Not the anon who made the comment, but the general sense among a lot of people in fandom is that AO3's frequent donation drives are a scam. There hasn't been any real transparency about why they need thousands of dollars and it's sketchy that they're listed as a non-profit, but there's no official budget of what they need $200,000/year for and where that money goes.
Most of their board of directors resigned this past December after an election "scandal". AO3 members who paid a $10 membership fee were allowed to vote in the election. The candidate who came in last place for the empty seat ended up being chosen by the board over the first place winner.
Basically, it's a lot of inner circle drama and some shadiness regarding money. Rumors are that staff members are being paid even though AO3 is a volunteer-only platform and all donation money is supposed to go to hosting the site.
Re: best fandom wank
Most of their board of directors resigned this past December after an election "scandal". AO3 members who paid a $10 membership fee were allowed to vote in the election. The candidate who came in last place for the empty seat ended up being chosen by the board over the first place winner.
Basically, it's a lot of inner circle drama and some shadiness regarding money. Rumors are that staff members are being paid even though AO3 is a volunteer-only platform and all donation money is supposed to go to hosting the site.
tl;dr: http://www.dailydot.com/geek/otw-board-resignation-controversy/