Anonymous · 1y
Hello, Thank you for your answer but to be honest, I am still extremely concerned. As I pointed out, Fulminate is in almost the same stage of production as this zine (application stage) so this explanation does not make sense to me.
If Fulminate was already in post preorder or production stage I would understand but at this point the schedules overlap so much that if any issues occur at Fulminate while your finance mod “learns the ropes” they WILL directly impact this zine given the schedules. If you want people to give your finance mod a chance then they should really also give themselves a chance by not underestimating the work involved and taking on more than one project at a time during their first experience.
To be clear: I don't want to insinuate that they are untrustworthy or that anything will definitely go wrong, but doing TWO for profit finance management projects AT THE SAME TIME as a FIRST zine experience outide of local, uni-based work is going to be hugely difficult and I hope that they, you and any potential contributors are aware of this going in.
I strongly advise reconsidering doing two projects at the same time as a first foray into zine finance management, or at least hiring another finance assistant to take on some of the work and provide a separate account for funds. I know some experienced finance mods who do not like to take on more than one for-profit project at a time because they find it hard to manage during the preorder and fulfilment stages.
Not to mention, knowing someone irl is not a preventative measure - at least one of the recent mod incidents involved a finance mod with extensive experience who was irl friends with other mods and contributors - it didn’t stop them from getting overwhelmed with taking on too many projects at the same time and mismanaging funds.
I do understand that everyone needs to start somewhere but this really feels like starting on hard mode.
Thank you
Hello! Thank you so much for expressing your concerns following our previous response.
We are, indeed, aware of the fact that our Finance Moderator is new to the zine scene and also that they are undertaking two zine projects that are at similar stages at the same time. However, we will say that she is receiving guidance and assistance from both the Fulminate zine moderators and from our own moderators, and she has been doing a wonderful job so far. She knows she has other moderators from whom she can ask for advice, and she is a very communicative person who really likes to get tasks done.
We understand that the preorder and fulfilment stages will test her mettle, but, knowing her work ethic, we do believe that she will succeed in managing both her work and any funds we may receive.
In addition, you are corrrect in that knowing someone irl is not quite a preventative measure, but knowing someone personally for over six years does add, at the very least, a baseline of mutual trust. So, I (hi hi, it's me the head mod again) know that if anything were to come up for whatever reason no matter what it may be, our Finance mod will inform the rest of us. And if it does so happen that something does happen to her where she cannot continue working with our zine anymore, depending on where we are in the process, I will either attempt to recruit a different Finance Moderator completely or I will take over the responsibilities myself, in which case I will reach out to some very experienced moderators with whom I've persnally worked on other faznine projects for further advice and guidance.
Some tangiblle prevantative measures we will take in our zine project to make sure our Finance Mod is still with us and doing her work correctly include regular check-ins and progress update reports throughout the entire process as well as proofs of receipts when the time to purchase items arrives.
However, if there's any other prevantative measures you would like to suggest or if there's anything else that we can do to help alleviate your concerns, please feel free to suggest something and to let us know :)
