Rebuilding Community on the FujoWeb — pt. 3
Fashionably late (just like the best), the thrilling conclusion to my former-presentation, current-blogpost series "Rebuilding Community on the FujoWeb". Read it on my blog, or follow along below 👇
After talking about the downward spiral of "community-led" projects for the greater good and the power dynamics that make leading them a recipe for burnout, this part looks forward to the future: where do we go from here?
The complexity of working—and being!—together is inescapable. The web of relationships grows, relentless, with every new person you add. What burns out those who care most is not the work: it's the complexity of human relationships, and the challenge of managing them at scale.
I have given a whole new presentation this year about the work we must do on ourselves to "get out of our own way and go kick ass". But as we do the hard work to get there, there's one thing we must not forget: we're not alone.
Throughout the years I've been working on the fandom side, I've met so many others tackling other slices of this problem: groups teaching to build horizontal organizations, groups offering legal advice, as well as those building open technologies & protocols to bring us together.
If we want to make change, true change, we must not just figure out how to work as a community—we must work as communitiES, each solving the problem that matters to them, with the unique skills they bring to the table. And share knowledge with each other.
On my side, I've been working tirelessly to create organizations that involve "everyday fans" in horizontal governance, teaching the skills they need to bring forth a better future. If I convinced you of the importance of this work, help us keep going!
I have so much to say, but I have to go do the work. So much work—relentless, inescapable, sometimes heartbreaking. The hard truth is if you care, really care, then you must do what you can:
As I told myself when I started (👇), if you don't, who will?
Independent online software is caught in a downward spiral of burnout and disillusionment. Can we stop it?
And with this, thank you all! Help us by sharing this thread, and...have I mentioned we have a Patreon? We have all kinds of tiers—including new ones!—from $3 to $100. With your help we can hire (and upskill) those who can TRULY make our web awesome.
Empowering fujin and other online subcultures to shape their web
Thank you all, and don't forget to reblog 👀🧵!
