And other fanworks, for that matter, but let’s talk about fic: When AO3 was proposed, it was in response to Strikethrough and other similar events. Livejournal deleted a lot of accounts without bothering to distinguish between actual pedophiles, survivor support groups, and 100% consensual fantasy fandom activities being done by adults with other adults (most of which involved RP accounts for 16-year-old Harry Potter characters anyway).
I helped write the first AO3 Terms of Service and set up the Abuse committee. AO3 was always intended to be welcoming to all kinds of fic, no matter how dirty, sick, socially unacceptable, bizarre, or out of fashion. During those initial TOS talks, we specifically discussed grotesque RPF snuff porn as the test case for something all of us on the committee found distasteful but would nonetheless defend because, by defending it, we created a space where all of our own favorite things were protected too.
Policing fic content is a slippery slope. Even if you only police the “worst” stuff, you create an environment where the more sensitive authors and no few of the ones “shipping to cope” are no longer comfortable posting at all. Attacking people for posting fic about rape/abuse/etc. is demanding that all survivors disclose. No amount of whining and backtracking will change this fact. It is a disgusting behavior that drives people from your fandoms and creates needless misery while adding nothing of value to the community.
If you want to kick certain kinds of content off of AO3, you do not belong on AO3 in the first place.
That means that you agreed NOT to bully or harass someone because they created content you don’t like, or to encourage other people to go bully and harass them.
Perhaps it’s time everyone who thinks that they have a right to police what people create on the Archive go and have a really thorough read of the ToS again.
And if you can’t abide by those rules, then LEAVE.
1. What’s your first and second most common work ratings? Any surprises?
Explicit (230)
General Audiences (40)
Not surprised. It tends to be porn or gen, though there are also 35 M fics, so that’s close to the gen numbers.
2. What’s your most common archive warning? Least common? Do you consider yourself an adventurous writer?
No Archive Warnings Apply (261)
Rape/Non-Con (1)
I like to think I’m fairly adventurous? But maybe not. At least I try to have variety.
3. How many fics have you written in each relationship category? Is this more accidental, or do you have preferences?
M/M (305)
Gen (20)
Multi (19)
Other (2)
F/M (2)
That’s not surprising. Well, I’m a little surprised I have more gen than multi, but it’s practically a tie. I def prefer writing m/m ships. Hell, of the F/M fics, one is omegaverse with evil alpha Mary, and the other is Anthea pegging Greg.
4. What are your top 4 fandoms by numbers? Are you still active in any of them, and do you tend to migrate a lot?
Sherlock (TV) (252)
Torchwood (73)
Supernatural (50)
Doctor Who (19)
I tend to stick with a fandom. The only reason Supernatural is so high is because I tag my Superwood fics with it. Same with Torchwood. I’ve only got a handful of purely Supernatural or Torchwood fics.
5. What are your top 4 character tags? Does this match how you feel about the characters, or are you puzzled?
Sherlock Holmes (188)
John Watson (183)
Greg Lestrade (90)
Mycroft Holmes (86)
Jack Harkness (75)
It’s says 4, but i’m throwing Jack in there for reasons. And this isn’t the least bit surprising to me. Jack’s still my fave, but I know I haven’t written as much with him. (though should it be 76, for the jack/jack fic?) I am a little surpised there’s a bit more Greg then Mycroft, but it’s close.
6. What are your top 2 most used additional tags, and your bottom 2? What would happen if you combined all 4 of these into a fic?
Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot (190)
Anal Sex (108)
Top John Watson (26)
Ficlet (24)
Sounds like a party to me…
7. How many WIPs do you have currently running on AO3? Any you don’t plan on finishing?
Looks like there’s 14 incomplete, which seems off, but eh. I might not ever finish that kidnapped Hamish fic from 3 years ago, and I want to scrap and restart ‘it doesn’t usually start with a wedding’, but yeah, I mean, I always intend to finish.
Which reminds me I need to write and post the next foundling chapter.
Bonus: Top 4 pairings? Any surprises? (this wasn’t part of the original but I wanted to)
1. What’s your first and second most common work ratings? Any surprises?
Explicit (230)
General Audiences (40)
Not surprised. It tends to be porn or gen, though there are also 35 M fics, so that’s close to the gen numbers.
2. What’s your most common archive warning? Least common? Do you consider yourself an adventurous writer?
No Archive Warnings Apply (261)
Rape/Non-Con (1)
I like to think I’m fairly adventurous? But maybe not. At least I try to have variety.
3. How many fics have you written in each relationship category? Is this more accidental, or do you have preferences?
M/M (305)
Gen (20)
Multi (19)
Other (2)
F/M (2)
That’s not surprising. Well, I’m a little surprised I have more gen than multi, but it’s practically a tie. I def prefer writing m/m ships. Hell, of the F/M fics, one is omegaverse with evil alpha Mary, and the other is Anthea pegging Greg.
4. What are your top 4 fandoms by numbers? Are you still active in any of them, and do you tend to migrate a lot?
Sherlock (TV) (252)
Torchwood (73)
Supernatural (50)
Doctor Who (19)
I tend to stick with a fandom. The only reason Supernatural is so high is because I tag my Superwood fics with it. Same with Torchwood. I’ve only got a handful of purely Supernatural or Torchwood fics.
5. What are your top 4 character tags? Does this match how you feel about the characters, or are you puzzled?
Sherlock Holmes (188)
John Watson (183)
Greg Lestrade (90)
Mycroft Holmes (86)
Jack Harkness (75)
It’s says 4, but i’m throwing Jack in there for reasons. And this isn’t the least bit surprising to me. Jack’s still my fave, but I know I haven’t written as much with him. (though should it be 76, for the jack/jack fic?) I am a little surpised there’s a bit more Greg then Mycroft, but it’s close.
6. What are your top 2 most used additional tags, and your bottom 2? What would happen if you combined all 4 of these into a fic?
Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot (190)
Anal Sex (108)
Top John Watson (26)
Ficlet (24)
Sounds like a party to me…
7. How many WIPs do you have currently running on AO3? Any you don’t plan on finishing?
Looks like there’s 14 incomplete, which seems off, but eh. I might not ever finish that kidnapped Hamish fic from 3 years ago, and I want to scrap and restart ‘it doesn’t usually start with a wedding’, but yeah, I mean, I always intend to finish.
Which reminds me I need to write and post the next foundling chapter.
Bonus: Top 4 pairings? Any surprises? (this wasn’t part of the original but I wanted to)
if you’re like “this fic was posted [x] number of days/weeks/months/years ago, it’s too late to post a comment,” let me tell you. no. it is never too late to comment. maybe someone else will see your comment and decide to read it. maybe the writer will see it, maybe they won’t, but if they do i guarantee they won’t be like “who’s this n00b commenting on my old fic” they’ll be like !!!! someone is reading my old stuff!!!! every time an AO3 comment is posted an angel gets its wings etc etc
After a lot of consideration over AO3′s rating system, I’ve decided how I’m going to categorize my fics from now on:
G – no dicks. Just none. Well, maybe a small baby with a penis pisses on the person changing that baby’s diaper (oh the family friendly laughs!), but that’s it. We’re the better for it.
T – dicks are alluded to, perhaps even mentioned, especially in respect to angst over teenage masturbation (heavy heavy angst), however, we know no details. In most cases, we don’t want to because it’d be a little creepy.
M – dicks factor heavily, and we know in pretty specific detail how those dicks are being used, and the direct results. But selections from the full spectrum of dick-related details are, tastefully or tauntingly, left out.
E – we know this dick. We know its veins and contours and twitches better than we know the back of our own hands, the smiles on our mothers’ faces, or the smell of our childhood homes.
Since they like to warn us about adult content, why can’t they tell what time it is on our system and warn us anytime after midnight when we click on a 10k+ fic with:
THIS IS THE BEST DOCUMENT IN ALL OF HISTORY. Basically, it has a script in it that has a “Post to AO3″ option and it will go in and fill in ALL the HTML you need – italics, bold, paragraph breaks, you name it!
It has directions in it for how to use it, but it’s real simple. You just always chose “Make a Copy” when you start writing to make a new document that you can then re-name. Change the language to American English (or whatever language you use) and type away. Then right before you post, click the button, get all the code in there, copy, paste, AND POST.
It is literally so, so glorious and I want to tell everyone.
(Also, the AO3 Cool FAQ page has some other cool stuff too!)
