Thread by @unnaye

The most obvious point in the discourse isn't actually this. It's that they're NOT saying this. OTW Finance is saying the reserves are for:

- operating expenses
- capital purchases
- in case we can't fundraise

I don't understand the need to spread headcanon OTW finances.

https://twitter.com/harveybirdmech/status/1449910773170454529

I am saying this as someone who was there through for the C&D letters, and the strikethroughs, and everything else. If TPTB wanted to crush AO3, $1.5 mil is not going to stop them. They have a budget for legal stuff. This is what it is. $2,500. In 2020 they spent $0.

And the reason I'm even tweeting about this is because I care about AO3. If I didn't, I'd just shrug and move on, but I want it to exist. And I want it to become a better, more robust, and less racist platform for everyone. I don't want them to just maintain the status quo.

The status quo is how the org burns through volunteers. It's how it promises to do anti-racist work and then (16+ months later) doesn't follow through. It's how they budget for paying for a server upgrade in 2020 then don't do it bc someone volunteers. (Q4 in 2021? Not done.)

Fuck knows there are terrible takes out there, but other than not donating, there's not a lot the haters can do. There's no "attack" on the org from haters. There is, however, a lot of harassment of people on AO3. There's a weak Abuse Policy, and overworked Abuse Team volunteers.

Rather than accepting that, and defending the OTW's lack of direction (with finance headcanons or whatever), isn't it better to ask how some of the funds we have given them can be used to do anti-racist work, and make the site better for users and volunteers both?