#ao3 commenting problems

[izhunny]

I've never allowed guest commenting on my ao3 works and haven't used guest commenting for myself since I made my account. That said, AO3 users can also change this setting for ALL works in a single pass from their works page.

Select Edit Works. Under Edit Multiple Works, select ALL and EDIT.

If "who can comment" is all you want to change, you can scroll right to the bottom because it's the last option before you save changes.

Sorry about the crappy screenshots I'm on mobile.

Yet another AO3 bot situation - please spread the word!

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.

[jellymellydraws]

AO3 Comments are SO SO SOOOOOOO important because you can only leave Kudos ONCE. You add to the hit count ONCE (every 24 hours).

So whenever someone updates their fic, the ONLY way an author knows who their regular readers are is if they comment on each chapter. And we WANT to know who's still reading.

Believe it or not, some of us think about the name that pops up constantly in the comments and go "omg I can't wait to see what they think of THIS SPECIFIC SCENE cuz I KNOW they'll say something about it!!!"

[cicaklah]

when I say every day I mean you can't remember the last time you didn't get a kudoes email.

reblog for sample size and to maximise wank over how I'm insisting on there being an e in kudoes

[elleldoe]

'you should just assume that people love your fics even if they don't give kudos/don't write comments'

ok, consider this: that is actually infinitely more painful.

people disliking my fics doesn't bother me. the thought that there are people out there who love my fics, yet don't consider the time and energy that I put into them, worth the time and energy it takes them to give kudos/write comments on the other hand, is discouraging at best and heartbreaking at worst.

[sweetiepie08]

Hey I got this comment on one of my fics this morning and it looked pretty sketchy. Anyone know anything about this?

Update: I have reported this as spam, but please keep spreading this to help fellow fanfic authors.

[loislame84]

If you want a reason why authors stop working on projects mid story… this is just one of the many reasons. People who read these stories need to remember that this is a free service. You don’t have to read them. You don’t have to comment. I owe you nothing and you owe me nothing in return. If you don’t like it, don’t read it.

If you think you can do better, I’d love to read it. The difference… if I don’t like it, I’ll just simply move on.

Have the day you deserve.

[lucylichtenweg]

The power of comments

Me writing: I don't have the strength to do it

Random reader leaving a comment: I like it

Me: I will write more, how many you want, I do it

[includedisco]

About unnecessarily harsh comments on fanfics(& I don't mean those dumbass AI ones)

What happened to reading the fucking tags so that you decide if a story is for you or not?

What happened to respecting the, "don't like don't read" tag?

What happened to respectfully pushing the fucking "back" button?

This recent habit of serial complainers bitching about people's stories in the comment section is just disgusting.

They have enough education to read the entire fanfic and write a bossy ass, demanding ass, discouraging ass comment but their stupid asses can't read the tags? How?

Unless a story has no tags, it was your choice to stay and read a story you knew you would trigger you. Don't complain afterwards. The habit of going out of your way to let the author know that you thought 'their story is badly written' or that 'their story wasn't for you' just makes you a jerk.

Before you make any comments on people's art, educate yourself on the difference between constructive critiscm and just being flat out mean.

This year I've gotten a lot of stupid comments on my fanfic works, and I tried to be polite, but enough is enough. If anyone says anything mean about my work or tries to tell me how to write my own story, I won't even bother to defend my work or explain anything. I'll just insult you back.

Being a jerk is not reserved for certain people on earth. We can all be jerks. It's on now

[nickelwick]

Bruh is anyone else's ao3 acting wonky today

[a-bottle-of-tyelenol]

Ao3 users read the tags challenge (FAILED) (THEY CAN NEVER DO IT) (AND THEY WILL COMMENT ON YOUR FIC TO TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT)

[spacevixen2024]

These spam comments are getting more frequent and worse.

[chocolatespiceandcoffee]

Sometimes, it's a little disheartening writing for a niche pairing.

Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy it. This ship is WHY I started writing in the first place. It's what got me STARTED. And I love it more than I ever thought I would.

But, when there's very little feedback and interaction, it does get you a little down sometimes. And, you wonder if you should continue. (I know, I know. Write because you enjoy it. And I do! But there's still a little part that needs that feedback. I am new and I can honestly say, I don't know if my writing is any good until someone else says it is decent enough to read - someone please tell meeeee)

But also, I WANT TO KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS. HOW YOU FEEL! I WANT TO CONSUME THEM! — CAN YOU RELATE TO THE CHARACTERS, THE STORY, THE EMOTIONS? IS THERE ANYTHING IN THERE THAT MAKES YOU GO "YES!". IS THERE ANYTHING IN THERE THAT MAKES YOU GO "NOOOO".

THEN, I remember the 2 very loyal and wonderful and lovely and brilliant fans of the ship I write about, that DO give me feedback and encouragement and the most wonderful comments. And it fills me with immense WARMTH and the want and motivation to write again. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

And this is why as much as I want to give up sometimes. The two of you make it hard for me to.

Anyone else in a similar position or can relate to their interest/writing being a little niche? Or needing that feedback/interaction as you write? No? Just me??

[emperorsfoot]

Hey, fandom side of Tumblr, I need help workshopping a reply to this comment:

I love this story mainly for the superbat but I hate Tim drake so it’s been hard reading some parts especially parts with Jason since I love him. After this chapter I’m not sure I can finish this story which sucks because I do enjoy it. Can you please tell me if Bruce and Clark make up and get back together again?

This comment was left on the 13th chapter of the THIRD (3rd) installment of a fic series.

The series is a Tim/Kon ship fic. Meaning that Tim Drake is one of the main characters. Jason, the character the reader says they love barely even appears in the series and, in fact, isn't even tagged as a character in the second two installments.

In the first fic in the series Jason was tagged as a character.

Jason was the last character tagged.

In my own fandom experiences that implies that the character is not a central character but just ensemble cast.

In the third installment, the fic this reader left the comment on, Jason isn't even tagged at all!

I just do not understand why this reader picked up reading my fic in the first place. Yes, they said they're into Superbat and that is also a ship in this fic. But Superbat is one of the most popular ships in this fandom. I refuse to believe that this reader couldn't find a fic that ship's Superbat in which Jason is a more pivotal or central character. Like, come on!

Anyway, that's why I need some help workshopping a reply to this comment. I do not understand the commenter's motivation and so don't know what kind of response to send.

I don't even understand why they stuck with the fic for so long (three installments totalling 200k words), they could have dipped out at any time.

[cicaklah]

Okay I know the ao3 isn't going to give us second kudos but what if every time someone tried to give second kudos it logged it and in the ao3 kudos email you got a little number of people who tried?

[fanfic-funnies]

The fact that I will never see every insane tag combination on ao3 is actually depressing

[bucketsofmonsters]

I know I’ve been a real slacker ab this but do yall want me to post my stuff to ao3?? I promised I would ages ago and then did Not but it might be good for ease of reading and so ppl could subscribe to specific works they want to be updated on