In early 2024, IFTAS launched a pilot project called the Moderator Advisory Council to engage volunteer moderators in offering feedback on IFTAS activities. Due to scheduling limitations, the council met only once, in March 2024, and with limited attendance, and ultimately completed no projects for IFTAS.
After several months of inactivity, IFTAS decided to close the project and refocus on developing a broader community of practice for moderators. During the closure process, IFTAS became aware of reports of unacceptable online behaviour by one Council participant who had not attended any meetings or participated in project activities. Upon review, IFTAS accelerated the closure of the project.
No members of the Moderator Advisory Council were employees of IFTAS, which operates with no employees, four part-time subcontractors, and one volunteer executive director. Some participants, including the individual referenced, received a stipend of $260 per month to support their availability and preparatory work. As of September 2024, this individual was no longer affiliated with, receiving compensation from, or in contact with IFTAS. Having received a query about the Council and our affiliation with the referenced former volunteer, we have chosen to respond here as well as privately to clarify IFTAS’s position and the project’s history.
Our Community Participation Guidelines outline our expectations for all participants in IFTAS projects, and reflect our dedication to building a respectful, safe environment.
About IFTAS
IFTAS’s current projects include FediCheck, a tool for shared denylist management in the fediverse; the Content Classification Service built to help fediverse moderators combat the distribution of CSAM on decentralized networks, currently in limited beta release; our annual needs assessment for fediverse moderators; and IFTAS Connect, our moderation community of practice.
The organization was launched with a one-time Open Societies Foundations grant with New Venture Fund as our fiscal host, and has received one additional grant, from Redwood Creek Action, as well as just over $9,000 in community contributions—a vital support for our ongoing work. Our most recent publicly available tax filing is accessible online.