#html strong tag

[arolesbianism]

Oh god is that a comicfrin drawing where they have whimsy quick someone throw that guy into a decades long timeloop

[ploverbear]

learned that my job will just let you go on LinkedIn and learn whatever kind of classes u want so I'm learning more HTML today while I have downtime

[infiniteglitterfall]

this is my most autistic half-birthday ever!

I gave myself the day to pursue a special interest and fulfill an offer I'd made last year.

The Jewish Virtual Library has a page listing all the rocket and mortar attacks on Israel since 2001 (which was when they first started). But it's incomplete. Last fall, I noticed it stopped in August, so I wrote to them offering to help update it. They thanked me and gave me some places I could look.

Today, I finally did it. I ended up cross-referencing with the lists on Wikipedia, digging through multiple Twitter accounts and outside news sources and NGOs, and sending them an email with my updates... plus an html file where I'd updated the code on the page so they could just check it and upload it instead of typing in all the data themselves.

I am such a huge nerd.

There's definitely more research to do. But I think I found a strong stopping place that let me actually send what I found and post about it. Which is always the hardest part. As my drafts folder could tell you.

I have more than two thousand drafts on here.

Anyway, I'm going to put my findings under a cut tag. Before you read on, I want you to try to guess.

Because one of the things I've been told most often by people who wanna Argue About Palestine Without Having To Learn Anything About Palestine (Or Israel Or History Or Imperialism Or Fact-Checking Or ?????) is that the reason for October 7, the reason for literally anything in fact, is that "Israel bombs Palestine constantly."

I want to put together a list of Israeli airstrikes next. I would love to reblog this with that information. But first, I want you to guess:

Note that this DOES NOT include terrorist car rammings, mass shootings, mass stabbings, bus bombings, suicide bombings, etc. It therefore excludes almost the entire Second Intifada.

After correcting the most recent four years and sending in my corrections, I made a list of the totals using the most complete collection I could find for each year. (Sometimes it was Jewish Virtual Library, sometimes it was Wikipedia, and sometimes they matched.)

2024: 12,629 (an average of 35 per day)

2023: 12,295 (34 per day)

2022: 1,180 (only 3 per day)

2021: 4,425 (12 per day)

2020: about 203

2019: 798+

2018: 348+, 0.95 per day

2017: Only 47!!! Why, it's almost like living in Canada!! 0.1 per day.

2016: Wow, only 20. See, if you go through the years backwards, it looks like progress is being made.  Very exciting. Until I get to the Second Intifada, probably. 0.05 per day.

2015: 58.

2014: oh right, that war. 4,778. (Wikipedia's 2015 list claims " In August 2014, Operation Protective Edge was ended after 4,594 rockets and mortars launched toward Israel. From the end of the operation came into force an unofficial cease-fire between Israel and Hamas." but there were three more after that, and 181 before it, listed on wikipedia alone. so like. 4,778 actually, for 13 a day.)

2013: 70 total. Wikipedia notes this was the lowest number since 2001.

2012: 2,442, or 6.7 per day.

2011: 680, for 1.9 a day.

2010: 365, for exactly one a day.

2009: 858, or 2.4 per day.

2008: 3,107! that's 8.5 a day.

2007: 2,807: 7.7 a day.

2006: 1,275, or 3.5 a day.

2005: 858. An average of 2.4 per day.

2004: 1,158.

2003: 637.

2002: 472.]

2001: "These attacks commenced in April 2001, although the first rocket to hit an Israeli city was on 5 March 2002, and the first Israeli fatality was 28 June 2004." I count 173 mortar attacks in 2001, however. Which makes the first fatality a critically-injured baby in 2001. And as soon as I make 250+ more edits and have the power to edit Wikipedia articles on "controversial" topics, I'll make it say so.

Grand Total: 51,685.

An average of SIX PER DAY.

FOR 24 YEARS.

I've been saying four.

But there were actually thousands that weren't listed on the Virtual Library site yet. It really cranked up that average.

Now consider this: between 10%-30% misfire and either crash into the sea, or hit Gaza.

A surprising number of Gazan casualties in every "conflict" have been from Hamas & Co's own missiles.

And they know this. And not only do they not care, but they keep using everything from mosques to humanitarian zones as rocket launch sites.

And why shouldn't they? You have to really dig to find information on how many Gazans die that way. Almost everyone just attributes the deaths to Israel. Hamas is never going to get any actual flak for accidentally killing its own civilians. It barely gets any flak for intentionally killing Israeli civilians, for pete's sake.

[dixonsdarkelf]

fanfic soundtrack

thank you to my angel girl @daryltwdixon for the tag 🖤 i opted to do the trend the same way you did.

apologies for not including the links for the songs. i was having enough of a hard time trying to get it to post with the fic links. idk why the small text in the song lyrics is acting weird, but i'm on the verge of losing my mind trying to fix it, so we're just going to ignore it. also did i create all of this html text just for a tag? you're damn right i did. everything i do needs to be pink and cute and girly. don't come for me. divider is by @/enchanthings.

writing playlists. songs my oc vec would listen to. songs i think scud frohmeyer would like. my spotify on repeat playlist.

quarters of the undead.

something good: from the start by late nite reading

You had me from the start, and I couldn't shake it. I had to know who you are. If this is a chance, I'll take it.

the debrief: bed chem by sabrina carpenter

Who's the cute guy with wide blue eyes and the big bad mm? I know I sound a bit redundant, but I bet we'd have really good bed chem.

a little friendly competition part 1: she looks so perfect by 5 seconds of summer

Your lipstick stain is a work of art. I got your name tattooed in an arrow heart. And I know now that I'm so down.

a little friendly competition part 2: teenage dream by katy perry

My heart stops when you look at me. Just one touch, now baby I believe this is real, so take a chance and don't ever look back.

two is better than one (coming soon!): two is better than one by boys like girls

I remember what you wore on the first day. You came into my life and I thought "hey, you know this could be something."

greatest hits (fics I'm most proud of).

not an invitation: invitation by ashnikko

I can't even wear my skin without them asking where I've been, without them asking for a spin. This is not an invitation.

a little snooping never hurt anyone: closer by nine inch nails

I wanna fuck you like an animal. I wanna feel you from the inside. I wanna fuck you like an animal. My whole existence is flawed. You get me closer to God.

you're in control: all of me by john legend

'Cause all of me loves all of you. Love your curves and all your edges. All your perfect imperfections.

pink in the cheeks, red in the sheets part 1: espresso by sabrina carpenter

Move it up, down, left, right, oh, switch it up like Nintendo. Say you can't sleep, baby I know. That's that me, espresso.

pink in the cheeks, red in the sheets part 2: go down by ac/dc

Lickin' on that lickin' stick the way you do. You got the lips to make a strong man weak and a heathen pray. Tell you ain't just the way you speak.

finding myself, finding you: once upon a dream from sleeping beauty

I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream. I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam.

no pressure tags for the homies: @dixons-sunshine @holdmytesseract @negansbestie @francisofthespook @angelwings-crossbowstrings @deansapplepie @stellar-waves @angelsanarchy

[olderthannetfic]

Just spent some minutes changing my bookmarks' notes to state the title (with the title itself bolded), author, info (rating, pairing category, warnings and completion status), tags, series (if applicable), chapters, words, and summary (with "summary" bolded). Maybe this way I'll get rid of the urge to start the code while pressing shift and therefore getting >/strong> one day… Hopefully. Basically happens with every html code every single time, so I can't "mindlessly" type it, but oh well… Practice makes perfect, I hope.^^

Also, my bookmarks are unreadable now (one big blob of text with two bolded spots), but I'll find a way to make them legible without taking up so much space, hopefully. :/

Do you have a legible way of doing notes in your bookmarks if you also try to get some of the work's info in it, in case it gets deleted and you get confused what that deleted item used to be?

--

The most legible way involves taking up tons of vertical space.

[xiaokuer-schmetterling]

PODFICCER (and fic author) RESOURCE: things i learned about HTML today

-> from this reference work on ao3: A Complete Guide to 'Limited HTML' on AO3 by CodenameCarrot (please go leave a comment if you find anything here useful !!!)

EDIT: OMG Y'ALL I HAVE BEEN HAVING SO MUCH NERDY GEEKY FUN TWEAKING MY PODFIC HOW-TO GUIDE WITH THIS STUFF

headings, blockquote, div

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html currently allowed by ao3 html sanitizer

a. abbr. acronym. address. b. big. blockquote. br. caption. center. cite. code. col. colgroup. details. dd. del. dfn. div. dl. dt. em. figcaption. figure. h1. h2. h3. h4. h5. h6. hr. i. img. ins. kbd. li. ol. p. pre. q. rp. rt. ruby. s. samp. small. span. strike. strong. sub. summary. sup. table. tbody. td. tfoot. th. thead. tr. tt. u. ul. var.

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in-line (text) formatting tags supported by ao3

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OMG LOOK AT THIS !!! IDK WHEN I WOULD EVER USE THIS BUT LOOK HOW COOL !!!

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paragraphs & p formats: archiveofourown.org/works/5191202/chapters/161901154#AddParagraphs

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omg I'VE ALWAYS WONDERED HOW TO GET THAT LINE BREAK THINGY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE !!!

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end post

[dubaiwebsitedesignss]

Which Is A Better Website Development Option – WordPress Or HTML/CSS/JS?

When you want a web design UAE, then you must know the best platform on which to base your website on. The choice becomes difficult when you know practically nothing, which means you are a novice here. Someone suggests WordPress website design and someone suggests HTML/CSS/JS and now you are totally confused.

But relax there will be no confusion once the air is cleared and you know the differences and pros and cons about the two. So gear up now for it.

What Is WordPress?

WordPress is just about one of the easiest ways to design a website on. It gives the users the benefit of creating, managing and modifying any website content from the post of an admin. It means there is easy access. It is created and designed so that it is very user-friendly. You need no knowledge of coding to get going on it.

This is the reason why more than 30% of all websites designed and hosted on the internet are done so using WordPress. But here you must take note that there are two types of WordPress website development. They are:

WordPress.org — It is an open source content management system wherein you can download the software to avail of the numerous themes and plugins that come free. If you are innovative and creative, then this is the one for you.

WordPress.com — This is a self-hosted edition of WordPress. It is very easy to use but you have to make do with some limitations. If you have no objections here, then you can go ahead with it.

The Pros Of WordPress

There are many pros here that could lead you to it. They are:

WordPress website development is one of the easiest and smoothest ways that you can begin with while web development Dubai. Here you need no technical knowledge or ideas. It is so convenient that a website can be designed in just 5 minutes which is very little and inexpensive at all. You can easily manage your daily routine tasks of maintaining your website. Here you can create, update pages and contents, customize the appearance and manage and improvise the SEO.

You can easily customize by adding various free plugins and themes that already exist. The plugins are very strong and numerous in number. There is a lot to choose from. You can increase the efficiency of your site by using the plugins.

It is continually evolving because of its open source nature. Any person can mend issues that are troubling it. Another liberty you get here is that you can make your own personal plugins. The website can be designed very quickly.

This may be one reason why some Web Development Dubai Companies, prefer to use WordPress.

What Is HTML/CSS/JS?

HTML is the shortened version of Hyper-Text Markup Language where tags are employed to classify various components on a website. And HTML is never used alone. It is used in a combination with CSS and JS or JavaScript. HTML gives the fundamental structure of the website and the enhancement is done by CSS and JS.

CSS gives an appealing look to the website and takes control of the layout of the content. It is formatted before showcasing to consumers.

JavaScript makes the website synergistic. It also controls the behavioural pattern of the content components when used by users.

But remember that HTML and CSS are programming languages, rather they speak about the structure of the content and gives information on its style. But JavaScript is a programming language that is based on logic.

The Pros Of HTML/CSS/JS

There are many pros associated with this way of developing a website which again is used as a way of Web Development in Dubai. They are:

HTML is a static site and thus requires very little backup. You only need a backup when you make certain changes to your site. You even do need many updates. So less time can be invested for these.

You are the commanding authority when using HTML. Access and modifications to your website are easier than WordPress in fact. So it becomes more flexible when you want to incorporate certain new features or extras ones.

Very few resources are tapped while using HTML. It easily runs on cheap servers, unlike WordPress.

How To Choose The Optimum Way Of Designing Websites?

Now that you know a little about both the methods and their pros, you are in a much better position to choose your own way of web development Dubai.

When you do not need to regularly update or change your site or add up additional content, then HTML/CSS/JS is the better option. But for the growth of a business website where regular alterations and additions are required, then WordPress is the choice.

WordPress has very little expenditure as it can be maintained by you without technical skills. So it is low on maintenance also. You can always keep on creating different content and extra pages whenever the need arises. So it all depends on what your purpose is and what method you want to apply while creating a website.

WordPress is very fast and more secure than HTML. And since no coding language is required by WordPress, it becomes a more preferred choice by millions of consumers who are always more comfortable with cheap and low maintenance products. This is one reason why Web Design in UAE is mostly being done by WordPress.

Conclusion

But again you must mind the limitations of both the methods of designing websites. WordPress is perfect for light and personal information sharing. But if you want a business website designed, then it is always advisable to use HTML/CSS/JS to get the job done properly. Then you also you should get in touch with professionals for the job.

[rumi1252552]

The Ultimate Guide to SEO: Boost Your Website’s Rankings in 2024

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a crucial digital marketing strategy that helps websites rank higher on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. With ever-evolving algorithms, staying updated with the latest SEO trends is essential for success.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover: ✔ What is SEO? ✔ Why SEO Matters ✔ Key SEO Ranking Factors ✔ On-Page vs. Off-Page SEO ✔ Technical SEO Best Practices ✔ SEO Trends in 2024 ✔ Free SEO Tools to Improve Rankings

Let’s dive in!

What is SEO? SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, the process of optimizing a website to improve its visibility in organic (non-paid) search results. The goal is to attract high-quality traffic by ranking for relevant keywords.

Types of SEO: On-Page SEO – Optimizing content, meta tags, and internal links.

Off-Page SEO – Building backlinks and brand authority.

Technical SEO – Improving site speed, mobile-friendliness, and indexing.

Why SEO Matters ✅ Increases Organic Traffic – Higher rankings = more clicks. ✅ Builds Credibility & Trust – Top-ranked sites are seen as authoritative. ✅ Cost-Effective Marketing – Outperforms paid ads in the long run. ✅ Better User Experience – SEO improves site structure and speed.

Without SEO, your website may remain invisible to potential customers.

Key SEO Ranking Factors (2024) Google’s algorithm considers 200+ ranking factors, but the most critical ones include:

A. On-Page SEO Factors ✔ Keyword Optimization (Title, Headers, Content) ✔ High-Quality Content (Comprehensive, Engaging) ✔ Meta Descriptions & Title Tags (Click-Worthy Snippets) ✔ Internal Linking (Helps Google Crawl Your Site) ✔ Image Optimization (Alt Text + Compression)

B. Off-Page SEO Factors ✔ Backlinks (Quality Over Quantity) ✔ Social Signals (Shares, Engagement) ✔ Brand Mentions (Unlinked Citations Still Help)

C. Technical SEO Factors ✔ Page Speed (Google’s Core Web Vitals) ✔ Mobile-Friendliness (Responsive Design) ✔ Secure Website (HTTPS Over HTTP) ✔ Structured Data Markup (Rich Snippets)

On-Page vs. Off-Page SEO On-Page SEO Off-Page SEO Optimizing content & HTML Building backlinks & authority Includes meta tags, headers Includes guest posts, PR Controlled by you Requires outreach Both are essential for a strong SEO strategy.

Technical SEO Best Practices 🔹 Fix Broken Links (Use Screaming Frog) 🔹 Optimize URL Structure (Short, Keyword-Rich) 🔹 Improve Site Speed (Compress Images, Use CDN) 🔹 Use Schema Markup (Enhances SERP Appearance) 🔹 Ensure Mobile Responsiveness (Google’s Mobile-First Indexing)

SEO Trends in 2024 🚀 AI & Machine Learning (Google’s RankBrain, BERT) 🚀 Voice Search Optimization (Long-Tail Keywords) 🚀 Video SEO (YouTube & Short-Form Videos) 🚀 E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) 🚀 Zero-Click Searches (Optimize for Featured Snippets)

Free SEO Tools to Improve Rankings 🔎 Google Search Console – Track performance. 🔎 Ahrefs Webmaster Tools – Analyze backlinks. 🔎 Ubersuggest – Keyword research. 🔎 PageSpeed Insights – Check site speed. 🔎 AnswerThePublic – Find user queries.

[ibraesil]

Since the release of HTML5 in 2008, tags such as <b> (bold), <i> (italic) have been softly deprecated for the benefit of users of screenreaders*; instead, it is preferable to use the semantic tags <strong> and <em> (emphasis) respectively, with style defined in CSS. If for some reason they aren't appropriate, it's still preferable to use CSS style attributes within a <span> container to ensure that your text will be interpreted correctly in modern (and future) browsers.

That's why the only tone tag I accept is '/span'. /span

* also to clarify the division between content (HTML) and style (CSS)

[thecreaturecodex]

Protean, Cthilpuk

"Naga Rei" © Fur Affinity user TrinityLight, accessed at their gallery here

[Posting this has been a fucking chore, believe me. The hidden character limit for tumblr counts HTML tags, whether you put them in yourself or copy them over from another document. And although it used to be able to break up the text into different blocks internally for its coding purposes, it no longer can with the new draft saving program. Which means that the formatting is going to be slightly different from now on, with more spaces within each stat block. I'm still going on hiatus; I'm traveling this week. But normal service should resume next week, rather than me having to find a new hosting service. Fingers crossed.

So the monster in question. The mesmerist is one of my favorite classes in PF1e, because it's so versatile. You can use it for everything from a sinister manipulator to a wacky stage magician, a faith healer to The Shadow. I wanted the cthilpuk to be similarly versatile. I intend these to be able to be allies to some parties, enemies to others, and even change allegiance over the course of the game.

A few miscellaneous notes. The anagrams I'm using for protean names are getting weirder and more obscure; I'm going to post a list of all of them when this project is over. The art itself is not NSFW, but the gallery page is in its description of this character; be prepared. And there's a teaser of one of the other proteans I have yet to stat up but have planned.]

Protean, Cthilpuk CR 14 CN Outsider (extraplanar) This blue-scaled serpentine creature has a humanoid torso with four clawed arms. Its head has a cobra-like hood, and both its hood and its eyes swirl with mesmerizing colors.

Cthilpuks are proteans that represent one of the most changeable of things; the emotions of sapient creatures. A cthilpuk can be a counselor, a rabble-rouser or a terrorist, depending on its mood. They are comfortable in urban spaces, and often live in mortal or planar cities in disguise for months or years. Undercover, they are often very friendly, going out of their way to talk to people and then using the information they gather to adjust the person’s moods and behavior. Cthilpuks are strong believers in self-actualization for chaotic individuals, but enjoy driving lawful people into spirals of doubt and despair.

A cthilpuk would usually prefer to avoid combat, instead using its hypnotic stare and psychic magic to influence a creature’s mood, and then talk them into doing something that the protean wants them to do. Still, sometimes violence is the appropriate solution to their problems. The bite of a cthilpuk locks the mind into an emotional pattern, typically a self-destructive one. In a fight, most cthilpuks try to bite as many creatures as possible with different decoctions of emotional venom, cast a spell or two into the fray, and then sit back to watch the chaos. In their natural form, they can even split their hypnotic gaze, working their will through the stare of both their real eyes and the eyespots in their hood.

Although a cthilpuk will gladly toy with the emotions of everyday people, they do most of their work in places of high tension and chaotic potential, always to instigate further changes rather than to uphold the status quo. They are often beloved of revolutionaries and despised by governments, although they do not particularly care about the moral status of either revolutionaries or governments they interfere with. In this role, they often work as underlings for heputwisa proteans. They are patient in their work of manipulating emotions; they appreciate a sudden shock as much as any protean, but know that the most useful minds are ones that have convinced themselves of their course of action, rather than having it forced on them from outside.

Cthilpuk CR 14 XP 38,400 CN Large outsider (chaos, extraplanar, protean) Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect chaos, detect law, Perception +22, thoughtsense 60 ft.

Defense AC 29, touch 13, flat-footed 25 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +16 natural); +2 vs. lawful targets hp 195 (17d10+102) Fort +11, Ref +14, Will +16; +2 vs. lawful targets DR 15/lawful; Immune acid, emotion effects; Resist electricity 10, sonic 10; SR 25 Defensive Abilities amorphous anatomy, freedom of movement

Offense Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (perfect) Melee bite +22 (2d6+6 plus emotional venom), 4 claws +22 (1d4+6), tail slap +17 (2d8+3 plus grab) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Psychic Magic CL 14th, concentration +20 (+24 casting defensively) 30 PE—calm emotions (2 PE, DC 18), crushing despair (4 PE, DC 20), emotive block (3 PE, DC 19), euphoric tranquility (6 PE, DC 22), fear (4 PE, DC 22), good hope (3 PE), overwhelming grief (4 PE, DC 20), rage (3 PE, DC 19), reckless infatuation (3 PE, DC 19), smug narcissism (5 PE, DC 21), serenity (6 PE, DC 22) unadulterated loathing (3 PE, DC 19), unshakeable zeal (6 PE, DC 22) Special Attacks bold stare (allure, sapped magic, susceptibility, timidity), hypnotic stare (-3), split stare Spell-like Abilities CL 14th, concentration +20 (+24 casting defensively) Constant—detect chaos, detect law, protection from law (DC 17) 3/day—empowered chaos hammer (DC 20), confusion (DC 20), greater dispel magic 1/day—greater teleport, word of chaos (DC 22)

Statistics Str 23, Dex 19, Con 23, Int 18, Wis 22, Cha 22 Base Atk +17; CMB +24 (+26 disarm, +28 grappling); CMD 38 (40 vs. disarm) Feats Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Empower SLA (chaos hammer), Improved Disarm, Intimidating Glance, Psychic Virtuoso, Quicken Spell, Self-Sufficient Skills Appraise +16, Bluff +21, Diplomacy +21, Fly +22, Heal +25, Intimidate +21, Knowledge (arcana, history) +16, Knowledge (local, planes) +19, Perception +22, Sense Motive +22, Spellcraft +16, Survival +22 Languages Abyssal, Common, Protean, Undercommon, telepathy 100 ft. SQ change shape (greater polymorph), undersized weapons

Ecology Environment any land or urban (Maelstrom) Organization solitary, pair or council (3-6) Treasure standard

Special Abilities Emotional Venom (Su) The bite of a cthilpuk injects emotions, not traditional venom. A creature bitten by a cthilpuk must succeed a DC 24 Will save or be affected by one of the following emotional states. This lasts for 1 minute. A creature so affected can attempt to control its emotions by making another DC 24 Will save as a move action; if it succeeds, it dispels this effect, and gains a +4 bonus on all future saves against that cthilpuk’s emotional venom for the next 24 hours. A creature may only suffer the effects of one type of emotional venom at a time Anger: A creature under the effects of anger emotional venom must make an attack of opportunity against its allies whenever its allies take actions that would provoke an attack of opportunity from that creature. These attacks count against the affected creature’s attacks of opportunity in a round. Dedication: A creature under the effects of dedication emotional venom cannot move away from an adjacent opponent unless it succeeds a DC 24 Will save. Success on this save allows the creature to move, but does not end the effect. Despair: A creature under the effects of despair emotional venom suffers a -4 morale penalty on attack rolls and damage rolls. Fear: A creature under the effects of fear emotional venom is shaken. Hatred: A creature under the effects of hatred emotional venom takes a -4 penalty to AC, but gains a +1 morale bonus to attack and damage rolls. Jealousy: A creature under the effects of jealousy emotional venom must attempt to make saving throws against all spells, including harmless and beneficial spells. Zeal: A creature under the effects of zeal emotional venom must succeed a DC 24 Will save each round or be compelled to take the same action as it took last turn. If unable to do so (such as casting a spell that has been expended), it must mimic those actions as closely as possible (i.e. cast another spell on the same target). Succeeding this Will save allows the creature to choose a new action, but does not break the effect of the venom. This is a mind-influencing emotion effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Hypnotic Stare (Su) A cthilpuk has the hypnotic stare and bold stare class abilities of a mesmerist with a class level equal to its racial HD. Mesmerist levels stack with cthilpuk Hit Dice for the purposes of the stare class feature, but not other class features, such as spellcasting or mesmerist tricks. Split Stare (Su) A cthilpuk may use its hypnotic stare on two opponents at once. When it does so, it inflicts a -2 penalty to one target, and a -1 penalty to the other. Using its split stare is mentally taxing—a cthilpuk suffers a -4 penalty to Concentration checks while using this ability. A cthilpuk can only use this ability in its natural form.

[impulsiveprogrammer]

still day 1 - html

once again, technically not day 1, still doesn't matter,

common/basic html tags

<p> (closing </p>): creates a paragraph

<h1> (closing </h1>): creates a heading. this tag is used for the biggest headings in the page (example: a general, all encompassing title)

<h2> <h3> <h4> <h5> (closing </h2> </h3> </h4> </h5>): these four tags also create headings, each smaller than the next. h2 is bigger than h3 and so on (example: h2 can be used for a chapter title, and h3 for the title of each section of that chapter)

<h6> (closing </h6>): creates a heading. this tag is used for the smallest headings in the page

<strong> (closing </strong>): makes the text stronger, usually bolding it. this tag goes inside other tags, like <p> (example: <p>normal text <strong>bold text</strong> normal text</p>)

<em> (closing </em>): emphasizes the text, usually italicizing it. this tag goes inside other tags (example: <p>normal text <em>emphasized text</em> normal text</p>)

<a href="example"> (closing </a>): creates a clickable link. the link / path goes inside the quotes in the opening tag (in place of the word example that i put there for reference). the text you want to be able to click which directs to the link goes between the tags (example: <a href="link">text to be clicked</a>)

<br> (no closing tag): creates a line break inside a paragraph (since line breaks in the code are ignored). in other words, it sends the text after it to the next line, without creating a new paragraph, instead of having it stay in the same line as the text before it until it no longer fits

that was a lot but it's the basics i swear. also all these tags are used inside/between the <body></body> tags (explained in my "absolute basics" post which i will not link to right now sorry). that's it

[wipbigbang]

Round 2 Of Artists Claims For The Regular WIPBB Are Open! Round 2 lasts until July 31st! You may claim 3 fics this round!

These are some of the fics open for claiming...

Haikyuu!! #048 Title: Pairing/Characters: Sakusa Kiyoomi/ Miya Atsumu Rating: Explicit | E Warnings/Tags: Non-con/Rape Fertility issues, SA resulting in pregnancy, Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics Summary: There was no denying the fact that Atsumu was an alpha. He was strong, unbelievably strong, dominant, confident. He wasn’t nurturing, sweet, or soft like a stereotypical omega. And sure, there were always outliers. Not every alpha was hardwired to be an asshole and not every omega was born to be a parent; but Atsumu's smokey smell gave him away in a heartbeat.

But if Atsumu really was an alpha, then why did Sakusa find himself to drawn to him? Why did he like his scent so much? Was it just that Sakusa was gay? Or was it something else?

#049 Title: Finding Comfort in the Ocean Pairing/Characters: Kenma Kozume/ Kuroo Tetsuro Rating: Explicit | E Warnings/Tags: No Warnings apply 2 past events that may trigger people: past near drowning and past shark attack Summary: Homegrown in Kauai, Hawaii, Kenma was an outlier for his distaste of the ocean. It wasn't an unfounded dislike though, several years earlier Kenma had an unfortunate encounter with a shark and lost an arm. After meeting Kuroo, a tour guide and marine biology major, Kenma not only has to deal with his first foray into developing a serious relationship with someone, but he also has to live with the knowledge that Kuroo is a huge shark fan. Not only does he love sharks, but he works closely with them. With Kuroo's help though, Kenma learns not only to overcome his fear of the ocean, but to find comfort in it again.

#050 Title: For Better or For Worse Pairing/Characters: Sakusa Kiyoomi/ Miya Atsumu Rating: Explicit | E Warnings/Tags: Non-con/Rape Past Sexual Assault in detail, OCD, panic attacks, EDS Summary: Sakusa Kiyoomi and Miya Atsumu have been teammates for two years. Despite Sakusa's stanch refusal to hang out with the rest of the team, Atsumu nags him until he finally relents. After the first time, it becomes a little easier for Atsumu to needle Sakusa into coming out with them. Through this, they forge a friendship that surprises most of the team.

Despite both of them having feelings for one another, neither of them act on them, both of them deciding that maybe they aren't ready to date yet.

After a lengthy heart to heard about their hangups, the two do decide to date, though they keep it silent. Though, nothing stays silent for long on a team with nosy teammates.

The list of remaining fics and the link to sign up are below!

[cindylouwho-2]

RECENT SEO & MARKETING NEWS FOR ECOMMERCE, MAY 2024

As promised, here are the important news stories from marketing recently: SEO, social media, advertising, and more.

If you want to get this news twice-weekly instead of just once a month, become a paying member of my Patreon: patreon.com/CindyLouWho2

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES 

In the biggest SEO news perhaps ever, a massive list of Google ranking elements was leaked this week. Here’s an overview, including links to the two main leak announcements and their analysis. It would seem that Google wasn’t always honest when they told us some algorithm elements did or did not exist. Google took nearly 2 days to speak publicly about it, but didn’t say much. Expect a lot more analysis in the coming weeks. 

Instagram is updating its algorithm to favour original creators and smaller accounts, and remove reposted content from recommendations. “This won’t affect “a set of publishers” identified by Instagram with licensing agreements or resharing permissions from content creators, according to the blog post.”

Google is adding AI Overviews to US search immediately, with other countries to follow in the future. "AI Overviews gives answers to queries using generative AI technology powered by Google Gemini. It provides a few snippets of an answer based on its understanding of queries and the content it found on the topic across the web.” Right now, it is only affecting a small number of queries, however. While these will sometimes cover similar topics to featured snippets, the latter still exist. Early testing indicates that it does not currently show up when a search appears to be about buying something. Which is good, because you can’t turn it off, other than filtering your search to “Web” after doing it.  Oh, and Google did not waste time figuring out how to include advertising in the AI overviews - it took just one week. As with most much-heralded AI launches, AI Overviews are fumbling badly; here’s a summary of the many news articles mocking Google, including for recommending people glue cheese onto their pizza so it stays in place. 

Chrome has yet again announced that it will not end the use of tracking cookies on schedule; the new target date for starting to wind down their use is early 2025.

Reminder that your old Google Analytics files (aka Universal Analytics) will no longer be available after July 1, so download them now! “...consider archiving back to 2018 or so to ensure you have pre-pandemic data since the pandemic really presented data anomalies for many companies.” There is a spreadsheet add-on to make this easier. 

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES 

Google’s March 2024 Core Update finished rolling out April 19. “A Google spokesperson said, “The updates led to larger quality improvements than we originally thought – you’ll now see 45% less low quality, unoriginal content in search results, versus the 40% improvement we expected across this work.” Experts are struggling to analyze it, in part due to how long it lasted. Not surprisingly, Reddit was a big winner, and sites with a lot of ads and affiliate links continue to lose. 

An update on how long your titles should be for Google. “So whether your titles get cut off or rewritten in SERPs, Google still uses the HTML title tag for ranking considerations, not the titles shown in SERPs.” The author’s research is too limited to draw reliable conclusions from, and most other research in this area over the last decade shows that shorter titles tend to rank better. However, she has pulled together many recent statements on title length and how it works, which is useful reading. 

A reminder that “keyword difficulty” is a subjective score that different tools may not agree on, and that also depends on your overall site/shop and its history. This applies to all sorts of keyword tools, including those used for marketplace sites. 

It looks like Google adding its AI to search results will have a strong impact on traffic, as it will answer questions without the need to click, and “only 47% of the top 10 traditional search results are sources for SGE.” [SGE is now called AI Overviews.] That means if a page is outside the top 10 now, it may still be used to generate the answers, and could even get clicks from being displayed in SGE. 

Still with AI, Google was fined €250 million by France for using news media to train its AI, Gemini. 

Google admits to deindexing many, many pages in February, due to quality issues. 

A recent article dissects why Google search is so bad these days, and largely blames one man. While you can read the original here, you may want to start with a decent summary and the reaction from Google and the SEO community. 

Here’s a full list of Google changes and announcements from April.

Not Google

Both Microsoft and Google had excellent first quarters, with ad revenue up 12% and 13% respectively. “Bing reached over 140 million daily active users.”

OpenAI is apparently not starting their own search engine, contrary to rumours.

SOCIAL MEDIA - All Aspects, By Site

General

Here’s another of the periodic posts that tries to figure out the best times to post on different social media sites. It covers Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter and Pinterest. 

Direct Messages are now available on Bluesky. 

Facebook (includes relevant general news from Meta)

In another recent AI fumble, Meta has introduced an AI assistant to its various products in several countries - but you can’t turn it off in the search bar. It may also show up in group chats, including discussions about parenting. “The Associated Press reported that an official Meta AI chatbot inserted itself into a conversation in a private Facebook group for Manhattan moms. It claimed it too had a child in school in New York City, but when confronted by the group members, it later apologized before its comments disappeared.”

Here’s more on Meta’s automated ad issue that is ramping up costs but decreasing sales for many, including small businesses. 

Meta is now offering its Verification for Business subscription package to more countries, and has added new tiers as well. 

While Meta had a strong 1st quarter financially, it projects weaker results through 2025 as it spends a ton on money trying to guide its AI offerings to profitability. 

Instagram

Instagram added some new features, including “Reveal”, which blurs Stories, and only releases the content once you DM the creator. 

Reels under 90 seconds perform better on Instagram than longer ones. 

To help avoid scammers on Instagram, learn how to identify and block fake accounts. 

Instagram’s Creator Marketplace - where businesses can search for influencers to promote their product - is now available in 10 more counties, including Germany, France and Indonesia. 

LinkedIn

You should be optimizing LinkedIn posts for the platform itself and outside search engines. The article includes tips for both personal and business pages.

LinkedIn is adding games you can play once a day, which sounds weird for a professional network. 

Pinterest

Pinterest’s summer trend report has arrived; apparently maximalism is in yet again.  

Reddit

Reddit is one of those sites that is getting worse lately as people try to get Google ranking through it (which is a whole other SEO story I have covered in these updates before).

ChatGPT will now be training on Reddit comments. The agreement meant a huge stock boost for Reddit. 

Reddit is trying to attract more French-speaking users by auto-translating the site in real-time using AI. 

After plenty of user complaints, Reddit is starting a new awards scheme. 

Snapchat

You can now edit your Snapchat messages within 5 minutes of sending, if you subscribe to Snapchat Plus. 

Threads

Meta wants more content on Threads, and is willing to pay well-known creators to create it. Invite only, of course.  

You can now filter out unwanted words on Threads. 

TikTok

While the US government has voted to ban TikTok if the company isn’t sold, there is a lot of time left before that could happen, and a legal battle to be fought. TikTok has already filed a lawsuit, as have some major creators. Meanwhile, small business owners and creators are understandably worried. From an article by the BBC: “According to March 2024 data from TikTok, more than seven million small US businesses use TikTok, and the company reported it drove $15bn (£12.04bn) in revenue for these enterprises in 2023.”

How to rank on TikTok: the Ultimate Guide. Some of the tips include hashtags, keywords, and choosing the right thumbnail. 

There are several ways to remove (or avoid) the TikTok watermark if you want to use your TikTok content on other platforms. 

Twitter

Twitter’s domain has finally switched over to X in some locations [but I will still call it Twitter].

(CONTENT) MARKETING (includes blogging, emails, and strategies) 

Time to gear up your content marketing plans for June. 

ONLINE ADVERTISING (EXCEPT INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL MEDIA AND ECOMMERCE SITES) 

Search ads are converting less while costing more, something that has been going on for a few years now. “Advertisers are paying more for leads and clicks, while Alphabet, Google’s parent company, keeps reporting record profits.” This is one of the reasons the US Department of Justice argues that Google is a monopoly. 

Not enough AI in your ads? Google is solving that through video ads and more virtual try-ons. 

Google Shopping is going to start showing how many people have bought from each site recently, although businesses can opt out. 

Google is removing keywords from Google Ads accounts if they have received zero impressions in the past 13 months. While you can reactivate them, Google discourages that. 

You may be able to run Google’s Performance Max ads through particular marketplaces now or in the near future, if your marketplace signs up. For some businesses, selling through a marketplace might be cheaper than setting up a site. 

Social media advertising is now bigger than search ads, according to a recent report. Almost ⅔ of these ads are on various Meta properties. 

BUSINESS & CONSUMER TRENDS, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE 

Slow economic growth in the United States in the first quarter of 2024 sparked worries that the rest of 2024 will be as bad or even worse. Even McDonalds is stressing that consumers can only take so much inflation. 

US ecommerce sales were up in the first quarter, more than overall retail. 

Some consumers are finding that ecommerce is tiring, offering too many options and no easy way to shop quickly. “Despite an increased emphasis on personalized experiences in recent years, 7 in 10 customers feel either no improvement or an increase in the time and effort required to make a purchase decision.” 

MISCELLANEOUS (including humour) 

Before returning orders to Amazon, make sure your cat isn’t in the box. (It’s fine, fortunately!)

[antiadvil]

<a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/58914943"><strong>you're never gonna get by on three hours sleep a night (unless you absolutely have to)</strong></a> (1609 words) by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mildredo"><strong>Mildredo</strong></a><br />Chapters: 1/1<br />Fandom: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Phandom*s*The%20Fantastic%20Foursome%20(YouTube%20RPF)">Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)</a><br />Rating: General Audiences<br />Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply<br />Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester<br />Characters: Dan Howell, Phil Lester<br />Additional Tags: Mild Hurt/Comfort, Headaches & Migraines, Dan and Phil Terrible Influence Tour 2024/2025<br />Summary: <p>phil has a migraine on tour.</p>

Idk why the link is so ugly but i feel like you’d enjoy this!

i think that's the html formatting you get when you press the share button on ao3! but tumblr asks are rich text (though they don't have all the rich text features if you're on anon) so it looks like that.

you were right though, this is right up my alley :) thank you!

you're never gonna get by on three hours sleep a night (unless you absolutely have to) by @splingefix (i recommend, very good migraine fic)

[saide-hossain]

Let's understand HTML

Cover these topics to complete your HTML journey.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the standard language used to create web pages. Here's a comprehensive list of key topics in HTML:

1. Basics of HTML

Introduction to HTML

HTML Document Structure

HTML Tags and Elements

HTML Attributes

HTML Comments

HTML Doctype

2. HTML Text Formatting

Headings (<h1> to <h6>)

Paragraphs (<p>)

Line Breaks (<br>)

Horizontal Lines (<hr>)

Bold Text (<b>, <strong>)

Italic Text (<i>, <em>)

Underlined Text (<u>)

Superscript (<sup>) and Subscript (<sub>)

3. HTML Links

Hyperlinks (<a>)

Target Attribute

Creating Email Links

4. HTML Lists

Ordered Lists (<ol>)

Unordered Lists (<ul>)

Description Lists (<dl>)

Nesting Lists

5. HTML Tables

Table (<table>)

Table Rows (<tr>)

Table Data (<td>)

Table Headings (<th>)

Table Caption (<caption>)

Merging Cells (rowspan, colspan)

Table Borders and Styling

6. HTML Forms

Form (<form>)

Input Types (<input>)

Text Fields (<input type="text">)

Password Fields (<input type="password">)

Radio Buttons (<input type="radio">)

Checkboxes (<input type="checkbox">)

Drop-down Lists (<select>)

Textarea (<textarea>)

Buttons (<button>, <input type="submit">)

Labels (<label>)

Form Action and Method Attributes

7. HTML Media

Images (<img>)

Image Maps

Audio (<audio>)

Video (<video>)

Embedding Media (<embed>)

Object Element (<object>)

Iframes (<iframe>)

8. HTML Semantic Elements

Header (<header>)

Footer (<footer>)

Article (<article>)

Section (<section>)

Aside (<aside>)

Nav (<nav>)

Main (<main>)

Figure (<figure>), Figcaption (<figcaption>)

9. HTML5 New Elements

Canvas (<canvas>)

SVG (<svg>)

Data Attributes

Output Element (<output>)

Progress (<progress>)

Meter (<meter>)

Details (<details>)

Summary (<summary>)

10. HTML Graphics

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)

Canvas

Inline SVG

Path Element

11. HTML APIs

Geolocation API

Drag and Drop API

Web Storage API (localStorage and sessionStorage)

Web Workers

History API

12. HTML Entities

Character Entities

Symbol Entities

13. HTML Meta Information

Meta Tags (<meta>)

Setting Character Set (<meta charset="UTF-8">)

Responsive Web Design Meta Tag

SEO-related Meta Tags

14. HTML Best Practices

Accessibility (ARIA roles and attributes)

Semantic HTML

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Basics

Mobile-Friendly HTML

15. HTML Integration with CSS and JavaScript

Linking CSS (<link>, <style>)

Adding JavaScript (<script>)

Inline CSS and JavaScript

External CSS and JavaScript Files

16. Advanced HTML Concepts

HTML Templates (<template>)

Custom Data Attributes (data-*)

HTML Imports (Deprecated in favor of JavaScript modules)

Web Components

These topics cover the breadth of HTML and will give you a strong foundation for web development.

Full course link for free: https://shorturl.at/igVyr

[sapphireshineauthor]

A Personal Breakdown and Comparison of the Big Three of Fanfiction: Archive of Our Own, FanFiction.Net, and Wattpad

Considering the whole chaos with AO3 that happened recently, I wanted to write about this again since it's been on my to-do list. Disclaimer, I am trying to be objective, but some factors may still appear as personal opinions on the matter, so keep that in mind. This is a long one, so be prepared for an extensive read, I still tried to be concise but thorough. Experts on these sites, feel free to step in and offer your expertise as well on here. Also do correct me on any potential mistakes, this was a long one...

Archive of Our Own:

Pros:

Easy User Interface

Tagging system/fic filter system

Various options for site customization

Search by tag system, addition of major warning tags

Html support, picture and audio integration options

Copy and paste function

Zero advertisement

Engaging comment sections

Friendly UI, writer and reader friendly.

Has function to download fics for offline reading (formats: AWZ3, MOBI, PDF, EPUB, HTML)

Cons:

Tags can get cluttered

Search Bar doesn't work as well as search by tag filter

Rusty crossover format

Rusty character/relationship involvement sorting

Cannot upload documents

No personal DM function.

Can take awhile sorting through tags depending...

Archive of Our Own (AO3) has been my personal favorite of these websites. I've been using it for several years and despite dabbling in various other sites, this one is still my preference.

To start off strong, the pros for AO3 (obvious or not) is the interface. I personally find it extremely easy to use and all the options given are extremely nice for writers and readers alike. For writers, you can give yourself pseuds to help categorize your own fics, sort by the fandoms you write, add tags, allow co-writers, moderate and respond to comments, mass edit stories, and so on. While the site doesn't seem to have an option to upload a document, it does have options to include pictures, audio, and various other media, including links to other stories or videos. It also allows authors to directly respond to comments on their fics and allow for more discussion and engagement in the story (or fandom) between authors and readers (don't be afraid to leave comments!)

In terms of being a reader (and writer) one of my favorite functions by far is the bookmark, history, and subscribe functions. They are what they say, bookmarks can be a public or private tab that are various favorite fics you wanted to save for later or keep note of and not want to search for it again. History is a list of all the fics you've clicked on and it's private solely to you, no one can see your fic history, so if you don't want to bookmark, but remembered something you read, you can look for it in your history. Subscriptions are also a favorite if you don't want too many tabs, you subscribe to a story and you'll get an email every time that fic is updated with a new chapter. Additionally, fics can be downloaded for offline reading (most popular format it seems are epub and pdf).

Now then, onto the main event, tags. If there's one thing AO3 is known for, it's tags. All sorts of them.

The pros of the tags: easy filtering, searching, and organizing.

The best part about AO3 tags is how easy to filter fics are.

It's part of a writer's duty to tag what they have in their stories (and at least tag what we think is relevant if we have trouble thinking of specifics) and most uphold this duty, even at the most basic forms of relevant characters or themes or warnings.

AO3 has an extremely well made filter system (in my opinion), and I've been making good use of it in recent days. If you want stories with a specific character or genre, or theme, use the "Include" function and type in those relevant tags.

If you want to exclude fics specifically, you can "Exclude" the relevant tags and the system should exclude all works with those tags, ratings, or themes, in them from your search. If there is an issue with it, my only gripe is that there aren't any "filter preferences/presets" for the site. By that I mean if you click on a new character tag, you need to re add all of your filters to get your specific stories again unless you're well adept at using the back button (which honestly most people are adept at) and re-organizing your filters there, but it's an extremely minor issue that doesn't really affect the experience.

Now then, the cons of the site. There aren't many, but there are a few. Which again, involves the tags. AO3's extensive list of relevant tags for various fandoms is a blessing as it is a curse. One such factor is the idea of crossovers. Crossovers may be easy for other series, but for series that have various media forms for the same fandom, they end up having different fandom tags.

For example, my fic "Scarlet Eyes in the Academy" had a total of 5 fandom tags, even though it's only a crossover between two series. This is because both have different media that have their own tags, My Next Life as a Villainess (Anime)/(Light Novel)/(Manga), and Moriarty the Patriot (Anime)/(Manga)

The reason why a lot of authors tag all various media forms for a series is simply so the most people can see it, regardless of which medium tag they defaulted to. Especially if the mediums don't have many differences to the series.

I can understand why some series need separate tags to differentiate the medium, but in the long run (especially if the medium doesn't have many unique changes to the canon), it's various tags for the same series and since linking more than one fandom tags will equate to a crossover, trying to find an actual crossover fic is a challenge (some fandoms don't really apply since they don't have multiple tags, such as Genshin Impact and Red vs Blue).

On another point, which is mainly the character tags. This is a common issue I see from time to time, but like the crossover aspect, is a small issue compared to the pros of the site. The thing with the character tags (or relationship tags) is that writers can add them, even if the story is not focusing on them. They appear in the story, but how much focus is on that character/relationship is in the eyes of the beholder (at the whim of a writer). It's not a major issue, but one that I see from time to time when comparing/analyzing fic sites.

But if there's a plus to the character tags, it helps filter through the fandom medium tags. As it will link all the fics that have the character regardless of fandom tags.

Other Notes: unlike other sites, AO3 doesn't have direct DMs and is unable to do document uploads, but even without those two things, it's a wonderful site for fanfiction. It also allows fic downloading for offline reading (just don't do any fic reposting without author's consent, that's just rude).

In conclusion: AO3 has a lot of benefits and has a relatively friendly UI for writers and readers alike. The tag system overall is extremely well done to help narrow down your fic search. I consider it to be the best of the three. The only downside is that it's not the best when looking for crossovers and fics for specific characters, themes, or pairings can get lost among the tags. There are also many guides available on this site in regards to the many functions of AO3.

Fanfiction.net :

This one, I think, sparks a certain level of nostalgia in many of us (especially those a bit younger in age). It was one of the first fanfiction sites to be made "mainstream" (i.e. the most prevalent option when fanfiction is searched for). But it has seen better days…

Pros:

Private DMs

Document uploads

Major character tags

Main genre tags

Easy crossover functionality

Good app, easy UI.

Cons:

Annoying/Invasive ad placement

No option for warning tags

Cannot interact openly with comments

No easy pic support (if any, for inside the fic itself)

Fics can be easily reported even for small reasons

The copy and paste function is extremely broken.

Okay, once again, starting strong with the pros. Ff.net has been a site that is prevalent for older fandoms. It has a nice filter system to go by genre, characters, and ratings and the UI is quite easy to use (the more nuanced filter system also makes it easier for searching compared to AO3's more… fic tag cocktail mixing experience). The site allows for uploading word documents to upload fics (which is a double edge sword as their copy and paste function is extremely wonky and broken last I checked). It also allows for checking traffic on a fic, which I find is a very fun statistic to look at every now and then.

It also allows for private DMs within the site itself so if authors want to talk, there's no need to rely on an external DM site/application (Discord, Tumblr, Reddit, etc).

The biggest pro for FF.net is it's crossover archive (specifically when you go into a ff.net fandom archive and click on crossovers). It sorts out all the crossover fandoms by fic count and it is easy to look for a specific fandom crossover if it exists.

I think that roughly covers all the pros, now, the cons. The main issue I have with FF.net is… the ad placements.

If I could include the horrified duh duh duuuuh! Sound effect I would.

On mobile it's even worse, anyone recall the days when the ads were those odd little boxes next to the review box at the bottom of the chapter? I miss those days.

However, while the ads have been an issue, I think the biggest issue is with how content is moderated on the site and reporting works. I personally haven't had bad experiences with the site, but I've seen other authors apparently get their fics taken off the site due to reports (despite the fact the works themselves not having anything wrong). The famous RWBY reacts to RvB fic (React Watch Believe Yikes) was taken down because of copyright reasons despite the fact they clearly stated that they got permission to use the RvB transcripts in the fic (that fic is now on AO3). I haven't heard much beyond that, so do fill in what I missed if this issue had gotten worse or better over the years.

The other con for FF.net is interaction, while the site allows for private DMs, it doesn't allow public interaction with comments. Authors can still reply, but it's then taken into a private DM chain specifically between the author and the specific commenter. Perhaps it's a minor issue, but it's one that should be brought up.

And also, last I checked, the DMs are supposed to send you an email notification everytime someone DMs you, but it's been wonky for awhile and straight up broken at points.

And lastly, while the more succinct filter system is fine, it does so at the consequence of not letting additional tags be shown. So ratings and genre can be filtered, but nothing more. It doesn't help that the summary boxes are short either, so authors either have to make shorter summaries to put important warnings, or omit the warnings so the full summary can be in place. I also believe this lack of tagging is another reason why reporting fics seems to be an issue there.

In conclusion, FF.net is a fine site, it's easy to use, perfect for crossovers, allows DMs and has fun statistics. However, you should probably keep anything "explicit" pretty mild, or proceed with caution. I learned the terms lemons and limes from somewhere after all.

Wattpad:

Cracks knuckles, okay, this one. I used this one the least, but I do have some thoughts on it (Wattpad experts, feel free to add onto this if you'd like).

Pros:

Can comment on specific paragraphs

Easy picture integration

Decent chapter/book format

Decent story saving/favorite book

Okay UI

Cons:

Bad tag filters

Hard search function

Ads can be a bit annoying.

As you can see, I have an issue when it comes to filtering. Both Ao3 and FF.net have good filtering/tagging systems. While Wattpad does have a filter/tag system, I think it leaves a lot to be desired.

Okay, once again, starting with the pros. I think my favorite feature when it comes to Wattpad is the option to comment on specific paragraphs rather than just the whole chapter/story. I dunno, I find it fun as a reader (and as a writer) to see if people had specific thoughts on specific passages.

Secondly, the writer UI is decent and quite friendly once you get the hang of it. You can start a "book" and update it as you see fit. Although the way to add/update/edit an ongoing book is a bit more cumbersome than AO3 or FF.net…

Lastly, the picture integration for Wattpad is pretty nice, allowing easy insertion of images directly into the passage or on a "chapter banner" at the beginning of the chapter.

That's pretty much it for the major pros, and onto the cons. Which is surprisingly not many (as least that I've experienced), but those few in number make up for a lot in experience.

So, the cons, which is once again, the tagging. It always rolls back to that aspect/function. The tagging for Wattpad is honestly quite messy. Not only can several tags for the same thing exist, but they exist because the tags themselves (like in Tumblr) become different tags depending on how they're formatted (ex. "xreader", "x reader", "characterxreader", are three separate tags), so filtering out tags can be quite an issue. Not to mention more work on the author's part to add literally every iteration of a tag/phrase/pairing to make sure it appears where it's supposed to appear.

The other issue from what I can see rn actually is that a guest user (someone not logged into an account) cannot do manual searches on the site, at least on mobile. You can only search externally on the web, which is technically a minor issue, but an issue nonetheless.

Additionally, readers can't see all the relevant tags when browsing through stories until they click on it and see the summary. Again, a minor issue, but an issue all the same that should be brought up.

Also, from what I heard, there's supposedly paywalls on the site now. Looking into it, Wattpad does seem to have a paid subscription service. One feature of that service is "paid stories". I assume this only attributes to original works (since fanfiction will be in hot water otherwise). Additionally, the paid subscription gives access to offline downloading and site customization (for which AO3 has for free), it also says it offers options for "early access to subscribers" which I assume again is for original stories and functions like a creator's Patreon account. The subscription also allows for ad free viewing of stories.

In conclusion, Wattpad isn't nearly as chaotic as I last remember, but it still seems leagues behind the tagging and UI of AO3 and FF.net. The writer's UI for posting stories is fine and the picture integration in combination with paragraph comments is a fun feature. The fact it's asking for subscriptions for functions that the other two provide also knocks it down a peg. It's a fine site, but definitely not the most ideal for fanfiction. Especially as it seems to shift more to original stories than fanfiction. Finally, unlike AO3 and FF.net, Wattpad doesn't really have anything exclusive to its site that puts it above the rest (unless you count the comment on specific paragraphs bit).  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In conclusion: Everyone has their favorite sites for fanfiction. All of them have their pros and cons and for which one is "the best" it boils down to what you're looking for in your fanfiction stories.

Archive of Our Own: Seems to be the mainstay for newer fandoms, perfect for creating your own fic viewing experiences and filtering, allows for website customization skins, more interaction between author and readers, allows fic downloads for offline reading.  

Fanfiction.Net: The home to older fandoms, good for a more casual browse, allows private DMs, perfect for looking for crossovers, just beware of the ads.

Wattpad: An okay site, interface takes a bit getting used to, but filtering is not as good as the others, ads are present but not as much as FF.net, requires subscription to remove ads and allow customization. It also seems more curated to original works than fanfics.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And that concludes my analysis of what I consider "The Big Three" of the fanfiction world. Shall I do other sites as well? Did this help in regards to looking at sites? Experts in any of the three mentioned, do add your own notes to correct or add to any of the points I made. I primarily use AO3 so I may have missed some things for the other two.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed this surprisingly long essay. Hope you enjoyed ;)