OTW: Contemplating Karma Points and Opt Out Buttons
My usual disclaimer: I was on the OTW Board for the first two terms, and chaired the Volunteers & Recruiting committee [VolCom] during that time, as well. I am not, in this post, speaking on behalf of the Org, only myself and my own opinions and (probably) half-assed unworkable ideas.
Based on recent discussions on LJ/DW about volunteers and burnout and similar topics, I've rattled off a quick and dirty post here about two things I've dreamt of seeing implemented in the OTW. They are similar to the kudos and the challenge opt-out buttons on the AO3, and based on the positive reception those things have gotten from AO3 users, I thought I'd toss this out and see what my flist says.
Karma Points
My first idea is similar to archive kudos, though it actually pre-dates the existence of the AO3 kudo. Back in 2008 when we were just a baby Org, I made the suggestion of karma points for OTW staffers and volunteers.
The backstory is that when the Org first got up and running, the idea was that the coders would build VolCom our own, customized volunteer database. This database would allow volunteers to create their own accounts, under whatever name and email address they chose to use, and list any skills and interests. This info would then be searchable by VolCom staff. "We need someone who knows Ruby! [ridiculous TV keyboard sounds] The database says we have seven people who know Ruby! Here is the list!" There would also be a confidential, VolCom-only area where the committee could track who was serving on what committee, keep other private information, etc.
There are a lot of other features I dreamed of, but you get the gist. But it eventually became apparent to me that we were never going to get that database, because the coders could not be spared, and the AO3 was the main priority, and the AO3 will never be "done." (Once version 1.0 goes live, they will already be working on 1.1, 1.2, etc.)
Anyway, as part of that dream I also suggested implementing karma points. Other staffers and volunteers would be able to, with the click of a button, award karma points to other people in the Org. These would accumulate toward levels where trophies would be awarded in the form of little graphic badges for the user's profile page. There could also be badges for certain positions, such as Front End Coder, Committee Chair, etc. It's a little thing, and some would maybe think it silly, but I felt it would be fun, and have a very positive impact on morale and team-building.
There was, unfortunately, very little interest in this idea by anyone other than me, though in fairness it's possible no one cared because they knew-before I did-that there was no way we could ever implement it.
Of course, now the AO3 is up and running, and I daresay most of the people working in the OTW have accounts there, so this is an idea that could perhaps be adapted to the AO3. People who serve under their real names and want no connection to their fannish AO3 accounts could obviously create accounts in the archive under their real names where they could collect their karma points, etc. I'm not going to wear you all out by making a list of every possible contingency and its solution, but you get the basic idea.
Opt Out Buttons
My second idea is more recent, and is based on the opt-out button challenge participants can use on the AO3 if they find they have to withdraw from the challenge.
I don't want to go too much into the subject of burn-out in the Org. This idea addresses just one issue, and is not meant to be an all-encompassing solution.
One problem we ran into over and over when I was working for the OTW was very similar to a problem mods see with story challenges-people find themselves over their heads or sick for two months with bronchitis or what have you (you can fill in that blank with a million reasons), and unable to do what they signed on for, but the thought of having to email the person in charge and tell them this is agonizing, so they avoid it, and avoid it, and sometimes just disappear into the ether, never saying a word until the fact that they've disappeared and not done what they said they would do speaks for them. Then they feeling like crap for "flaking," and leaving the people they flaked on feeling angry and resentful, and scrambling to find someone to fill the spot.
The solution to this on the AO3, a solution people LOVE, from what I can tell, is an opt-out button, which people can use to take themselves out of the challenge with one click. So why can't we have an opt-out button for OTW volunteers? Maybe a choice of options: "I'm totally done, leaving forever, bye" and "I need a couple weeks/months off but intend to come back eventually."
(I'm not sure this would be workable for staffers, due to the fact that there are often arrangements that need to be made, information that needs to be handed down, etc, when a staffers leaves or goes on hiatus. That's obviously a decision that should be left to people actually working in the Org, which I do not anymore lalalala rainbows and unicorns and free time...)
I want to be clear here that there would still need to be a debrief. VolCom would still need to contact these people and do an exit interview, because I'm a firm believer in following up in that way and seeing where things can be changed/improved on the Org side if there's a genuine issue. Maybe let the opt-outer pick a period of time, from one week to three weeks, VolCom should wait before contacting them. But I hope that once they click that button and the biggest dread is dealt with, many people would be willing to talk to VolCom, because often the hardest part is just admitting you can't do what you said you would do.
I had my own experience with that earlier this year on a non-fannish project that did not turn out to be, in practice, what I'd thought it would be. And in that case I delayed quitting longer than I should have, and even though I KNEW what I was doing (stalling, stalling, avoiding an unpleasant task, stalling some more), and I well remembered how frustrating it was when I was the on the other side of that situation, it was still immensely hard to send the email and say, "I'm sorry, I'm out." But once I sent the email, and got a concerned, non-judgmental response, it was quite easy to discuss the issues at hand with my contact. And that was what made me realize a volunteer opt-out button would RULE.
When I was still working for the Org we had more than one instance where someone just disappeared, but eventually came back (as opposed to the instances where people just disappeared for good). And we didn't know if they were gone forever, we didn't know if they just needed a break, we didn't know if we should reassign their work or just let them sit until they came back. (These were, obviously, people working in positions where we were able to just wait and see what happened-not all positions in the Org fall into that category.) And then, eventually, when they came back, we welcomed them with open arms and they got back to work, and we were thrilled they returned, but they felt bad about disappearing, and had had it hanging over their head the whole time they were gone, which was a source of additional stress for them during that time. It was also, for some people, very difficult to work up the nerve to return, not knowing what the reception would be. And, of course, we were all worried that something truly terrible had happened to them (did they get HIT BY A BUS?!?!). But if we could fix that with ONE BUTTON, why wouldn't we?
Is it worth it?
I don't know how doable these are, I don't know if people will take to them the way they did to kudos and the challenge opt-out button. And it's possible that there will be resistance to using coder time for this kind of thing. I can't really disagree-taking resources away from the archive is painful to contemplate, even for me, the person suggesting these things. I want the AO3 to be amazing, I want it to keep growing and improving, I want it to finally be released to the masses so I can replace eFiction on the archives I myself run!
But at the same time, when I was in the Org there was definitely a tendency to put the needs of the archive above everything else. That's understandable, as it is our showcase product in certain circles (others would obviously consider the journal our crowning glory, others our work on DMCA, etc), but no committee of the OTW stands alone. Not one. They are all interconnected, and as a whole form the foundation on which the AO3 rests. One cannot thrive by strangling the other, and obviously no one wants the archive to move forward at the expense of the people who are making it possible.
This is definitely a case of short-term sacrifice for long-term benefit, which I think goes hand in hand with the OTW's dream of sustainability. The Org has preached often and loudly about the benefits of having a place (for our transformative works, for our fannish history, for our academic writings, for everything we do) that is not dependent on one single person, a place that won't go away, that will continue on and on and on, through fandom migrations and defections, through the inevitable joys and tragedies of our lives. I think it's worth finding the time and resources to apply that philosophy of preservation to the people of the OTW as well.
What say you, flist?
Count von Count would like you to know that over at Dreamwidth this post has
comments! Ah ha ha ha ha!
Based on recent discussions on LJ/DW about volunteers and burnout and similar topics, I've rattled off a quick and dirty post here about two things I've dreamt of seeing implemented in the OTW. They are similar to the kudos and the challenge opt-out buttons on the AO3, and based on the positive reception those things have gotten from AO3 users, I thought I'd toss this out and see what my flist says.
Karma Points
My first idea is similar to archive kudos, though it actually pre-dates the existence of the AO3 kudo. Back in 2008 when we were just a baby Org, I made the suggestion of karma points for OTW staffers and volunteers.
The backstory is that when the Org first got up and running, the idea was that the coders would build VolCom our own, customized volunteer database. This database would allow volunteers to create their own accounts, under whatever name and email address they chose to use, and list any skills and interests. This info would then be searchable by VolCom staff. "We need someone who knows Ruby! [ridiculous TV keyboard sounds] The database says we have seven people who know Ruby! Here is the list!" There would also be a confidential, VolCom-only area where the committee could track who was serving on what committee, keep other private information, etc.
There are a lot of other features I dreamed of, but you get the gist. But it eventually became apparent to me that we were never going to get that database, because the coders could not be spared, and the AO3 was the main priority, and the AO3 will never be "done." (Once version 1.0 goes live, they will already be working on 1.1, 1.2, etc.)
Anyway, as part of that dream I also suggested implementing karma points. Other staffers and volunteers would be able to, with the click of a button, award karma points to other people in the Org. These would accumulate toward levels where trophies would be awarded in the form of little graphic badges for the user's profile page. There could also be badges for certain positions, such as Front End Coder, Committee Chair, etc. It's a little thing, and some would maybe think it silly, but I felt it would be fun, and have a very positive impact on morale and team-building.
There was, unfortunately, very little interest in this idea by anyone other than me, though in fairness it's possible no one cared because they knew-before I did-that there was no way we could ever implement it.
Of course, now the AO3 is up and running, and I daresay most of the people working in the OTW have accounts there, so this is an idea that could perhaps be adapted to the AO3. People who serve under their real names and want no connection to their fannish AO3 accounts could obviously create accounts in the archive under their real names where they could collect their karma points, etc. I'm not going to wear you all out by making a list of every possible contingency and its solution, but you get the basic idea.
Opt Out Buttons
My second idea is more recent, and is based on the opt-out button challenge participants can use on the AO3 if they find they have to withdraw from the challenge.
I don't want to go too much into the subject of burn-out in the Org. This idea addresses just one issue, and is not meant to be an all-encompassing solution.
One problem we ran into over and over when I was working for the OTW was very similar to a problem mods see with story challenges-people find themselves over their heads or sick for two months with bronchitis or what have you (you can fill in that blank with a million reasons), and unable to do what they signed on for, but the thought of having to email the person in charge and tell them this is agonizing, so they avoid it, and avoid it, and sometimes just disappear into the ether, never saying a word until the fact that they've disappeared and not done what they said they would do speaks for them. Then they feeling like crap for "flaking," and leaving the people they flaked on feeling angry and resentful, and scrambling to find someone to fill the spot.
The solution to this on the AO3, a solution people LOVE, from what I can tell, is an opt-out button, which people can use to take themselves out of the challenge with one click. So why can't we have an opt-out button for OTW volunteers? Maybe a choice of options: "I'm totally done, leaving forever, bye" and "I need a couple weeks/months off but intend to come back eventually."
(I'm not sure this would be workable for staffers, due to the fact that there are often arrangements that need to be made, information that needs to be handed down, etc, when a staffers leaves or goes on hiatus. That's obviously a decision that should be left to people actually working in the Org, which I do not anymore lalalala rainbows and unicorns and free time...)
I want to be clear here that there would still need to be a debrief. VolCom would still need to contact these people and do an exit interview, because I'm a firm believer in following up in that way and seeing where things can be changed/improved on the Org side if there's a genuine issue. Maybe let the opt-outer pick a period of time, from one week to three weeks, VolCom should wait before contacting them. But I hope that once they click that button and the biggest dread is dealt with, many people would be willing to talk to VolCom, because often the hardest part is just admitting you can't do what you said you would do.
I had my own experience with that earlier this year on a non-fannish project that did not turn out to be, in practice, what I'd thought it would be. And in that case I delayed quitting longer than I should have, and even though I KNEW what I was doing (stalling, stalling, avoiding an unpleasant task, stalling some more), and I well remembered how frustrating it was when I was the on the other side of that situation, it was still immensely hard to send the email and say, "I'm sorry, I'm out." But once I sent the email, and got a concerned, non-judgmental response, it was quite easy to discuss the issues at hand with my contact. And that was what made me realize a volunteer opt-out button would RULE.
When I was still working for the Org we had more than one instance where someone just disappeared, but eventually came back (as opposed to the instances where people just disappeared for good). And we didn't know if they were gone forever, we didn't know if they just needed a break, we didn't know if we should reassign their work or just let them sit until they came back. (These were, obviously, people working in positions where we were able to just wait and see what happened-not all positions in the Org fall into that category.) And then, eventually, when they came back, we welcomed them with open arms and they got back to work, and we were thrilled they returned, but they felt bad about disappearing, and had had it hanging over their head the whole time they were gone, which was a source of additional stress for them during that time. It was also, for some people, very difficult to work up the nerve to return, not knowing what the reception would be. And, of course, we were all worried that something truly terrible had happened to them (did they get HIT BY A BUS?!?!). But if we could fix that with ONE BUTTON, why wouldn't we?
Is it worth it?
I don't know how doable these are, I don't know if people will take to them the way they did to kudos and the challenge opt-out button. And it's possible that there will be resistance to using coder time for this kind of thing. I can't really disagree-taking resources away from the archive is painful to contemplate, even for me, the person suggesting these things. I want the AO3 to be amazing, I want it to keep growing and improving, I want it to finally be released to the masses so I can replace eFiction on the archives I myself run!
But at the same time, when I was in the Org there was definitely a tendency to put the needs of the archive above everything else. That's understandable, as it is our showcase product in certain circles (others would obviously consider the journal our crowning glory, others our work on DMCA, etc), but no committee of the OTW stands alone. Not one. They are all interconnected, and as a whole form the foundation on which the AO3 rests. One cannot thrive by strangling the other, and obviously no one wants the archive to move forward at the expense of the people who are making it possible.
This is definitely a case of short-term sacrifice for long-term benefit, which I think goes hand in hand with the OTW's dream of sustainability. The Org has preached often and loudly about the benefits of having a place (for our transformative works, for our fannish history, for our academic writings, for everything we do) that is not dependent on one single person, a place that won't go away, that will continue on and on and on, through fandom migrations and defections, through the inevitable joys and tragedies of our lives. I think it's worth finding the time and resources to apply that philosophy of preservation to the people of the OTW as well.
What say you, flist?
Count von Count would like you to know that over at Dreamwidth this post has
comments! Ah ha ha ha ha!