Thread by @RukminiPande

Updates on #AO3 election Q's+responses.

The (merged) Q's aren't great but the first one is a useful distillation of how a part of the AO3 and its associated fandom have responded to the query, "Do Black fans matter?"

It's basically "All Fans Matter" - fandom edition.

https://twitter.com/unnaye/status/1285651561847422979

It's also a useful distillation because it shows how much this convo has been derailed..

Ppl asking "Does the AO3 care about Black fans?" are (sneakily) framed as advocating harrassment/takedowns/ censorship over things that are "upsetting."

Hmmm what does that remind me of 🤔

I'm going to remind everyone that the #AO3 has repeatedly self-identified as a platform built on the principles of Feminist HCI, in the words of one of its founders.

(Source: muhlenberg.edu/news/2019/arch…)

What does Feminist HCI mean? Well here's an expansion from another piece about the #AO3.

"Feminist HCI is a subset of Human Computer Interaction focused on building interactions that focus on equality, pluralism, participation and advocacy."

(Source: polygon.com/platform/amp/2…)

Words mean things. Black fans and others are asking for nothing more than the AO3 to live up to the promises of its own declared poltics.

In 2020, what do Feminist Design Principles look like when they don't take transnational anti-Blackness into account?