I started to write a thread about #EndOTWRacism through the eyes of a library preservation person... and promptly realized it was way too long. So now it's a Dreamwidth post:
“archival work”, Ao3, and End OTW Racism re: blogpost
@phoenix « OTW needs to decide if AO3 is going to function as an archive whose mission is maximum inclusivity of content » i want to push back on the idea that this is a goal—or even a possibility—in the academic sense of “archive” which you seem to be evoking. when you look at projects like Open Doors, which destroy enormous amounts of fannish context in the form of comments, styling, original encoding, etc in the process of “preserving” the works on AO3—instead of providing funding, maintenance, or infrastructure to keep the original sites open, or doing a web archive which preserves the works as they were originally published, things an actual archivist might consider doing—i think it becomes increasingly hard to believe that archival work is truly OTW’s goal, or to use that as a justification for anything. they're not into fannish preservation, they just want lots of works on THEIR platform. because that is how they raise funding. they generally don't invest in any kind of fan preservation (certainly not digipres) which doesn't serve their own platforms and bottom line.
“archival work”, Ao3, and End OTW Racism re: blogpost
@phoenix OTW uses the word “archive” the way a professional might use “repository”. they don’t perform any of the work cited here by the Society of American Archivists under the heading “The Work of Archivists”: <https://www2.archivists.org/about-archives>.
• they do not « select records, a process that requires an understanding of the historical context in which the records were created, the uses for which they were intended, and their relationships to other sources ».
• they do not « arrange and describe the collection of records, in accordance with national and international standards of practice. »
• they do not « ensur[e] that digital records, which may quickly grow obsolete, will be available when needed in the future » (in the sense of maintaining the ORIGINALS of any of the fanworks they import).
• they do not « plan and direct exhibitions, publications, and other outreach programs to broaden the use of collections, helping people find and understand the information they need ».
so the idea that #EndOTWRacism might be in tension with some “archivist’s mission” is laughable to me. i know you think they should address racism regardless, but i really think you give them way too much credit in terms of what their platform is or what it stands for—being a “true archive” isn’t even an option on the table
