Ao3 hate bot is going around leaving nasty messages. If you get a comment like this mark it as spam. According to comments it seems to be going to most recent not fandom specific.
Hi, it's me again, the person who wrote that viral post about fanfiction plagiarism! Today I'm here to warn you about abuse perpetrated by bots who have stolen AO3 usernames.
There's currently an epidemic of bots going around leaving (apparently random) horrible, hateful comments on people's fics. This isn't the first time bots have invaded AO3, but the big problem with this wave is that they're using real AO3 usernames to do it.
I learned about this when another writer contacted me after receiving the following comment on their story:
Now, while that is my username, I DEFINITELY did not leave this comment (and anyone who would leave something like that on a fic should be slapped! What an awful thing to post). This fic is in a completely unrelated fandom that I have never participated in, nor has that author participated in any of my fandoms, so the probability of it being some intentional fandom drama thing to make me look bad is also low.
The writer whose fic the comment was left on enlisted the aid of some friends and tracked down other guest comments with unrelated usernames attached, which is pretty strong evidence that they are being left by bots at random.
The TL;DR: If you receive a cruel comment from a (Guest) with an actual AO3 username attached, it's most likely from a bot. Please do not lash out at or dogpile the AO3 user who owns that name, and who in all likelihood has no idea that their name has been hijacked for evil.
If finding this kind of comment on a fic, even left by a bot, is likely to upset you, I would recommend changing your comment settings so that only users who are logged in can leave comments. To do this, edit your story settings, and under "Privacy," select the radio button that says "Only registered users can comment," as shown below.
Please spread the word to other AO3 users! And if you see mean guest comments on other fics, maybe let the author know that it's probably from a bot and not a real person who thinks their writing is bad.
It would seem a whole new kind of AO3 reader/writer is emerging and it is becoming clear not everyone quite understands how the website community works. Here is some basic guidance on how most people expect you to go about using AO3 to keep this a fun community archive that funtions correctly:
I KNOW there's plenty more I missed but I'm trying to cover most of the basics that people seem to be struggling with.
I invite anyone to add to this, but please explain, don't berate.
People are so entitled in the comments damn like no you writer don’t have to put up with you being rude they wrote you entertainment for free
To the people in the notes who are insisting that they have the right to leave negative feedback on AO3:
What you’re not understanding is that fandom is not a service, it’s a community. I saw someone compare leaving a comment on AO3 to reviewing a product on Amazon - if you didn’t like the product, you’re going to say so. But fanworks are not products and you didn’t pay money for them. They were shared with you.
Leaving un-asked-for criticism in AO3 comments isn’t like reviewing a product you were disappointed with. It’s like going to a friend’s house when they’ve cooked a meal and telling them all the things that are wrong with the food. Sure, you can do it, but it’s rude as hell and they are probably not going to invite you to dinner again.
("Can you leave crit in comments” has been a debate as long as I’ve been in fandom, but 20 years ago the argument was “I’m helping the writer improve!” and not “I am a consumer with a right to complain.” Fandom has gotten more creepily capitalistic over the decades but jerks are evergreen, I guess.)
@Fanfic writers:
My friend send me this link, is a series on a profile on Ao3 (tumblr) that has different tutorials to insert things to fanfics via html code, I thought I would share bc it’s really cool
Lists of tutorials:
This is a tutorial/live example on how to make large images fit on mobile browsers but remain normal size on desktop browsers.
This is a tutorial/live example on how to mimic the look of letters, fliers, and stationery (as well as other forms of written media) without using images. For all your epistolary fic needs.
This is a tutorial/live example on how to create a "Choose Your Own Adventure" fic. While this has been explained before (see here), this particular tutorial shows you how to use a work skin to hide the next parts from the reader until they click through to get to them.
This is a live example of how an author can create linked footnotes in their work with only a little bit of HTML and no workskins required. This is best viewed by clicking "Entire Work". While I've included the actual coding in bold and italic once you click "Hide Creator's Style", there's a more detailed explanation here.
This a tutorial/live example on how to have text change or appear once a cursor is hovering over it. Helpful for pop-up spoilers, language translations, quick author's notes, etc.
Anonymous on tumblr: do you have a skin that would mimic the author’s notes and review/kudos buttons section from the end of a fic? the desired effect being that the fic could go on after the “end” of the fic, so after the author’s notes and review/kudos buttons
Here's a tutorial/live example to do just that, with some of the buttons actually functioning. I'll explain more inside!
This is a tutorial/live example on how to align images to the left or right of the screen and have text wrap around them.
This is a tutorial/live example on how to mimic email windows on AO3 without the need to use images.
This is a tutorial/live example on how to mimic iOS text messages on AO3 without the need to use images. There's also a chapter on how to have emojis displayed on AO3 as well.
Bored with the default page dividers? This is a tutorial/live example on how customize your page dividers with no images needed (though I do show you how you could use images if you wanted to do such a thing).
This is a live example how to make invisible text that can only be seen by highlighting the text. Tutorial is included in text, and you can always leave comments about questions you may have.
MOBILE USERS: Sadly, this probably won't work for you, since highlighting in a mobile browser is different than web. I've tried correcting this, but have yet to find a solution.
Original coding and design is from layouttest. I make no claims for it, just tweaked it so it will work on AO3.
This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of lined notebook paper in their work. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.
This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of sticky notes (aka Post-Its) in their fic. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.
This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of Deadpool's thinking boxes in their fic. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.
This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of a newspaper article in their work. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.
This is really useful and I'll always reblog it.
18:30 UTC on July 11, 2023
As of now AO3 is back up. However, in the past hour the OTW website and the donation platform have become inaccessible. We believe it is part of the same attack first made on the Archive. We will be providing updates via this account.
We also want to alert fans that on Twitter someone using the name AO3_Status_ (note the second underscore). If you are on Twitter, please block and report this account.
The fake account is impersonating our service status account and attempting to scam AO3 users out of money. Fans on all platforms should be wary of anyone soliciting money on behalf of the OTW or its projects at this time. (The real donation form is currently down due to a DDoS.)
Open Doors and Legal Advocacy pages are also not available at this time. Our Fanlore project is being worked on and should be back today. Our Transformative Works and Cultures site has not been affected. Thank you for being patient while we restore services!
Go read an old fic.
There’s such recency bias in fandom. As an author you post something, get a few reactions, and then it goes off into the bin. As a reader you check the tags, see what’s new, and move on. But a lot of old stuff is really good. It’s just sitting there, gathering dust, waiting for someone to take a peek.
So go on. Treat yourself.
Read an old fic.
I’d argue there’s a bias against like… middle-aged fics in particular. A lot of people sort by kudos or bookmarks, but that’s going to be strongly biased toward older fics, which have had more time to accumulate them. Then there’s people that sort by date and read the newest. But there’s so much good material in that middle area.
A friend taught me her trick for smaller fandoms, which is to sort by kudos and use the published date filters to go through the fandom in 6-month increments. Within a 6-month time span, you’re not really going to get the kudos-over-time bias. Basically, you end up reading the best fics of each 6-month period until you start hitting fics below your quality threshold, wherever that is. You’ll find so much good material that way that would never have crossed your line of sight otherwise.
Please, please report people who put their ko-fi or Patreon on their AO3 without mercy. Just click the link at the bottom of the page that says Policy Questions and Abuse Reports and say the user is engaging in monetisation. Say where you saw their ko-fi link or mention (author’s note, whatever) and copy the info on their user profile, too, in order to make it easier for the volunteers.
–
REPORT THEM ALL
YES YES THIS.
Report them all.
Allowing those links to remain could endanger the OTW's legal copyright defense of fanfic, in case some company or author decides to sue them.
The OTW's argument includes that AO3 is absolute a not-for-profit site. Not just "run by a nonprofit company" (which it is), but also, "nobody posting this fic is making money here."
That's not the only potential legal argument for fanfic. Certainly it doesn't matter for public domain works. But. It's part of their argument, and that protects the whole archive instead of just some works. It relies on them doing everything they can to keep the site free of commercial exploitation.
Those authors are free to post their works with kofi & patreon links
And so on. They just can't post "send me money" links or requests OF ANY SORT on AO3.
Don't let them ruin it for all of us.
Based on both decent and not so decent replies, I have made some changes to my original post below.
It would seem a whole new kind of AO3 reader/writer is emerging and it is becoming clear not everyone quite understands how the website community works. Here is some basic guidance on how most people expect you to go about using AO3 to keep this a fun community archive that funtions correctly:
I KNOW there's plenty more I missed but I'm trying to cover most of the basics that people seem to be struggling with.
I invite anyone to add to this, but please explain, don't berate.
@Fanfic writers:
My friend send me this link, is a series on a profile on Ao3 (tumblr) that has different tutorials to insert things to fanfics via html code, I thought I would share bc it’s really cool
Lists of tutorials:
This is a tutorial/live example on how to make large images fit on mobile browsers but remain normal size on desktop browsers.
This is a tutorial/live example on how to mimic the look of letters, fliers, and stationery (as well as other forms of written media) without using images. For all your epistolary fic needs.
This is a tutorial/live example on how to create a "Choose Your Own Adventure" fic. While this has been explained before (see here), this particular tutorial shows you how to use a work skin to hide the next parts from the reader until they click through to get to them.
This is a live example of how an author can create linked footnotes in their work with only a little bit of HTML and no workskins required. This is best viewed by clicking "Entire Work". While I've included the actual coding in bold and italic once you click "Hide Creator's Style", there's a more detailed explanation here.
This a tutorial/live example on how to have text change or appear once a cursor is hovering over it. Helpful for pop-up spoilers, language translations, quick author's notes, etc.
Anonymous on tumblr: do you have a skin that would mimic the author’s notes and review/kudos buttons section from the end of a fic? the desired effect being that the fic could go on after the “end” of the fic, so after the author’s notes and review/kudos buttons
Here's a tutorial/live example to do just that, with some of the buttons actually functioning. I'll explain more inside!
This is a tutorial/live example on how to align images to the left or right of the screen and have text wrap around them.
This is a tutorial/live example on how to mimic email windows on AO3 without the need to use images.
This is a tutorial/live example on how to mimic iOS text messages on AO3 without the need to use images. There's also a chapter on how to have emojis displayed on AO3 as well.
Bored with the default page dividers? This is a tutorial/live example on how customize your page dividers with no images needed (though I do show you how you could use images if you wanted to do such a thing).
This is a live example how to make invisible text that can only be seen by highlighting the text. Tutorial is included in text, and you can always leave comments about questions you may have.
MOBILE USERS: Sadly, this probably won't work for you, since highlighting in a mobile browser is different than web. I've tried correcting this, but have yet to find a solution.
Original coding and design is from layouttest. I make no claims for it, just tweaked it so it will work on AO3.
This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of lined notebook paper in their work. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.
This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of sticky notes (aka Post-Its) in their fic. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.
This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of Deadpool's thinking boxes in their fic. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.
This is a live example of my AO3 skin that allows the author to recreate the look of a newspaper article in their work. To learn more about it, you can find the tutorial here.
omg, I can’t believe this is the final chapter! thank you to each and every one of you for sticking with me on this Gwynriel journey; I’ve had a surprising amount of fun writing them!!!
stay tuned for more news about Mr. & Mrs. Vanserra, which I should start posting within the next 2 weeks. I’m planning on keeping that story to about 3 chapters, but they’ll be longer than my usual chapters so it won’t be a quick story by any means. if I end up extending it, you’ll be the first to hear about it <3
read the last chapter on ao3 here! and yes this is the long awaited smut chapter 😏
and as always let me know if the tags work xoxo
tag list (lmk if you want to be added/removed): @live-the-fangirl-life | @nessiansimp | @bookologist | @simpingfornestaarcheron | @sayosdreams | @dealingdifferentdevils | @rowaelinismyotp | @arinbelle | @swankii-art-teacher | @ladygabrielli1997 | @teagoddess99 | @dontgetsalmonella | @champanheandluxxury | @chloepereyra | @bookstantrash | @houseofcalores | @lysakirova | @generalnesta | @gwynberdara | @sv0430 | @catplayinvioline | @julemmaes | @secretlovelybeauty | @flora-shadowshine | @imsointobooks | @sophilightwood
I can’t believe this is the final sneak peek for this story *cries* I’ve had so much fun writing this and going on this journey with you all! every reblog, like, comment, and kudo has been so so appreciated and I can’t wait to see your reactions to the final chapter.
stay tuned for chapter five to be posted this Saturday! read chapters one through four on ao3 here :-)
hi everybody, I can’t believe we’re down to the final chapter coming out this week! I’ve had such a blast doing this story and I can’t wait to continue it with Elucien in the next installment.
I’m doing the sneak peek a day early because I figured I’d do two this week to make up for the fact that the story is ending this week, so stay tuned for a second sneak peek on thursday!
Read chapters one through four on ao3 here :-)
hey everybody, happy Saturday! the newest chapter is now posted and you can find it on ao3 here :-) a lot of questions will be answered and this was my favorite chapter to write so far!!
I’m also counting this as my Gwynriel Week participation, so check out @gwynrielweek for more information and to see all the lovely posts so far!!
I think chapter 5 will be the last chapter and I’ll have it split between Azriel and Gwyn’s POV, so stay tuned for next week!
tag list (lmk if you want to be added/removed): @live-the-fangirl-life | @nessiansimp | @bookologist | @simpingfornestaarcheron | @sayosdreams | @dealingdifferentdevils | @rowaelinismyotp | @arinbelle | @swankii-art-teacher| @ladygabrielli1997 | @teagoddess99 | @dontgetsalmonella | @champanheandluxxury | @chloepereyra | @bookstantrash | @houseofcalores | @lysakirova | @generalnesta | @gwynberdara | @sv0430 | @catplayinvioline | @julemmaes | @secretlovelybeauty | @flora-shadowshine | @imsointobooks | @sophilightwood
happy Wednesday everybody! thank you for all the lovely words and comments and support for chapter three, it was so fun seeing everyone’s reactions (especially about the code names LOL). here’s a sneak peek of chapter four, which I’m planning on posting on Saturday to get in on some Gwynriel Appreciation Week goodness! check out @gwynrielweek for more details <3
read chapters one through three of Mr. & Mrs. Berdara on ao3 here :)
also shoutout to @genya-berdara for the Gwynriel forehead kiss discourse, this one’s for you
Azriel wasn’t sure how long they stood there, but it took a little while for Gwyn to run out of heavy-duty tears and transition into hiccups and sniffles. His shirt was wet from where she’d pressed her face into his chest, but it was just a shirt. Besides, he needed to do laundry anyway.
“I’m sorry, I’m such mess right now,” she said eventually, her voice muffled. “You probably have things to do at home and here I am just ruining your shirt. And your evening.”
“Don’t apologize,” he said. He leaned his head down to press a kiss to the top of her head before he could second-guess himself, marveling at the fact that she let him touch her without recoiling. Then again, she had let him kiss her, so… maybe she did like his touch after all. “You had an absolutely wild couple of days. I don’t know how you haven’t had a breakdown yet. And it really is just a shirt.”
A half-hearted laugh escaped her lips and something warm flared in his chest that he’d been able to make her smile through her tears. “Are you just saying that because you’re trying to get in my pants?”
“Of course not,” he replied quickly. “I mean, not that I wouldn’t have a good time getting into your pants. Because I would. You’re very beautiful. You’re probably the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen. Well, not probably. You are the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen. But –”
“Azriel,” she said, poking him in the stomach. He abruptly stopped talking and his cheeks warmed at the realization that he’d been rambling in a way he’d never rambled before around anyone. “I was just joking.”
“Oh,” he said. “Oh. Okay.”
“It’s nice to know you think so highly of me, though,” she teased. “And for the record, I would have a good time getting into your pants, too.”
tag list (lmk if you want to be added/removed): @live-the-fangirl-life | @nessiansimp | @bookologist | @simpingfornestaarcheron | @sayosdreams | @dealingdifferentdevils | @rowaelinismyotp | @arinbelle | @swankii-art-teacher | @ladygabrielli1997 | @teagoddess99 | @dontgetsalmonella | @champanheandluxxury | @chloepereyra | @bookstantrash | @houseofcalores | @lysakirova | @generalnesta | @gwynberdara | @sv0430 | @catplayinvioline | @julemmaes | @secretlovelybeauty | @flora-shadowshine | @imsointobooks | @sophilightwood
so sorry for the delay everyone! I hope this chapter is more than worth it and I can’t wait to hear all of your thoughts <3
read it on ao3 here :-)
taglist (lmk if you want to be added or removed): @live-the-fangirl-life | @nessiansimp | @bookologist | @simpingfornestaarcheron | @sayosdreams | @dealingdifferentdevils | @rowaelinismyotp | @arinbelle | @swankii-art-teacher | @ladygabrielli1997 | @teagoddess99 | @dontgetsalmonella | @champanheandluxxury | @chloepereyra | @bookstantrash | @houseofcalores | @lysakirova | @generalnesta | @gwynberdara | @sv0430 | @catplayinvioline | @julemmaes | @secretlovelybeauty | @flora-shadowshine | @imsointobooks | @sophilightwood