Posts in Spotlight
OTW Guest Post: Atticus Yus
On occasion, the OTW shares posts from a guest, providing an outside perspective on the OTW or specific aspects of fandom. These posts express each individual’s personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of the OTW or constitute OTW policy. Atticus Yus (she/her) is a postgraduate student at Cambridge Digital Humanities, affiliated with Newnham College. A fanfiction writer herself, she is currently most active in the Identity V and Hannibal fandoms and enjoys baking banana bread in her free time. Today, Atticus talks about her research regarding fan communities with a particular focus on tagging systems and social networks. How did you first… Read more
Five Things Ellipsis Said
Every month or so the OTW will be doing a Q&A with one of its volunteers about their experiences in the organization. The posts express each volunteer’s personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of the OTW or constitute OTW policy. Today’s post is with Ellipsis, who volunteers as a Tag Wrangler and also a Technical Assistant for the Communications Committee. How does what you do as a volunteer fit into what the OTW does? I currently hold two roles with the OTW. I wrangle tags on AO3 for a couple of smallish fandoms with lots of characters. So I’m frequently digging through… Read more
Five Things Whatsit Said
Every month or so the OTW will be doing a Q&A with one of its volunteers about their experiences in the organization. The posts express each volunteer’s personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of the OTW or constitute OTW policy. Today’s post is with Whatsit, who volunteers as a Chair in training for the Policy & Abuse committee (PAC) and a Tag Wrangler. How does what you do as a volunteer fit into what the OTW does? As a tag wrangler, I make sure that the fandoms I wrangle have properly canonized tags, which helps users find works that have the characters,… Read more
Spotlight on Omegas at AO3
Omegas are the glue that holds us all together, providing the essential social lubricant needed for our society to function—and yet they are often maligned and treated as lesser-than. This April, we are changing part of our logo to highlight omegas as part of our commitment to the inclusion and wellbeing of our omega volunteers and users. We believe that visibility is important. As we post this, we’re home to over 2,900 omega characters and counting. AO3 is one of the only spaces online where omegas are in the limelight, and we are proud to offer this safe space. Volunteers at the OTW are never… Read more
IVD 2025 Volunteer Q&A—Communications Spotlight
Last November we asked the community to submit questions to our OTW volunteers in celebration of International Volunteer Day. In this series of posts we will spotlight some of our committees’ responses. The Communications committee (Comms) disseminates information to the general public, media, and fans. We draft and beta news posts and social media posts, and are often the first point of contact for anyone interested in the OTW. We asked Comms for replies to your questions, and received a lot of feedback! Below you can find a selection of their answers: Communications Committee Specific Questions Question: We’re so thankful for how fast you guys… Read more