#Answers Websites

[kayleerowena]

are you an artist who wants to get away from big site-builders like squarespace & have a place to put your work that isn't social media? i threw together a super basic portfolio code template you can use to make your own website!

it should be easy enough to customize if you have a basic understanding of what html and css are. features include:

responsive to fit on different screen sizes

fairly compact — less than 300 lines of css, and you never have to look at anything after line 30 if you don't want to

customizable fonts, colors, image sizes, and decorations right at the top of the css

image gallery with a lightbox function (clicking an image to make it bigger)

free to customize to your heart's content!

enjoy! if you end up using it, please let me know; i'd love to see what you do with it!

blog post ✷ live preview & code ✷ tip jar

[crimeronan]

woke up thinking about horror stories, the banality of evil, and how certain childhood experiences recontextualize themselves through the lens of adulthood. which got me wondering

everyone on the planet is traumatized by something or other, so this isn't necessarily "are you traumatized." also it's not about defining what horror Is or Isn't. it's just, gut reaction: is it a horror story or not??

[shelbybunny]

imagine submitting an essay to your teacher and when your teacher hands it back to you you have a big red F and they wrote that you plagiarized and when you confront them about it they smugly present a library of babel entry that is just the entirety of your essay

[heartorbit]

find another role, carry on the show

[aurorasulphur]

Disclaimer: none of these answers are official, and may not work for your particular use case. If there is a specific feature that an unofficial app had that you don't know how to replicate on the AO3, let me know in the notes and we might can crowdsource a solution.

A lot of people used the Archive Reader app to access stories on Archive of Our Own, and have been upset that the app is now charging to read longer than an hour a day. AO3 (and its parent organization, the OTW) has made it extremely clear in recent days that this app is unofficial and that there *is* no official app. They encourage people to use the website.

However, there are MANY reasons you might want an app, and in a bunch of those cases, there are ways to do those things without having to provide your login information to a random person running an app. Here is a round-up of solutions to the most common reasons I've seen people give for wanting an app instead of the plain AO3 website.

These solutions are based on the following assumptions:

You know what Archive of Our Own is

You often or primarily access it through a mobile device running iOS or Android

You understand what a browser is

You understand what a browser bookmark is

You understand what a site skin is

Edits:

Edited to clarify that you must be logged in to use custom site skins

Edited to add more tips and tricks from the reblogs

Edited to add new entry about notifications/emails

Edited to add new entry about reading statistics and the tracking thereof

I need a widget on my phone's homescreen, not just a browser bookmark.

You can do this with any website, not just AO3! Instructions here: https://www.howtogeek.com/196087/how-to-add-websites-to-the-home-screen-on-any-smartphone-or-tablet/

I need Dark Mode.

AO3 has a default site skin for Dark Mode, it's just called Reversi. Find it here, or at the bottom of any page on the website. https://archiveofourown.org/skins/929/

If you'd like Dark Mode on your whole browser (and you're on Android), sorrelchestnut has advice here: https://www.tumblr.com/sorrelchestnut/737869282153775104/if-you-want-dark-mode-and-dont-want-to-mess

I need to be able to read stories when I don't have internet.

Every work on the AO3 has a download button, so you can click on that and download the story for offline reading in the ereader app of your choice. More info on how to do that is in the AO3 FAQs: https://archiveofourown.org/faq/downloading-fanworks?language_id=en#accesslater

I need to be able to change the text size of the website itself.

If you have an AO3 account (and you should!!) you can do this with a personalized site skin! There is a simple tutorial here: https://www.tumblr.com/ao3skin/667284237718798336/i-have-a-request-if-you-dont-mind-could-you

I need to be able to change the text size in downloaded stories.

My personal recommendation: Don't download in PDF format. All the other formats you can download in can scale the text size up and down, assuming you open the work in the correct app. For me, I download works in EPUB format and read them on the built-in Books app on my iPhone. I hear good things about Moon Reader on Android as well.

I need to be able to replace Y/N in fics with an actual name.

ElectricAlice has a bookmarklet for that here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34796935

I need to be able to save specific tags and not have to search them up every time.

If you have an AO3 account (which you definitely should) then you can favorite up to 20 tags which will appear on the landing page. The AO3 FAQ explains how that works: https://archiveofourown.org/faq/tags?language_id=en#favtag

I need to be able to save specific filters and be able to apply them to any tag.

Reisling's beautiful bookmarklet has you covered: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33825019

I need to be able to permanently hide certain tags.

The best option is adding this to your site skin. (Must be logged in.) Instructions here: https://www.tumblr.com/ao3css/719667033634160640/how-to-permanently-filter-out-certain-tags-on-ao3

I also hear things about the AO3 Enhancements extension (just for Android/desktop, sorry iOS folks): https://www.tumblr.com/emotionalsupportrats/686787582579851265/browser-extension-everyone-on-ao3-should-know

I need it to save my place on the page and not reload.

This is really mostly a browser error--Firefox on iOS does this to me A LOT. Your best bet is to download the work and read it in an ereader app. A lot of people also will make an ao3 bookmark and write in the notes section which part they were at, but that assumes you aren't falling asleep while reading. (Which is the main reason I have this issue, lol.) For more info on bookmarks, see the FAQ: https://archiveofourown.org/faq/bookmarks?language_id=en#whatisbookmark

I need it to keep track of which stories I've already read/opened/kudos'd.

If you have an account (which you should) then the "My History" page keeps track of every fic you've ever clicked on. No, it isn't searchable or sortable, but it does exist. For fics you've kudos'd, I have yet to find a solution for iOS. For desktop or Android, you can use this excellent userscript: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/5835-ao3-kudosed-and-seen-history

@the-sleepy-archivist and @inkandarsenic have a solution for iOS here to use userscripts: https://www.tumblr.com/the-sleepy-archivist/737895174683885568/this-is-a-great-guide-one-thing-i-can-help-with and https://www.tumblr.com/inkandarsenic/737827438571192320/the-user-scripts-will-also-work-on-ios-there-are

I need an app because the website's search is terrible.

(I genuinely don't understand this one but I have seen it multiple times so on the list it goes!!) The search bar at the top of the screen is a keyword search. If you'd rather search within a specific field (like title or tag) then you'll want to click on the word "search" at the top of the screen and select Work Search or Tag Search. To search users, use People Search. To search Bookmarks, use Bookmark Search. (If this is you, please tell me what the heck you mean by "search is bad" and how an app helped with this.)

I need to be able to sort stories by date posted/number of bookmarks/alphabetical/etc.

You can do this using the filters sidebar. Pick a tag you want to filter on (like a fandom, character, or relationship) and then click on the "Filters" button. The sidebar will pop out and you can sort and filter on a boggling array of specifics. A good filtering guide: https://www.tumblr.com/saurons-pr-department/718665516093472768/if-there-is-something-you-dont-want-to-see-in

I need to be able to mark stories to read later.

AO3 has this feature built in! If you have an account (which you should) there is a "Mark for Later" option on every work.

Edit: Thispersonishuman reminded me that History and Mark For Later can be disabled, so if you're not seeing the Mark for Later option, check your settings.

I need to be able to listen to stories using text-to-speech.

Microsoft Edge web browser has a built in text to speech function. Supposedly it works on both iOS and Android, but I have not personally tested that. iOS also has a native accessibility feature in settings for text to speech that will work on the Books app, so I assume Android has a similar functionality. A bunch of people in the reblogs have more in-depth Android recommendations here: https://www.tumblr.com/protect-namine/737957194510794752/seconding-voice-aloud-on-android-for-tts-my, https://www.tumblr.com/smallercommand/737884523093704704/i-use-voice-for-tts-on-android-its-got-some, and https://www.tumblr.com/doitninetimes/737869463749263360/for-text-to-speech-on-android-you-can-also-check

I need to have in-app notifications for updates/I can't ever find story updates in among the rest of my emails/checking my email stresses me out.

Set up a separate email address using a free service like gmail, and use that email address JUST for AO3. Then the only emails in that inbox will be your story updates. I use Apple's Mail application for all my inboxes, but it's very easy to use the Gmail app instead, and you could log in to JUST the ao3 email and set it to notify for every email.

(Also as a general PSA: don't use your work, school, or military email as your AO3 email. Just don't.)

I want statistics like how many hours I spent reading, how many words I read, what my most read tags were, stuff like that.

So we've finally hit something that isn't easy and that requires a hell of a lot of manual work. Short version: AO3 does not track this data because they don't want to. (Mostly due to privacy concerns.) The lack of this tracking is a feature, not a bug. You can crunch these numbers yourself, but it will take a hell of a lot more effort, and it's something I personally found is not worth the effort the couple of times I have tried to crunch those numbers. If you are willing to download your history to an actual computer (not a tablet or chromebook) using Calibre, you can get a rough idea of your most popular tags via their tag browser, but it won't play nice with typos synned to a Common Tag (Canonical Tag/filterable tag) like ao3 does. (If anyone has used an app that gave you stats on this, please let me know in reblogs/replies/via ask how that worked because I am very curious.)

I need an app because <other reason>.

The AO3 Unofficial Browser Tools FAQ might cover your use case: https://archiveofourown.org/faq/unofficial-browser-tools?language_id=en If not, give a shout and we'll see what other tumblr users suggest!

[motleyfam]

nothing makes me feel more boomerish than barking "REPRESENTATIVE" into my phone for the 87th time while some automated system cheerfully assures me that my issue can be handled on their website (it cannot)

[toyhamu]

Hello !

First of all : I love your art ! It's so colorful and bubbly.

Since you seem to like old web stuff, I was wondering if you had a personal website, a NeoCities page or perhaps a SpaceHey account ?

tysm! yes, i do have my own personal website! ^^ i am on neocities too but i recently moved to nekoweb as my main domain since it is easier for me to code there!

feel free to visit and take a look around! :D

[arttsuka]

Can u draw Jedidiah and Octavius having a movie night using Larry's phone please 🙏??

I love your art sm!

Aww, thank you ♡

What movie are they watching? (Pretend there is something on that phone screen pls)

[nyancrimew]

Do you go by it/its exclusively now? Do you want your wikipedia page to be updated?

the wikipedia article is partially edit protected because people keep trying to edit the pronouns in it without checking either the talk page, the page history or at the very least the linked references on the footnote regarding my pronouns. i have to tell people on here not to edit the pronouns in the article almost every single month and half the time someone sees me asking not to go change them as some sort of challenge and immediately goes to edit the article. please just don't.

[pseudophan]

the fuckass google ai overview feature only came to norway a couple of weeks ago and i already hate it so bad, however i do have to admit that including 'ship name' as a Key Fact is funny as shit

[userautumn]

For what it's worth (and it's not me being delusional) - I think there's a chance that Bobby in fact isn't dead, though he will be retiring and perhaps only come back to the show here and there. The cast's weak, coordinated reactions to the death (Ryan literally just posted a "funny" tribute picture to Bobby) when you know they would be providing far deeper messages to their mentor, just shows this isn't being taken seriously imo. I think Bobby is likely gone as a main but not dead.

Right. So.

I'm going to try to pick my words carefully here, because we all cope and grieve in different ways, but if Bobby isn't dead (and I truly believe he is), I am desperate for you to understand how much worse that is.

Listen to me.

If Bobby isn't dead, that means:

Tim is doing the press circuit

Peter gave a farewell statement and goodbye to the 118/Angela,

The cast posted tributes (whether you believe they're heartfelt or not)

all with the intention of screwing with the fans minds. Please hear me when I say:

That is not okay.

That is not normal.

That is not "clever," that is not "4D chess," that is not smart, or genius, or "a non-traditional approach."

That is, genuinely and without hyperbole, sadistic and malicious behavior on the parts of everyone involved.

What disturbs me even more, (and this is not at you directly, though it involves you) is the fact that Bobby not being dead is framed as a good thing by fandom. It's not. People are hurt. People are grieving. We feel this devastating loss deeply, and though this show, like every other show in the world, is a creative and escapist outlet, it's also not created in a vacuum. Which means that to suffer this loss on top of the greater tragedy happening in the world - both political and personal - means that this death, this grief has real-world implications. People die on TV; that's what people do and major character deaths do not have to be bad things. But as a showrunner, it is your inherent responsibility to treat these deaths with tact and care.

So to put people through that unnecessarily or to fabricate this grief for what I could only assume would be his own pleasure since Tim has stated on multiple occasions that he does what he pleases when he pleases would be so unspeakably vicious and evil. I need you to understand that.

I know many of you don't get it when I say I hate Tim Minear, and that's fine. We're all operating from different levels of engagement and understanding. But I need you to stop and consider this without the lens of fandom goggles.

As much as I am hurting right now (and believe me, I am hurting), I would rather Bobby's death be sincere than a fake-out because that would mean that every single person involved in the making of this show is complicit in a deep and unprecedented psychological manipulation that is, at its core, despicably evil. I don't want to believe that this show we have given our joy, our trust, and our hearts to for several years is created by people who view us, their viewers as fans, as little more than playthings. I don't want to believe that. But I will if the evidence points to that (and, right now, on Tim's part especially, even without the fake-out, the evidence is pointing to that).

As for the cast's coordinated tributes, it is common for casts to post farewells after the episode's East Coast premiere, so calling their posting coordinated seems baseless. As for those reactions being "weak," there could be several reasons for that. But when you cater to a fandom that is, in large part, dedicated to picking your words apart for clues, you often sacrifice intimacy in the interest of clarity. When your words are succinct and clear, it is impossible to misconstrue or misunderstand their intention. Do I believe we would have gotten longer, more heartfelt posts three years ago? Yes. But we have what we have and, what you interpreted as a weak response, I just interpreted as the cast saying their goodbyes in a clear manner.

We'll see what happens but know that if this proves to be fake, we as a fandom (all sides of the fandom) really need to reckon with who is running this show and how much power over us we want to continue to give him. Because this would not be okay on SO many levels.

[marc--chilton]

house having a reputation for being soooo unserious that all of his passes at wilson are brushed off when in reality he would let wilson fuck him in his fishbowl if wilson would let him

[solarpunkani]

My mom spontaneously hit me last night—in the middle of me streaming no less—with the “Hey let’s go early vote TOMORROW” bomb so now I’m trying to do research and

Why aren’t local officials answering the ballotpedia surveys?! Half of them don’t even have WEBSITES or SOCIAL MEDIAS linked

How the FUCK am I supposed to know who the fuck you are and what the fuck you stand for

[darkxwolf17]

Chat.... There's no fucking way.... Guys... I need a minute. Guys. I'm normal I'm.so normal