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.
Not only is it true, it gets worse. The Susan G Komen For The Cure Foundation has actually successfully sued “competing” charities, because (paraphrasing) their “message or branding was infringing.”
You read that correctly: they took money that people had donated to cure cancer, and hired attorneys with it, to sue ANOTHER group of people trying to find a cure for cancer, who, in turn, had to us their donated money to hire their own legal counsel to defend themselves.
My mother died in 1996 from breast cancer. Most cancer charities are scams, in that people throw fancy parties and get rich off them and very little money goes into research or support for patients. Here are some vetted cancer charities that get good scores on Charity Navigator and pay medical expenses or fund research:
Breast Cancer Research Foundation
Cancer Research Institute
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
63 four star rated cancer charities on charity navigator
I’m noticing an increase in new fic writers on AO3 who…uh…mayy not know how to format their fics correctly..so here is a quick and VERY important tip
Using a random fic of mine as example..
The left example: ✅✅✅
The right example: ❌❌❌
Idk how many times I’ve read a good fic summary and been so excited to read before clicking on it and being met with an ugly wall of text. When I see a huge text brick with zero full line breaks my eyes blur and I just siiiigh bc either I click out immediately or I grin and bear it…it’s insufferable!
If a new character speaks, you need a line break. If you notice a paragraph is becoming too large, go ahead and make a line break and/or maybe reconfigure the paragraph to flow better. I’m not a pro writer or even a huge fic writer but…please…ty…
This is a good thing to keep in mind! It is often and unfortunate that a really good fic doesn’t get love because its formatting makes it too difficult to read!
i’ve seen people say that books look like that though, which might be true, but reading a block of text on a piece of paper is different and a different kind of eye strain that reading the same text on a screen. Especially since AO3 formats based on the screen you read on.
legibility is incredibly important in work, both written and in art or comics. Did you ever notice that comics with extremely text rich speech bubbles are harder to read too?
[ID: A list of prompts for Hashimada Week 2024, which will take place during July 21-27. The background is white and features green icons in a tiling pattern: the Uchiha symbol, the Senju symbol, a leaf, and a flame. The prompts are written in a square colored in with a blue-to-green gradient. At the bottom of the image are two digital chibi-style drawings of Hashirama and Madara in their Konoha-era attire. Hashirama is smiling and is holding his arms together, Madara is frowning and is holding his gunbai. The text reads as follows. Sunday: First Impression, Second Love, Reincarnation. Monday: Eldritch, Mutual Destruction, Soulmates. Tuesday: Animals, Found Family, Cooking. Wednesday: Swords, Fans, Jutsu. Thursday: Memories, Love Letters, Courting Rituals. Friday: Sun, Moon, Stars. Saturday: Pirate/Mermaid AU, Free Day, Samurai/Historical AU. The tag "#Hashimadaweek2024" is written below the square. END ID]
HashiMada Week 2024 Prompt List
Sunday, July 21: First Impression | Second Love | Reincarnation
Monday, July 22: Eldritch | Mutual Destruction | Soulmates
Tuesday, July 23: Animals | Found Family | Cooking
Wednesday, July 24: Swords | Fans | Jutsu
Thursday, July 25: Memories | Love Letters | Courting Rituals
Friday, July 26: Sun | Moon | Stars
Saturday, July 27: Pirates/Mermaids AU | Free Day | Historical/Samurai AU
"Historical AU" can include any historical time period, not just Japanese ones.
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Sneak Peek Day June 21st
On June 21st, tag any WIPs you have with #hashimadaweeksneakpeek2024 and we’ll reblog it here! Participating in the sneak peek doesn’t mean you have to post work in the actual event, or that you can’t decide to change your work/prompt to something completely different for the week day. It’s just a fun pre-event to get everyone excited!
June 21st is also when the designs for our sticker merch and the big merch surprises will be revealed! This year participants will be able to earn all 7 of the SFW stickers by submitting 7 entries and one of the big merch items. If you'd like the NSFW stickers and all of the big merch items, they'll be available for purchase in the Big Cartel shop (open July 21-August 21) at production rates. Participants will be eligible for free shipping, no matter how many prompts you submit.
Read the full sticker merch FAQ here.
More info below!
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Who can submit work?
This is an open event so everyone can participate!
How do I submit work?
Tumblr: post/link work @ this blog (@hashimada-week) and tag it with #hashimadaweek2024
Twitter: @hashimadaweek and #hashimadaweek2024
Ao3 Collection: HashiMada Week 2024
What kind of work will be accepted?
Pretty much anything! Fanart, fics, edits, AMVs, headcanon/meta posts etc. As long as it follows our rules.
How literal with these prompts do I have to be?
Interpret them however you like, in whatever kind of AU/scenario, as long as it follows our rules. Make them all G-rated/E-rated, happy/tragic, fluffy/gory, or anything in-between!
Do you allow early/late posting?
Please do not post anything early, the mod will not be checking the tags until the start day of the event, with one exception.
On June 21st (a month before the event starts) we will have a sneak peek event. Tag any work with #hashimadaweek2024sneakpeek on Tumblr or Twitter and we’ll reblog it! (You can also @ us too on either platform.) Again, this is 100% optional and if you share a sneak peek, you are not obligated to finish/post the work for the event itself. This is just for fun!
Late posting will be allowed until August 21st. This will also be the last day to order anything from the shop.
Check out our FAQs for more questions/answers.
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Rules
- No sexism, homophobia, racism, etc. in works.
- No bashing any characters.
- NSFW allowed, but follow Tumblr guidelines on-site (tag properly, read more breaks, cropped, etc. if it applies)
- Hashimada/Madahashi should be the focus of the work. One-sided dynamics are allowed, but Hashirama and Madara should still be the main focus. Otherwise no other ships with these characters and no OT3 with them for this event. Other background ships are allowed.
Not allowed: underаge, rаpe/non-cоn/dub-cоn, incеst, A/B/О AUs, works (esp sexual NFSW) featuring degradation/аbuse in the pairing
No one asked but I think the secret to making the enemies-to-lovers trip work is respect. They can loath each other, but they have to loath each other as equals. Like “sorry but no one else is allowed to murder this man but me” + “it’s an honor and privilege to despise you.”
