Agenda
- Decisions made since the last public board meeting
- DEI and organizational culture update
- Organizational Culture Roadmap
- Board Year Roadmap Update
- Any other business (Questions & Answers)
Transcript
The meeting can be read in full on the official OTW Board Discord server. In order to access it, you’ll need to join our Discord server.
Present
- Anh Pham
- Jennifer Haynes
- Kari Dayton
- Kathryn Soderholm
- Qiao Chu
- Zixin Zhang
Guests
- a.
- Aenya
- AriadneKurosaki
- Arya_Sheppard
- baustin
- Beatrice_Otter
- biblically accurate lotusboob
- bjorn
- Blue
- celli
- chaosmanor
- Charlie
- Chimerical
- Choux
- Claus Valca
- coaldustcanary
- cocolai
- copacet
- daisy
- danjim10
- dazyndara
- EchoEkhi
- Egg
- egg_in_carton
- Elf
- Elliot
- Flamingsword
- heine
- Helena
- herothief
- hheyhalley
- Hot Villain in Your Area
- hurtling_berry
- ImADiamondPotato
- itsmeimhere
- jaydecahedron
- Kass Fireborn
- Kaz
- keladry
- Keltena
- KoreChthonia
- kyparissos
- ladydragona
- LanaïsNin
- lee
- Lielac.4498
- lou2
- lovemelikesunday:sparkles:
- lululandia
- Lydia
- mallpretzels
- Manu.K
- Marionberry
- Mayo
- Medilia
- meepthesheep
- memoriast
- Morbane
- NeutrinoC
- Pat
- PAULA ꓯꓶꓵꓯꓒ
- pitytheviolins
- punk
- roundwoodsmonster
- Roz
- runawaymarbles
- Runt
- s.l.bat
- sarcasticallyinclined
- Satsuma
- Shade
- Shark
- ShirouHokuto
- songsterkr
- soundofsnow
- spacebyuns
- spatz
- sveritas
- tachyon
- Tar-Roccorendil
- tevya
- The Girl Reading This
- toe
- wevvittyy
- Whatsit
- Xuxu
- ZG
- Zoe
Open Session
- Decisions taken since the last meeting
- Approved minutes of last two meetings
- Approved Finance requests
- Approved new Legal member
- Joined the Stop KOSA and Bad Internet Bills Coalitions
- Approved new subcommittee formation – Internal Complaint & Conflict Resolution (ICCR)
- Approved new leads for Quality Assurance & Testing (QA&T) and ICCR
- Approved a procedure for volunteers to make formal complaints about Board member misconduct
- Approved a Board Cybersecurity Delegate
- Approved new chairs for the AO3 Documentation committee
- Received final report from organizational culture consultant and concluded contract
DEI and organizational culture update
We received the final report from our organizational culture consultant in February. We spent February and March reviewing the report, creating a communications plan, and discussing the format of the roadmap as well as how to collect and analyze feedback on it from volunteers.
The organizational culture project is an important step in achieving our DEI goals. The main focus of the report is bringing the OTW up to professional standards in many areas. Achieving these goals will increase the ability of all volunteers to feel safe in the OTW and sure that their voices will be heard, in addition to creating the necessary foundation for future DEI work.
Organizational Culture Roadmap
Our organizational culture consultant identified six themes for improvement in the Org:
- Accountability at all levels;
- Volunteer safety and security;
- Making OTW internal chat tool a safe, welcoming space;
- Global accessibility and cross-cultural sensitivity;
- Open and transparent collaboration;
- Organization-wide management standards.
In order to make progress on the 6 themes we mentioned above, we are creating a Roadmap for the OTW, which will include specific goals, next steps, and indicators of who’s responsible for each goal so that changes are transparent to Board members, Chairs, and volunteers alike.
We have begun consultation with OTW volunteers around this, and see it as a living document that will be actively updated and improved.
Board Year Roadmap Update
Summary: Tasks in the following list are expected to be accomplished by September 30, 2024.
Trust, Safety, and Accountability:
- Improve Board transparency – STARTED
- Improve Board responsiveness and turnaround time for communications – STARTED
- OTW Whistleblower Protection Policy – IN PROGRESS
Soliciting Expertise:
- Procurement Policy (Outlines steps to find new consultants, contractors, tools, etc. in a fair and fiscally responsible manner) – IN PROGRESS (Almost complete!)
Following Existing Plans:
- Stay up to date with Board’s goals in the OTW Strategic Plan
- Support Strategic Planning Committee through the implementation of the Strategic Plan – ONGOING
- Lead the review, approval, and implementation of recommendations from organizational culture survey – IN PROGRESS
Board Sustainability:
- Board Hiatus Policy (Outlines procedure for going on and coming off hiatus, as well as establishing limits for how many Board Members can be on hiatus at once and how long a hiatus can be) – IN PROGRESS
- Board Annual Self-Assessment and Still Willing to Serve survey – STARTED
Board Assistants Team (BAT) Committee:
- Work with BATs to create systems to better manage Board tasks – IN PROGRESS
AOB
No items
Open Question time
12 questions in total were answered during the meeting.
Q1: Will the OTW be releasing any part of the consultant firm’s findings to the public?
Kathryn Soderholm: We have already shared part of if earlier – the six main themes. We will continue to share information about the Organizational Culture Roadmap that is being developed based on it. The level of information that will be shared publicly will be similar to the level of information that is publicly shared about the OTW’s Strategic Plans.
Here is a link to the News Post about the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, so that folks have an idea of what that looks like.
Q2: what small progress made since the last board meeting (that wasn’t covered by the agenda items) are you most proud of?
Anh Pham: One of the projects that we are working on for internal improvement is Board sustainability. This means that we are reviewing and implementing ways to ensure that we are creating an environment that does not cause Board members to need to resign before the end of their term. For instance, we have an official break policy now (minimum two weeks/year) and next we’re also working on a hiatus policy.
Q3: what does the “starting” of improving board transparency mean? what does it look like?
Kari Dayton: We already have an internal (volunteer-only) anonymous feedback form and a means for internally publicly responding to any questions asked through it. We are also working to be more responsive to both internal and external emails. Finally, we are reviewing ways that we can proactively share what we are working on with volunteers more regularly.
Q4: does the Board have targets for “responsiveness and turnaround time for communications”?
Kathryn Soderholm: At the moment, we do not have targets beyond getting better at responsiveness and turnaround time. We have made a lot of progress by adding people to our team that can help with drafting answers and responses.
We’re replying to queries from volunteers internally, both those sent via email and by our internal Board anon feedback form. We’re slowly catching up on replying to external emails received via the public Board contact form on the otw.org website. One of the stats that we can share with you right now is that we have replied to over 500 emails received via the external Board Contact Form since the start of the Board Year.
Q5: what’s the difference between STARTED and IN PROGRESS on the roadmap?
Kari Dayton: “Started” indicates that we are getting a team together and identifying responsible (does the actual work) and accountable (oversees and approves the work) parties; “In Progress” indicates that the project has already created at least one rough draft deliverable.
Q6: How do you plan to make sure the new board this year (and in future) are able to continue any plans you don’t complete within your terms?
Jennifer Haynes: One of the ways we are doing this is by making sure that we are partnering with non-Board committees to continue our work. We are trying to move away from having Board drive projects and instead have Board members approve projects (within RACI terms – moving Board from being Responsible to being Accountable/Approvers).
Q7: any updates regarding paid staff?
Anh Pham: There is work being done on this internally but we don’t have anything new we can share externally at this time.
Q8: Last meeting, the board mentioned that they intended to hire several consultants, on contract. I didn’t see those expenses reflected in the posted 2024 budget. Will those efforts be pushed until next year or were those decisions pending the results of the spring fundraiser and will now be amended?
Kari Dayton: We’re still finalizing our procurement policy. After that, we will use that policy to help us determine which consultants to prioritize and what a reasonable budget is for their work. Budgets always change throughout the year, and you will be able to see any changes reflected in the Budget Update shared before the October Drive.
Q9: Can the board provide an update on the TOS review?
Kathryn Soderholm: We are sharing this answer with the knowledge and permission of the Policy & Abuse Chair.
On February 10 of this year the Board held a preliminary discussion with our Legal committee regarding updates to the AO3 Terms of Service. Following that meeting, on February 23, the Policy & Abuse (PAC) and Legal committees began meeting to discuss TOS revisions. Since these discussions are still ongoing internally, Board cannot address any specific queries at this time. More information about the updates, including the open comment period for public feedback, will be made available when all internal discussions and reviews conclude.
Q10: does “improve responsiveness and turnaround time for communications” include public questions from members/non-volunteers, or only internal communications?
Anh Pham: I can answer this question actually: It includes both internal and external communications.
Q11: How’s the progress on setting up an interest-earning savings account with the reserve funds?
Zixin Zhang: We will need to check with the Finance Committee to answer this question and will share an updated answer in two weeks. Additionally, if you like, you can contact them directly using the contact form.
Q12: and the last question for today meeting: there are many projects in progress, which of them is the Board choosing to prioritize most immediately? does Board prioritize incrementally completing many projects, or finishing projects before starting new ones?
Kathryn Soderholm: It depends on a number of factors, primarily:
- Board member availability and ability to work on a specific project
- If a project becomes an urgent priority, for whatever reason
- When something else requires Board attention
We are making an effort to be more focused in what we work on so that we can more efficiently complete Board-only projects and be available for any unforeseen but necessary projects/tasks.
Asynchronous Questions
Questions that didn’t receive a live response during the meeting will be answered starting two weeks after the meeting.
Post-meeting Q&A: Board Work
Q1: followup to prev q on what happens to board’s projects after their terms: what if the project isn’t in the purview of another committee- something that can’t be simply delegated?
In general, before Board members’ terms end, they try to complete any active projects they are still working on. If they are unable to do so, those projects are typically handed off to another board member or to a volunteer already involved in the project to take over as project lead. This may be a new Board member coming in or a BAT volunteer who has been working with them on the project already. Additionally, there is a transition and handoff period between outgoing and incoming Board members where in addition to sharing advice and helping train new board members, active projects are handed off so they can be continued by the new Board.
Q2: Will the new roadmap be shared with this public?
We will continue to share information about the Organizational Culture Roadmap as it is developed, although we do not plan to share the entirety of the Roadmap or its steps with the public. The level of information that will be shared publicly will be similar to the level of information that is publicly shared about the OTW’s Strategic Plans.
Here is a link to the News Post about the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, so that folks have an idea of what that looks like.
Q3: Referencing the board looking at other ways to publicly answer questions long term, is there a possible timeline for that?
One of our Board Assistants Team (BAT) volunteers has been working very hard on this and has a draft plan almost complete. We are aiming to trial a way to solicit questions in advance for the July Public Board Meeting!
Q4: A former volunteer claims to have chat transcripts that indicate the chairs and board would permit statements in AO3 comments like “racism is imaginary” as long as those comments were not directed at users. Can the board explain the change of moderation regarding discussion of Palestine?
Note: The wording of this question has been edited to remove the name of the former volunteer as responding to questions that involve specific volunteers violates our server rules.
The purpose of the comments section of OTW News Posts is for people to respond to and ask questions about the topic and contents of the News Posts. Historically, News Post comments have been unmoderated, or only very lightly moderated. This has led to multiple situations where commenters have made posts that don’t violate the Terms of Service, but do make the comments section hostile to its actual purpose. It became clear that moderating News Posts comments was necessary, and the Communications Committee began drafting a comment moderation policy nine months ago, and started experimenting/assembling a team in late 2023.
Q5: In implementing the goals of the strategic plan and otw roadmap, how are you going to support individual committees with different structures and problems?
This is a difficult question to answer as it depends both on the goal or task being worked on and also the committee in question. The short answer is that the Board is available to offer advice or help out however we can. We are more than happy to advise committees, connect them with resources, or offer our time (or that of the BATs) to help complete tasks.
Board has consistently provided support to any committee that seeks assistance from us, although we work hard to refrain from excessive interference or overstepping our designated roles and obligations, as Board cannot and will not micromanage nor overreach our responsibilities and duties.
We can provide an example of how we do that from the Board’s perspective at a later date, right now without explicit agreement from involved committees, it’s challenging for us to share detailed examples.
Q6: What’s the approximate response time for a message using the Board Contact Form now, and how does that compare to the past?
Unfortunately, it varies widely depending on what the email is, and we currently have no easy way to track statistics. Simple requests or questions can often be answered in only a few days but more complex questions or things that involve working with another committee may take far longer. We can tell you that we intend to respond to every unanswered email we currently have, and replying to our existing backlog is something we plan to greatly prioritize over the next few months. We will update you about what we’ve accomplished at the third quarter public meeting.
Q7: re: responsiveness to the board contact form, does that extend to other committee contact forms, like legal and finance?
The Board is currently focusing on improving our own workflows and supporting other committees when they request assistance. In the long term, as committees grow and are more fully staffed, having Org-wide expectations for responsiveness is likely, but we can’t say anything at the moment about a potential timeline.
Q8: Does the Board have rough/initial ideas of what changes may be involved in the “open transparent collaboration” aspect of the improvement plans?
We have a couple of specific goals related to that theme, and are hoping that more will be suggested during the feedback period. The goals we’ve included so far were developed by us working together with our Culture Audit firm; however, it’s important to us that all volunteers have the opportunity to propose ideas and goals to be included. As part of our initial feedback request to volunteers, we have specifically asked them if they have any ideas they’d like to see included so we hope to gain more insight from that and potentially incorporate further measures beyond what we have planned so far.
Q9: followup to the board project question: what happens when a project requires cooperation from multiple committees? Does the Board facilitate communication/help them set up the project?
That depends on the project as well as the committees involved. In general, many OTW projects require collaboration between multiple committees and committees typically contact each other directly to manage that. Having said that, the Board is happy to facilitate and provide support as desired. If committees would like to have Board input or direct support, we are happy to do so.
For our Roadmap goals and Org projects in general, we believe that those with the most knowledge of any specific issue should make the decisions and drive the project. Board will remain as the Accountable/Approval party in the RACI matrix. What this means is that (per RACI), other committees will be Responsible for making sure work happens, but Board will remain an Approver of the final product (as well as helping to remove blocks, if and when they arise). Other knowledgeable committees and individuals can be Consulted when needed, and Org Volunteers (and, depending on the project, members and the general public) will be Informed.
Post-meeting Q&A: Other business
Q1: How’s the progress on setting up an interest-earning savings account with the reserve funds?
We reached out to our Finance Committee to get an updated answer for you, and this is what they had to say:
At the moment, Finance is in the process of recruiting a volunteer who has offered to be the project lead. From there, the next steps will be drafting an investment policy and identifying investment firms to investigate. As these discussions and progress are still ongoing internally, Board and Finance cannot share further specific details at this time.
For reference, the original answer from the live meeting was:
We will need to check with the Finance Committee to answer this question and will share an updated answer in two weeks. Additionally, if you like, you can contact them directly using the contact form
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The meeting was adjourned at 02:00 UTC
Minutes approved by the Board on 2024 05 15