things that don’t belong on AO3
People out there who are new to AO3 might not realize that some of the things they are posting actually violate the Terms of Service. While these kinds of posts are great for social media sites like tumblr or Twitter, they are actually not allowed on AO3. AO3 isn’t a social media site. It’s a fanfiction archive.Â
Since most people don’t read the Terms of Service for sites that they use (no shade - I’m including myself in that description), I thought I’d make a post about things that you should not post on AO3. This list is in no particular order:
requests to help find a fic
lists of prompts
requests for prompts
translations of someone else’s work, if you don’t have their permission (this includes published fiction as well as fanfic)
someone else’s work (either published or fannish)
liveblog reactions to watching episodesÂ
invitations to a discord server (it’s fine in an author’s note, but not if it’s posted as if it’s a fic)
songfics that include the full lyrics to a copyrighted song
a placeholder - no actual fic, just a work posted saying that a fic will eventually be there
class notes or homework (unless that homework is fic or fandom meta)
searches for role playing partners
rec lists
requests for recommendations
callout posts
fandom organizing (ex. let’s vote X for People’s Choice!)
requests for moneyÂ
fic planning/outlining
As new people join the site, works like these are bound to be posted to AO3. Give friends and fellow fans a heads up, and hopefully by letting people know ahead of time they can avoid posting these mistakes.Â
Remember, it’s a group of volunteers who needs to deal with all of these posted works so if we can lighten the load they’re dealing with I’m sure they’d appreciate it. ❤
