedules were reduced, and tag wrangling was temporarily frozen as Board and Legal collaborated with the relevant authorities.

June

  • Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed one release (0.9.321), including a feature giving AO3 users the ability to block specific logged-in users from commenting on their works and replying to their comments.
  • Development and Membership organized a mini-drive for anyone wanting to become a member in time to vote in the 2022 Board election.
  • Elections announced five candidates for the 2022 Board election and posted their biographies and platforms.
  • Fanlore held a Bingo Challenge event which saw participants earn badges for completing wiki editing challenges.
  • Legal chair Betsy Rosenblatt and committee member Stacey Lantagne attended a series of roundtable meetings with the U.S. Copyright Office regarding “technical measures,” or detecting and preventing copyright infringements under section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
  • Legal chair Betsy Rosenblatt attended a copyright policy roundtable with participants from a variety of library, technology, public policy, and creator advocates to discuss copyright policy proposals and strategies.
  • Legal joined its ally Electronic Frontier Foundation in filing an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Warhol v. Goldsmith.
  • Open Doors completed the imports of Harry Potter archives The Snape/Weasley Archive and Thin Line.
  • Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,300 tickets.
  • Support received approximately 1,500 tickets.
  • Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 394,000 tags.
  • Translation translated and uploaded Board election biographies and platforms into 30 different languages.

July

  • Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed one release (0.9.322).
  • AO3 Documentation released an updated Profile FAQ and an updated Pseuds FAQ.
  • Board held a public meeting and answered questions about the Diversity Consultant Research Officer role.
  • Elections published Board candidate Q&A responses and held several candidate chats.
  • Fanlore announced the creation of a new user group, ExtendedConfirmed, to help guard against misuse of the file uploading function.
  • Fanlore featured a month of Fandom in Colour-themed social media posts.
  • Legal Chair Betsy Rosenblatt presented on two panels at San Diego Comic Con. One presentation was about fan clubs and intellectual property law, and the other was about intellectual freedom for educators.
  • Open Doors announced the upcoming import of Buffy the Vampire Slayer archive, All About Spike.
  • Open Doors completed the import of Tolkien archive, FrodoHealers.
  • Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,500 tickets.
  • Support received approximately 1,400 tickets.
  • Systems named a new chair, Frost The Fox, to replace outgoing chair Matthew Vernon.
  • Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 435,000 tags.

August

  • Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed one release (0.9.323).
  • AO3 Documentation released an updated Downloading FAQ.
  • Elections held one additional public chat with the Board candidates.
  • Elections ran the 2022 Board of Directors election. Heather McGuire and Natalia Gruber were elected to fill the two vacant seats, and third-place candidate Michelle Schroeder was appointed to serve the remaining two years of E. Anna Szegedi’s term, following her decision to step down. All three would take office later in the year.
  • Legal committee members Rebecca Tushnet and Betsy Rosenblatt presented in a webinar about fanworks and fair use law hosted by Library Futures.
  • Legal responded to press inquiries regarding new U.S. litigation over The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical and about ongoing litigation about copyright fair use that would soon be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court.
  • Open Doors added several additional partner institutions to its Fan Culture Preservation Project and added their contact information to its website.
  • Open Doors announced a new subproject, the AO3 Fanzine Scan Hosting Project, which involves importing scanned or transcribed zines to the AO3 with the permission of creators and/or zine publishers.
  • Open Doors completed the imports of Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter archive Animators, Inc. and The X-Files archive, All Things Rat.
  • Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,700 tickets.
  • Strategic Planning released the OTW Vision Statement 2022-2025.
  • Support received approximately 1,500 tickets.
  • Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 424,000 tags.
  • Volunteers & Recruiting reopened external volunteer recruitment drives.

September

  • AO3 reached 5 million registered users.
  • Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed two releases (0.9.324-25).
  • Communications celebrated the OTW’s 15th anniversary with a trivia game, a fanworks challenge, and special Five Things an OTW Volunteer Said and Guest Post interviews.
  • Development & Membership hosted a table at 2022 WorldCon.
  • Fanlore held its annual Stub September challenge, which encourages users to create and expand short “stub” pages.
  • Legal did some research and analysis regarding legal developments concerning online service providers and U.S. nonprofits and attended a U.S. Copyright Office oversight hearing.
  • Open Doors announced the upcoming import of Battlestar Galactica (Original Series) archive, By Your Command.
  • Open Doors completed the imports of Harry Potter archive, Harry Potter FanFic Archive; Tolkien and Lotrips archive, Of Elves and Men; and Oded Fehr (actor) RPF archive, Weaver of Dreams.
  • Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,300 tickets.
  • Support received approximately 1,500 tickets.
  • Systems moved Fanlore and the AO3 to a new certificate provider.
  • Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 393,000 tags.
  • Transformative Works and Cultures released issue No. 38, a general issue.

October

  • AO3 reached 10 million posted fanworks.
  • Board Directors Kirsten Wright and Rebecca Sentance completed their terms.
  • Board Directors E. Anna Szegedi and Jess White resigned from their roles.
  • Incoming Board Directors Heather McGuire, Michelle Schroeder, and Natalia Gruber took office on October 1.
  • Board Director Kari Dayton replaced Antonius Melisse as OTW President.
  • Development & Membership raised US$282,261.69 from 7,822 donors in 78 countries in the October membership drive.
  • Fanlore hosted Fanimangalore, a month-long event featuring anime and manga-themed social media posts.
  • Fanlore and Systems finalized and deployed a significant upgrade to Fanlore’s MediaWiki software, including a new Visual Editor mode.
  • Legal joined allies in filing an amicus brief in the case of Hunley v. Instagram, which concerns linking and embedding on the Internet.
  • Legal participated in sessions with the U.S. Copyright Office as part of the Copyright Office’s continued consultation regarding technical protection measures.
  • Open Doors announced the upcoming imports of Flint the Time Detective archive, The Bureau of Time and Space, and Yu-Gi-Oh! archive, Dragonfayth.
  • Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,400 tickets.
  • Support received approximately 1,300 tickets.
  • Tag Wrangling named a new co-chair, Brhi.
  • Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 440,000 tags.

November

  • Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed three releases (0.9.326-28).
  • Communications made the OTW’s 2021 Annual Report publicly available, along with an OTW 2021 By The Numbers infographic.
  • Communications also released a post reminding users about official vs. unofficial OTW social media accounts.
  • Finance finalized the 2021 audit and tax filing.
  • Open Doors announced the upcoming imports of Slipknot (band) RPF archive, Slashknot, and X-Men archive, LeBeau Library.
  • Open Doors completed the imports of Battlestar Galactica (Original Series) archive, By Your Command; My Little Pony archive, Pony Fiction Archive; and The West Wing archive; West Wing Fanfiction Archive.
  • Policy & Abuse co-chair Matty stepped down.
  • Policy & Abuse received approximately 1,500 tickets.
  • Quality Assurance & Testing lead Lady Oscar stepped down.
  • Support received approximately 1,300 tickets.
  • Tag Wrangling co-chair VSSAKJ stepped down.
  • Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 356,000 tags.

December

  • Accessibility, Design & Technology deployed two releases (0.9.329-30).
  • Legal joined allies in sending a letter to United States government bodies opposing a treaty that has been proposed by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
  • Open Doors announced the upcoming imports of 9 (Film 2009) archive, The 9 Forum, and M*A*S*H archive, A Priest in Korea, a memorial archive for creator Iolanthe.
  • Open Doors completed the imports of Flint the Time Detective archive, The Bureau of Time and Space; Star Wars archive, Elusive Lover; Star Trek (TOS) archive, The Kirk/Spock Fanfiction Archive; and Prince of Tennis archive, SpringFen.
  • Policy & Abuse received approximately 2,000 tickets. Its annual total number of tickets reached approximately 22,300 (2021: 29,500).
  • Support received approximately 2,000 tickets. Its annual total number of tickets reached approximately 18,000 (2021: 16,000).
  • Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 390,000 tags, bringing the annual total number of tags wrangled to approximately 4,850,000 (2021: 5,030,000). Approximately 7,500 canonical fandoms were added in this year.

Finances

Statement of Financial Position

As of December 31, 2022

2022 2021
ASSETS
Current Assets
Cash & Cash Equivalents
Operating Cash 1,852,473.15 1,388,083.98
Operating Reserves 904,642.89 904,552.47
Certificate of Deposit 10,190.89 10,180.79
Donations Receivable 11,178.38 13,623.22
Prepaid Expenses 44,318.75 10,000.00
Total 2,822,804.06 2,326,440.46
Property, Plant, & Equipment
Servers & Equipment 967,288.64 741,204.64
Less: Accumulated Depreciation (686,281.18) (543,006.67)
Total 281,007.46 198,197.97
Other Assets
Deferred Expenses 2,500.00 12,500.00
Total 2,500.00 12,500.00
TOTAL ASSETS 3,106,311.52 2,537,138.43
LIABILITIES
Current Liabilities
Accounts Payable 145.00 6,093.98
Total 145.00 6,093.98
TOTAL LIABILITIES 145.00 6,093.98
Net Assets
Without Donor Restriction 3,106,166.52 2,530,446.13
With Donor Restriction – 598.32
Total Net Assets 3,106,166.52 2,531,044.45
TOTAL LIABILITIES & NET ASSETS 3,106,311.52 2,537,138.43

All currency amounts are presented in USD.

Statement of Activities

For the Year Ended December 31, 2022

2022 2021
Without Donor Restrictions With Donor Restrictions Total Without Donor Restrictions With Donor Restrictions Total
REVENUE
Direct Contributions 903,225.49 – 903,225.49 761,669.71 – 761,669.71
Donations from Matching Programs 109,422.56 – 109,422.56 78,891.15 – 78,891.15
In-kind Revenue 199,235.00 – 199,235.00 230,395.00 – 230,395.00
Total 1,211,883.05 – 1,211,883.05 1,070,955.86 – 1,070,955.86
OTHER INCOME
Interest Income 100.52 – 100.52 90.42 – 90.42
Royalties 186.51 – 186.51 165.34 – 165.34
Miscellaneous Income – – – – – –
Total 287.03 – 287.03 255.76 – 255.76
RESTRICTED CONTRIBUTIONS
HPEF Grant for F. Coppa Vidding Book – – – – – –
Total – – – – – –
TOTAL REVENUES 1,212,170.08 – 1,212,170.08 1,071,211.62 – 1,071,211.62
EXPENSES
Program
Archive of Our Own 305,714.56 – 305,714.56 264,453.21 – 264,453.21
Open Doors 9,917.19 – 9,917.19 2,383.34 – 2,383.34
Transformative Works and Cultures (TWC) 2,733.17 – 2,733.17 2,349.00 – 2,349.00
Fanlore 16,937.20 – 16,937.20 13,959.41 – 13,959.41
Legal Advocacy 84,198.61 – 84,198.61 164,020.00 – 164,020.00
Con Outreach 2,063.85 – 2,063.85 590.00 – 590.00
HPEF Grant for F. Coppa Vidding Book – 598.32 598.32 – – –
Fundraising & Development 80,066.87 – 80,066.87 56,164.06 – 56,164.06
Management & General 134,818.24 – 134,818.24 107,405.35 – 107,405.35
Total 636,449.69 598.32 637,048.01 611,324.37 – 611,324.37
Change in Net Assets 575,720.39 (598.32) 575,122.07 459,887.25 – 459,887.25
Net Assets, beginning of year 2,530,446.13 598.32 2,531,044.45 2,070,558.88 598.32 2,071,157.20
Net Assets, end of year 3,106,166.52 – 3,106,166.52 2,530,446.13 598.32 2,531,044.45

All currency amounts are presented in USD.

Statement of Functional Expenses

For the Year Ended December 31, 2021

  Archive of Our Own Open Doors Transformative Works and Cultures Fanlore Legal Advocacy Con Outreach HPEF Program Total Fundraising Development Fundraising & Development Total Management & General TOTAL
In-Kind Expenses 31,270.00 7,670.00 – 2,950.00 84,037.50 1,475.00 – 127,402.50 295.00 737.50 1,032.50 70,800.00 199,235.00
Banking Fees 286.33 13.56 65.07 23.02 4.69 – – 392.67 112.41 12.82 125.23 201.81 719.71
Insurance Expenses – – – – – – – – – – – 14,094.50 14,094.50
Postage & Shipping 1,080.60 – – 60.03 – – – 1,140.63 18,241.44 – 18,241.44 3,043.89 22,425.96
Miscellaneous Expenses – – – – – 588.85 – 588.85 171.40 – 171.40 – 760.25
Auditing – – – – – – – – – – – 5,000.00 5,000.00
Financial Services – – – – – – – – – – – 13,572.61 13,572.61
Contractor Services – – – – – – – – – – – 4,017.97 4,017.97
Professional Services – – – – – – 598.32 598.32 – 61.68 61.68 – 660.00
SSL Certificates 404.10 – – 22.45 – – – 426.55 – – – 22.45 449.00
Legal Filing Fees 1,500.00 – – – – – – 1,500.00 – – – – 1,500.00
Financial Filing Fees – – – – – – – – – – – 16.32 16.32
Server Equipment 1,867.68 409.60 – 103.76 – – – 2,381.04 – – – 103.76 2,484.80
Server Hosting 87,553.57 – – 4,719.23 – – – 92,272.80 – – – 6,457.51 98,730.31
Hosted Provider – 120.00 – – – – – 120.00 – – – 480.00 600.00
Plug-ins – 16.17 – – – – – 16.17 – – – 32.83 49.00
Website Hosting – 347.97 1,500.00 – – – – 1,847.97 – – – 882.50 2,730.47
Website Domains 66.16 536.22 – – – – – 602.38 – – – 2,210.06 2,812.44
Website Monitoring 20,389.00 – – – – – – 20,389.00 – – – – 20,389.00
Productivity Tools 18,341.22 803.67 713.10 1,154.94 156.42 – – 21,169.35 5,215.25 1,247.05 6,462.30 5,978.25 33,609.90
Subscription Services 14,008.84 – 455.00 740.05 – – – 15,203.89 – 192.00 192.00 740.05 16,135.94
Premium Merchandise – – – – – – – – 16,623.67 – 16,623.67 – 16,623.67
Transaction Fees – – – – – – – – 37,156.65 – 37,156.65 – 37,156.65
Total Expenses Before Depreciation 176,767.50 9,917.19 2,733.17 9,773.48 84,198.61 2,063.85 598.32 286,052.12 77,815.82 2,251.05 80,066.87 127,654.51 493,773.50
Depreciation 128,947.06 – – 7,163.72 – – – 136,110.78 – – – 7,163.73 143,274.51
Total 305,714.56 9,917.19 2,733.17 16,937.20 84,198.61 2,063.85 598.32 422,162.90 77,815.82 2,251.05 80,066.87 134,818.24 637,048.01

All currency amounts are presented in USD.

Statement of Cash Flows

For the Year Ended December 31, 2022

2022 2021
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Increase in Net Assets 575,122.07 459,887.25
Adjustments to reconcile change in net assets to net cash flows provided by operating activities – –
Depreciation 143,274.51 124,565.00
Subtotal 718,396.58 584,452.25
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents due to changes in operating assets and liabilities – –
Donations Receivable 2,444.84 (10,429.60)
Prepaid Expenses (34,318.75) 833.33
Deferred Expenses 10,000.00 10,000.00
Accounts Payable (5,948.98) 6,093.98
Total 690,573.69 590,949.96
Cash Flows for Investing Activities
Cash paid for purchase of property and equipment (226,084.00) (49,690.00)
Net increase in cash 464,489.69 541,259.96
Cash, beginning of year 2,302,817.24 1,761,557.28
Cash, end of year 2,767,306.93 2,302,817.24

All currency amounts are presented in USD.

Notes to the Financial Statements

Organization for Transformative Works, Inc.

December 31, 2022

Note 1 – Description of Organization

Organization for Transformative Works, Inc. (“the Organization”) was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation in the State of Delaware on September 5, 2007, and has 501(c)(3) nonprofit status under the Internal Revenue Code. The OTW was established by fans to serve the interests of fans by providing access to and preserving the history of fanworks and fan culture in its myriad forms. The OTW is a collaborative effort initiated and driven by fans for fans. Over 900 volunteers contribute to the OTW’s five major projects (Archive of our Own; Open Doors; Fanlore; Legal Advocacy; Transformative Works and Cultures) as well as fundraising, membership development, and internal management and administration.

Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Accounting

The financial statements of the Organization are prepared on the accrual basis of accounting in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”).

Financial Statement Presentation

The Organization utilizes Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 958, Not-for-Profit Entities. Under FASB ASU 2016-14, the Organization is required to report information regarding its financial position and activities according to two classes of net assets: net assets without donor restrictions and net assets with donor restrictions.

Net assets and changes therein are classified and reported as follows:

  • Without donor restrictions–Net assets that are not subject to donor-imposed stipulations.
  • With donor restrictions–Net assets subject to donor-imposed stipulations that will be met either by actions and/or the passage of time or net assets subject to donor-imposed stipulations that will be maintained permanently.

The Organization has net assets with donor restrictions of $0 as of December 31, 2022.

Donations Receivable

The Organization considers receivables from donors to be fully collectible; accordingly, no allowance for doubtful donations is currently required. If donations receivable amounts should become uncollectible, they will be charged to operations when that determination is made.

Contributed Materials and Services

Contributed materials and services are reflected in the financial statements at the estimated fair value of the materials and services received. The contributions of services are recognized if the services received either: (a) create or enhance non-financial assets or (b) require specialized skills that are provided by individuals possessing those skills and would typically need to be purchased if not provided by donation. This is in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 958.

Contributed services of $199,235 and $230,395 were recorded as operating contributions during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The contributed services consist of legal services donated to the Organization by the volunteers of the Legal Committee.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash

The Organization maintains cash at one financial institution which may exceed federally insured amounts at times.

Investments

Investments in marketable securities with readily determinable fair values and all investments in debt securities are reported at their fair values in the statement of financial position. Unrealized gains and losses are included in the change in net assets. Investment income and gains restricted by donors are reported as increases to unrestricted net assets if restrictions are met, either by passage of time or by use, in the period of reporting in which the income and gains are recognized.

The Organization accounts for investments in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures. FASB ASC Topic 820 includes a fair value hierarchy that is intended to increase consistency and comparability in fair value measurements and related disclosures. The fair value hierarchy is based on inputs to valuation techniques that are used to measure fair value that are either observable or unobservable. Observable inputs reflect assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability based on market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect a reporting entity’s pricing based on their own market assumptions.

The fair value hierarchy consists of the following three levels:

  • Level 1: Inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
  • Level 2: Inputs are quoted prices for similar assets in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable, and market corroborated inputs which are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data.
  • Level 3: Inputs are derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant
    inputs or value drivers are unobservable and require the entity to make its own assumptions.
Property and Equipment

Donations of property and equipment are recorded as in-kind contributions at their estimated fair value at the time of donation. Such donations are reported as unrestricted support unless the donor has restricted the use of the donated asset to a specific purpose. Assets donated with explicit restrictions regarding their use are reported as restricted support. Absent donor stipulations regarding how long those donated assets must be maintained, the Organization reports expirations of donor restrictions when the donated or acquired assets are placed in service as instructed by the donor. The Organization reclassifies temporarily restricted net assets to unrestricted net assets at that time.

Property and equipment are depreciated using the double declining balance methods over the estimated useful lives of the assets, which are 5 years. Maintenance and repairs of the assets are charged to operations as incurred. Significant improvements or renewals of assets are capitalized.

Contributions

Contributions received are recorded as contributions with donor restrictions or contributions without donor restrictions depending on the existence and/or nature of any donor restrictions. Contributions which have any restrictions satisfied in the same period they are received are recorded as increases in net assets and are reflected as without donor restrictions.

The Organization did not receive any contributions with donor restrictions during the year ended December 31, 2022.

Functional Allocation of Expenses

The costs of providing program services, fundraising, and administrative functions are summarized on a functional basis in the statement of activities.

See Figure 1 for a summary of Program Expenses.

Income Taxes

The OTW is a 501c3 organization exempt from Federal income and State franchise taxes under provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and Section 1902(b)(6), Title 30 of the Delaware State Taxation Code respectively. As such, no provision for income taxes has been provided in these financial statements.

Note 3 – Investment Assets

The Organization’s investments are valued as follows:

Level 1 Investments
Asset 2022 2021
Certificates of Deposit $10,190.89 $10,180.79
Total $10,190.89 $10,180.79

Note 4 – Fixed Assets

  2022 2021
Servers $930,451.67 $704,367.67
Server Hardware & Upgrades $33,431.62 $33,431.62
Firewall $3,405.35 $3,405.35
Total Assets $967,288.64 $741,204.64
Accumulated Depreciation $(686,281.18) $(543,006.67)
Fixed Assets, Net of Accumulated Depreciation $281,007.46 $198,197.97

Figure 1: Program Expenses

2022 2021
Program Services
Archive of Our Own
Banking Fees 286.33 182.44
Postage and Shipping 1,080.60 421.20
Contractor Services – 6,605.00
SSL Certificates 404.10 1,563.30
Legal Filing Fees 1,500.00 750.00
Server Equipment 1,867.68 871.33
Server Hosting 87,553.57 87,688.76
Website Domains 66.16 54.48
Website Monitoring 20,389.00 8,439.00
Productivity Tools 18,341.22 14,548.17
Subscription Services 14,008.84 14,553.51
Depreciation 128,947.06 112,108.52
In-Kind Expenses 31,270.00 16,667.50
Total 305,714.56 264,453.21
Open Doors
Banking Fees 13.56 5.19
Postage and Shipping – 889.68
Server Equipment 409.60 –
Hosted Provider 120.00 120.00
Plug-ins 16.17 16.17
Website Hosting 347.97 341.01
Website Domains 536.22 475.93
Productivity Tools 803.67 240.36
In-Kind Services 7,670.000 295.00
Total 9,917.19 2,383.34
Transformative Works and Cultures
Banking Fees 65.07 45.00
Website Hosting 1,500.00 1,500.00
Productivity Tools 713.10 –
Subscription Services 455.00 804.00
Total 2,733.17 2,349.00
Fanlore
Banking Fees 23.02 10.10
Postage and Shipping 60.03 23.40
SSL Certificates 22.45 86.85
Server Equipment 103.76 48.41
Server Hosting 4,719.23 4,733.66
Website Domains – –
Productivity Tools 1,154.94 –
Subscription Services 740.05 763.75
Depreciation 7,163.72 6,228.24
In-Kind Services 2,950.00 2,065.00
Total 16,937.20 13,959.41
Legal Advocacy
Banking Fees 4.69 –
Productivity Tools 156.42 –
In-Kind Services 84,037.50 164,020.00
Total 84,198.61 164,020.00
Con Outreach
Miscellaneous Expenses 588.85 –
In-Kind Services 1,475.00 590.00
Total 2,063.85 590.00
HPEF Grant for F.Coppa Vidding Book
Professional Services 598.32 –
Total 598.32 –
Program Services Total 422,162.90 447,754.96
Fundraising & Development
Fundraising
Banking Fees 112.41 18.72
Postage and Shipping 18,241.44 13,430.80
Miscellaneous Expenses 171.40 –
Productivity Tools 5,215.25 4,944.00
Premium Merchandise 16,623.67 5,224.82
Transaction Fees 37,156.65 30,845.94
In-Kind Services 295.00 –
Total 77,815.82 54,464.28
Development
Banking Fees 12.82 11.28
Other Professional Services 61.68 –
Productivity Tools 1,247.05 420.00
Subscription Services 192.00 531.00
In-Kind Services 737.50 737.50
Total 2,251.05 1,699.78
Fundraising & Development Total 80,066.87 56,164.06
Management & General
Banking Fees 201.81 95.42
Insurance Expenses 14,094.50 8,976.75
Postage and Shipping 3,043.89 2,924.79
Auditing 5,000.00 11,000.00
Financial Services 13,572.61 15,308.66
Contractor Services 4,017.97 –
SSL Certificates 22.45 86.85
Legal Filing Fees – 250.00
Financial Filing Fees 16.32 16.32
Server Equipment 103.76 48.41
Server Hosting 6,457.51 6,389.04
Hosted Provider 480.00 480.00
Plug-ins 32.83 32.83
Website Hosting 882.50 908.98
Website Domains 2,210.06 2,211.06
Productivity Tools 5,978.25 5,664.25
Subscription Services 740.05 763.75
Depreciation 7,163.73 6,228.24
In-Kind Services 70,800.00 46,020.00
Management & General Total 134,818.24 107,405.35
Total Expenses 637,048.01 611,324.37

About the OTW / Mission, Vision, Values

OUR MISSION

The Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) is a nonprofit organization established by fans to serve the interests of fans by providing access to and preserving the history of fanworks and fan culture in its myriad forms. We believe that fanworks are transformative and that transformative works are legitimate.

The OTW represents a practice of transformative fanwork historically rooted in a primarily female culture. The OTW will preserve the record of that history as we pursue our mission while encouraging new and non-mainstream expressions of cultural identity within fandom.

OUR VISION

We envision a future in which all fannish works are recognized as legal and transformative and are accepted as a legitimate creative activity. We are proactive and innovative in protecting and defending our work from commercial exploitation and legal challenge. We preserve our fannish economy, values, and creative expression by protecting and nurturing our fellow fans, our work, our commentary, our history, and our identity while providing the broadest possible access to fannish activity for all fans.

OUR VALUES

  • We value transformative fanworks and the innovative communities from which they have arisen, including media, real person fiction, anime, comics, music, and vidding.
  • We value our identity as a predominantly female community with a rich history of creativity and commentary.
  • We value our volunteer-based infrastructure and the fannish gift economy that recognizes and celebrates worth in myriad and diverse activities.
  • We value making fannish activities as accessible as possible to all those who wish to participate.
  • We value infinite diversity in infinite combinations. We value all fans engaged in transformative work: fans of any race, gender, culture, sexual identity, or ability. We value the unhindered cross-pollination and exchange of fannish ideas and cultures while seeking to avoid the homogenization or centralization of fandom.

About the OTW / Who We Are

The Organization for Transformative Works is run for fans by fans. The directors of OTW’s Board are all active in fandom, as are the 900 other volunteers serving on our committees.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Kari Dayton (President) (she/her) first found fandom at a very young age via Sailor Moon, but it would be several more years until she found fanfic in the Harry Potter fandom. (She strongly believes in Trans Rights and loves the work that has been done to distance the amazing HP fandom from the hateful vitriol the creator espouses.) Although many plot bunnies live in her head, she hasn’t written much fanfic and prefers to work behind the scenes as a Tag Wrangler, a committee she joined in 2018. She is an active Tag Wrangler Supervisor (since 2019), and enjoys helping with admin work and brainstorming ways to make Wranglers’ lives easier.

During the day, she works in tech for a VoIP company, and is the main internal trainer and technical lead for her department. Her day job includes writing and updating documentation, being a resource for coworkers in her department and related departments, answering questions (via chat and email), and training new hires. She is known at her company for helping departments cooperate, facilitating communication between departments, being the person who knows things, and in general thinks information silos are a disservice to all. She’d be happy to train you on any task you’d like to know more about–just ask!

Natalia Gruber is a teacher and lives in Brazil. She has been a volunteer with the Organization for Transformative Works since 2016, and served in the OTW Board from 2019–2021. She is currently co-chair of the Translation committee, leading a team of 250+ volunteers spread all over the world, and a member of the Volunteers & Recruiting committee. In the past, she has also volunteered for the Tag Wrangling and Policy & Abuse committees.

Antonius Melisse is a person from the Netherlands who strongly believes that one should never stop learning new things. He has gotten certifications, at university and otherwise, in English Language & Literature, Journalism, two methods of software testing (ISTQB and TMAP Next) and PHP development. At the moment he is working as a Symfony back-end developer.

As for past management experience, he has been a board member for a musical-theatre group he was part of (singing as a bass), and has had a management job where he was in charge of students searching for jobs for the summer.

He got introduced to fandom by some long-time friends he made while playing World of Warcraft. Together they wrote fics and original stories on the forums for their guild. When one of the friends mentioned they’d been translating for the OTW for a while and there was an opening in the Dutch language team, he jumped on the opportunity and has been a part of the Translation committee since February 2016. In the past he has also volunteered for the Policy & Abuse Committee.

Currently, he does a bit of podfic every so often, usually for The Witcher, but he appreciates most fantasy and sci-fi fandoms.

Michelle Schroeder stumbled upon fandom in high school and refused to let go of it. Mostly they stick to video game and tiny book fandoms and write a lot of fluff fics about their favorite characters. They’re a co-chair for the AO3 Documentation team, and have been part of the Tag Wrangling committee and the Support committee in the past. Outside of the OTW, they work as an assistant manager in a retail store.

Alex Tischer (Secretary) works as an ECC veterinarian, currently in the UK. Has been in fandom since before the millennium and has migrated through more fandoms than can be listed here. Has been a member of the OTW since its founding and volunteered for just as long. Apart from media fandom has also somehow ended up in the weird and wonderful world of sports, which are very niche groups that resemble fandoms in surprising ways. When not dealing with sick pets, Alex can be found doing assault courses, climbing and trail running nearly as often as consuming media.

NON-DIRECTOR OFFICERS

Yuechiang Luo (Treasurer)
Zoë Renee (Diversity Consultant Research Officer)

EMERITA DIRECTORS

2022

  • Rebecca Sentance
  • E. Anna Szegedi
  • Jess White
  • Kirsten Wright

2021

  • Kati Eggert
  • Natalia Gruber
  • Lex De Leon

2020

  • Claire P. Baker
  • Jessie Casiulis
  • Danielle Strong

2019

  • Kristina Busse
  • Priscilla Del Cima

2018

  • Matty Bowers
  • Atiya Hakeem

2017

  • Aline Carrão
  • Katarina Harju
  • Alex Tischer

2015

  • Eylul Dogruel
  • Soledad Griffin
  • Andrea Horbinski
  • M.J. MacRae
  • Cat Meier
  • Jessica Steiner

2014

  • Franzeska Dickson
  • Anna Genoese
  • Nikisha Sanders

2013

  • Julia Beck
  • Maia Bobrowicz
  • Ira Gladkova
  • Kristen Murphy

2012

  • Francesca Coppa, PhD
  • Naomi Novik
  • Jenny Scott-Thompson

2011

  • Rachel Barenblat
  • Hele Braunstein
  • Sheila Lane
  • Allison Morris

2010

  • Naomi Novik
  • Rebecca Tushnet, JD
  • Elizabeth Yalkut

2009

  • KellyAnn Bessa
  • Susan Gibel, JD

2008

  • Cathy Cupitt, DCA
  • Michele Tepper, PhD

COMMITTEES

Accessibility, Design, & Technology
AO3 Documentation
Communications
Development & Membership
Elections
Fanlore
Finance
Legal
Open Doors
Policy & Abuse
Strategic Planning
Support
Systems
Tag Wrangling
Translation
TWC
Volunteers & Recruiting
Webs

Read about our current committees here.