Finally got around to adding series blocking to this tutorial I posted on AO3 back before blocking and muting buttons existed.

How to Block a User or a Work or a Series on AO3

(blocking and muting this way can still be useful for works with anonymous authors or individual works by authors you don't want to fully mute)

I also linked to that tag blocking skin in a note at the top of the page

Fun Story to Share.

I got my (now 18-year-old) daughter into Ao3 back in 2021. I taught her she should always comment - even if the fic looks old or abandoned or whatever. She did.

Well - she got this email this morning:

The fic was written in 2014 and essentially abandoned.

Bethy read and reviewed in 2021 (and was actually the only person who had commented at all).

Today in 2025 - the final chapter was posted by the author and this was her reply to Bethy’s comment.

———

Never question whether a fic is too old to comment on.

Ao3 HTML/Coding References-Part I

I recently made a code-heavy choose your own adventure fic, and I wanted to compile all of the really helpful resources I've found along the way. Basics, Text altering and Fancy Formatting (adding dividers, columns, photos, videos, tabs etc.) is below!

(Note: I've had to split this in two, so see Part II for all the website mimic HTML)

Basics:

• This Ao3 Posting Doc converts Google doc into HTML, adding bold, underline, italics, strikethrough, paragraph breaks, and centered text. Major game changer for heavy HTML works
• The Fic Writer's Guide to Formatting by AnisaAnisa: This is a masterpost in itself, covering links, images, boxes, borders, fonts etc. So I'm putting it here since it's amazingly helpful
• HTML References by W3 schools- I've linked the HTML colors here, but this is a platform designed to help people learn/reference HTML
• Ao3's own guide to HTML on their site Lovely Q&A for Ao3 specific HTML questions
• A Guide to Ao3 HTML by Anima Nightmate (faithhope) This walks through what HTML code means SO WELL!

Keep reading

Okay, you know what? After reading this post, I jokingly said we should all just make a pact to reblog it five times a day forever. So I'm gonna do this louder for the people in the back:

AO3 WAS CREATED BY FANS, FOR FANS

AO3 IS RUN BY FANS (VOLUNTEERS, NO LESS)

AO3 IS PART OF THE NON-PROFIT, ORGANIZATION FOR TRANSFORMATIVE WORKS

AO3 IS NOT OWNED BY ANY COMPANIES AND DOES NOT EARN REVENUE

AO3 OPERATES ON DONATIONS FROM FANS

again:

AO3 WAS CREATED BY FANS, FOR FANS

Wondering what URLs you can safely use to access the Archive? Our FAQ has you covered!

If you're currently unable to access archiveofourown.org due to the issues in Asia and Oceania, you can access the same FAQ on our dot gay domain.

Date: 21:16 UTC June 24, 2024

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:

ALT

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.

ALT

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.

ALT

people who let me wake up to this get a special place in heaven. firefly_fox how does it feel to hold my life in ur hands....

GUYS. DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN WRITE CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE FICS ON AO3