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Let's talk about racism in The Archive - again. Not just the A03 but the idea that archives are judgment free and therefore bias free and everything SHOULD go and be hosted/archived... Including objectively harmful and RACIST content.
(Do not tag A03 mods/staff/main account.)
(Do not tag A03 mods/staff/main account.)
Recently, @dhifantasy posted about how the latest A03 update was about image embeds... When everyone else is at least once again pretending to care about moderation and racism in User Generated Content and their TOS. https://diversehighfantasy.tumblr.com/post/640044277530001408
This was one response she received from a user who struggles to make the connection that Holly... Literally made in the post they're responding to.
(Please remember that Holly is an expert on MULTIPLE fronts here.)
https://nerdsagainstfandomracism.tumblr.com/post/640100953560956928/ao3-status-on-twitter
(Please remember that Holly is an expert on MULTIPLE fronts here.)
https://nerdsagainstfandomracism.tumblr.com/post/640100953560956928/ao3-status-on-twitter
What stands out to me the most in this context (so beyond the willful ignorance) is the following:
"A03 is founded on the idea of being a space where fan works can be collected and archived without judgement, like a traditional archive so that information is preserved."
"A03 is founded on the idea of being a space where fan works can be collected and archived without judgement, like a traditional archive so that information is preserved."
Not only does this user ignore that Holly is specifically talking about racism and that archive's moderation failures when it comes to openly racist fanworks AND harassment of real fans of color that utilizes/weaponizes active racism...
They also ignore that archives ARE racist.
They also ignore that archives ARE racist.
They're racist because of what is valued within archives. What's seen as valuable to the future. What's seen as harmful to the Archives themselves.
Archiving, historically and even now, has a race/racist problem because POC aren't valued in/by Western archives...like the A03.
Archiving, historically and even now, has a race/racist problem because POC aren't valued in/by Western archives...like the A03.
I know this because I did two grad level courses on archiving for my MA and because... I know my history, but I guess other people don't know that the traditional archive is an institution and institutions (like the traditional archive, like the A03) are prone to racism?
Here's the Alabama state archives documenting the harm they've done with racist revisionist history https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2020/0922/Alabama-s-state-archives-confronts-its-racist-past
Archives absolutely archive content WITH judgement and with bias that includes the archivists' bigotry.
But many are taking steps to fix that - except the A03... which is, IMO, not actually a true archive especially because content is not curated and can be wiped from it.
But many are taking steps to fix that - except the A03... which is, IMO, not actually a true archive especially because content is not curated and can be wiped from it.
Archives don't have to be racist if the people putting the content together are coming from a collaborative, anti racist standpoint and correcting biases along the way. That is NOT what the A03 is doing because it is... Not built for/organized around that.
See something like this where students at the University of Richmond put together their own archive as what an active anti racist archive could look like
https://memory.richmond.edu/about-fall-2017
https://memory.richmond.edu/about-fall-2017
Traditional archives are actually (at least pretending that they're gonna start) negotiating with and trying to handle race and racism in the content and in the curation more effectively. See this statement from the national archives: https://aotus.blogs.archives.gov/2020/11/13/examining-and-addressing-racism/
What was a03's response to any of the Conversations about racism reawakened in June? Not much beyond a very weak line of questioning of its board that hinged on Being Nice and obscuring/dismissing the overt racism in fanworks and from fans. https://twitter.com/unnaye/status/1285651561847422979
No detailed plans to make fandom safer for ALL fans of color. No definitive pushback against racism in fandom. Not even protecting fans of color when they have been under attack from racists using the Archive to write various kinds of racist troll fic.
Just those questions...
Just those questions...
And responses that actually put my emotional and mental health in a spin from racism in fandom because of how they referenced my and @RukminiPande's work and the fandom pushback from racists even before we asked for them to take it down https://stitchmediamix.com/2020/06/16/antiblackness-in-service-of-the-archive-a-statement/
The A03 is doing LESS than plenty of traditional archives & their terms of service remains really ill equipped to deal with increasing racism and 
supremacy in fandom.
But it doesn't have to be that way at all. This is a choice by their board and by fans to center whiteness
supremacy in fandom.But it doesn't have to be that way at all. This is a choice by their board and by fans to center whiteness
Here's a pdf (hopefully the link works lol) on dismantling white supremacy in the archives
https://www.gracenbrilmyer.com/dismantling_whiteSupremacy_archives3.pdf
https://www.gracenbrilmyer.com/dismantling_whiteSupremacy_archives3.pdf
Here's a piece on archiving while Black. https://www.chronicle.com/article/archiving-while-black/
Folks could do the work if they wanted to. They just don't want to. Which would be fine if the A03 wasn't ALSO touted as the most progressive fandom space even while it (via mods who apply the TOS unevenly) makes more attempts to punish POC than handle overt racists/racism.
All this to say that:
Archives are institutions and are not inherently ANTI racist by default.
The A03 has no plan for dealing with racist fanworks or harassment of fans of color on its platform.
It is doing LESS than many traditional archives while fans laud it as better.
Archives are institutions and are not inherently ANTI racist by default.
The A03 has no plan for dealing with racist fanworks or harassment of fans of color on its platform.
It is doing LESS than many traditional archives while fans laud it as better.
Bonus 1: the A03 is supposed to be for all of us. The 2nd O in the acronym AOOO = OUR. And yet, the Archive AND its most rabid racist defenders actually make it clear that THEY think it really should be renamed to the Archive For Queer White Folks (And Assorted Tokens Of Color)
In the tweet quoted in this tweet, you can see folks mocking the idea of me + Rukmini daring to think that we (POC) are included in the Our and being racist and SUPER aggro as a response. https://twitter.com/stichomancery/status/1326960900310511616?s=20
I am a huge fan of curating my space and safety through blocks. I use chainblocks... which has the unfortunate bonus of blocking genuinely ALRIGHT people.
You can send genuinely interested people this link
https://wp.me/p5RNQB-2UD
& RT the QT'd tweet https://twitter.com/stitchmediamix/status/1349893371205185536?s=20
You can send genuinely interested people this link
https://wp.me/p5RNQB-2UD
& RT the QT'd tweet https://twitter.com/stitchmediamix/status/1349893371205185536?s=20
