here's another thing

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

Just continuing on my thoughts from the other day. I've said for a while now, kind of half-joking, that the OTW should put AO3 into read-only mode for a month and let everyone take a vacation. Rest. Relax. Recouperate. Maybe let go of a few grudges here and there.

The more I think about it, the more I think that's probably the only way that the OTW actually could make the kinds of changes people (including those in leadership at the OTW) want. Right now, everyone is spending all of their spoons just keeping AO3 running. It's too huge, and it's taking up all of the oxygen, all of the energy, all of the operating capacity.

Put AO3 into read only for 6 months. Give everyone some time off and time away. Allow the site more downtime to implement code changes. Give OTW 6 months free of fires that need to be put out and maybe they'll have some juice left in the tank to make some much needed changes.

Right now, no matter how much people want to do things, it genuinely is very hard. And that's putting aside all of the people and personalities involved. I'm just talking about time and energy.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you, it's something I needed to read

This is my last spoon. Sorry.

[samjohnsson]

Okay, so.

I appreciate the theory. I do.

But. Some thoughts.

First: "a well-deserved break" has a very specific connotation in certain teams, due to an ill-timed comment from a certain meta-team a few years ago. It was read as wicked condescending at the time, and it will not cause grudges to be let go if anything like it is said again by that particular team.

Second: so AD&T wouldn't get a break, because they'd be writing the code change? Or the testers? Or Docs and Support (and possibly PAC), who'd have to be changing documents internal and external to deal with the new code?

Second, related: for giggles, some time, head to github, and look at the list of authors for pull requests. Some past authors aren't listed, and private github accounts aren't, so you can round up a little.

Third: the "omg the sky is falling! Get my fic off there and delete my account!" contingent would mean an absolute flaming mess for Comms and, frankly, Support to deal with when we turned things back on.

Third, dependent: because we pretend to be GDPR and CCPA and DMCA compliant, we cannot put the database in a hard read-only unless we take the whole site offline and queue the requests to process before it comes up. And we'd not be able to process GDPR/CCPA information requests while the db is down - damned both ways.

I...have many more thoughts, but this spoon is getting pretty sharp, so I'm going to wander off for now.

[mekare]

Even though I can see many many people (mainly users) opposing this move for various valid reasons I think it‘s a good idea.

[mistressofmuses]

The problem of scale is absolutely one that I think no one envisioned at the start of AO3. I think they've kept up with the absolute bonkers-batshit explosion of users and works and popularity extremely admirably... but it IS still very much in "putting out fires, desperately just keeping it afloat" mode. (Again, like you said, time and energy wise; not that money doesn't help, but this is more than just donations and financial operating costs.)
And the answer also isn't as simple as "get more staff" because it IS all volunteer-based, and having more people to coordinate ALSO creates more work and logistical snarls, as well as cases of different people doing the thing differently, creating headaches and frustrations down the line. Again, not even talking about conflict; just in a sheer "trying to organize a team of hundreds of people is almost impossible, and the bigger the site is the more people we need" way.