Fandom PSAs
Dontâ Like, Donât Read
or DL; DR
You are responsible for curating your own online experience.
If something upsets you, makes you angry or queasy or triggers you, stop reading/looking at it. Avoid things that might make you feel that way.
Learn to use the Sort and Filter function on AO3, especially the Exclude tools.
On social media, block and mute accounts / tags / words when necessary.
If you hated something, you donât need to tell that to the creator or start pointing fingers at them publicly.
The Back button is free. Use it.
Addendum:
Yes, for this to work, creators need to tag their works accordingly, so that people know what sort of content they are about to engage with and can nope out if necessary.
I will probably make another PSA about the importance of proper tagging later.
Ship And Let Ship
or SALS
You are allowed to ship whatever you want.
Everyone else is also allowed to ship whatever they want.
You are entitled to dislike or even hate a ship. If you want to do this online, in public, donât use the ship tags for hate posts.
If you see someone posting about a ship they like and you donât, there is no need for you to start arguing with them in their replies / comments / QRTs / reblogs. Donât throw your hate in their face.
Do not harass fan creators or fans for shipping something you disapprove.
All of this also applies to liking / disliking an individual character.
Addendum:
âI agree with this, except whenâŠâ
No, then you are NOT agreeing with this.
Let me make this VERY clear. There are NO exceptions. None.
You donât EVER harass real people over pixels.
If you disagree with this, kindly block and move on.
Your Kink Is Not My Kink
or YKINMK / YKINMKATO
The longer version is âYour Kink Is Not My Kink And Thatâs Okayâ.
People have different tastes. Not everything is for everybody.
Even if you donât like a specific kink, other people are still allowed to use it in their creations.
You are entitled to dislike kinky content and think that itâs âweirdâ.
Donât kink shame or judge people based on their kinks.
This goes both ways: your kink is not someone elseâs kink, so donât push it onto those who are not into it.
Be Kind
or Donât Be An Asshole
Focus on the things you like instead of the things you hate.
Create and unite instead of destroying and dividing.
Donât harass real people over fictional things.
Stop stirring up petty drama just to get some attention on social media.
Stop trying to âwinâ. Fandom is not a competition.
Remember that your own experiences arenât universally shared. Your perception of things can differ from someone elseâs, but that doesnât mean either of you is necessarily wrong.
