Ao3 is falling off and Iām so genuinely upset about it, walk with me.
New users on ao3 have been jumping straight to it and using it more as a social media then an archive that it is. This has become such a huge issue that every fic I see now for new fandoms is no more than 900 words. Often reaching 1k after 7 chapter (?!??). I wish I was kidding.
I have also seen so many art fics where itās just a sketch book and ofc this isnāt a problem but there are so many different art catered sites like here on tumblr or even X. Ao3 is just not the place for that, itās a fanfic site.
A lot of these newer users also seem to not be able to tag correctly which throws the whole filter system out of the window. I do not need the authors of the fics to rant in a fan fiction about how they are tired and want to die. Or have full on sentences as a tag like tumblr rant tags (which are hella different then ao3). This becomes further a issue when the fanfic has zero summary and if it does have a summary, itās horribly worded and summarizes the fic as a sentence rather then something that draws readers to want to read the fiction. The simplest way to avoid this (which I donāt do cause I prefer restating a point in my story) but just copy and paste a paragraph from your fiction that could draw someone in. Get them hooked.
Now the biggest issue that Iāve seen on ao3 as of late is people trying to apply cancel culture or moderation on ao3. Again. Itās an archive. The fic had tags that tell you exactly the content in it. You canāt get mad at a dead dove for having a dead dove in it?? Feeling the need to comment hate under a fanfiction that told you prior of its content is soā¦
Iām all for new users but some of them really need to learn the unwritten rules of this site because itās not tumblr, itās not X, itās not TikTok or instagram. People need to sit down, read on ao3, look at how people worded old fics and the structure, then post their fic. As well as learn to develop their stories in more words then 300. In no world should I see ātime skipā in a 200 word fic which the time skip being LITERALLY stated.
New authors. Please please please, learn the rules of the game before playing so to say. Iām sure you all have good ideas but please develop them and hook the readers into reading them.
