The Scratching Post

Adventurer. Patriot. Writer. Canonist fangirl (until they take a dump in it). Halloweenie at heart. Equal Opportunity Offender.

[hexhomos]

PSA: AO3 HAS BEEN INFECTED WITH AI BOT COMMENTS.

Have you seen one of these dipshits? If you post regularly on ao3, chances are YES, but more likely you didn't notice nor suspect it was a bot. Sometimes they start off nice, or even praise you before getting nasty out of nowhere, like so:

But much like Grok, their newest obsession is nazism.

I don't know where they come from, or what purpose this could possibly serve other than suicidebaiting random people in the internet, I guess; but apparently they've started parroting names from real users to send these comments and shifting their general length to go by undetected. Maybe those are scrappers trying to train 'reviewbots' to be sold as part of some scam service promising to give feedback for newbie writers, who the fuck knows.

Here are more examples of the tone and backhanded compliments you can find in these:

If you regularly post on AO3 or interact with writers in it, please pass this along so they don't feel insane receiving bombs in their inbox. This is ridiculous.

[headspace-hotel]

AI is turning the internet into some kind of evil wasteland

[foodffs]

[foodffs]

How to Wrap Your Sandwiches for Better Eating on the Go

Really nice recipes. Every hour.

Show me what you cooked!

[introvertsnation]

[mortalscience]

🤍 the ultimate ships challenge: hugs [1/10]

John Sheppard/Elizabeth Weir - Stargate Atlantis 2x01 - The Siege, part 3

[writerxwren]

Probably a hot take but more fandoms need to have conversations about visual storytelling through camera work, because the way the camera revolves around these two and then zooms in is telling the audience something very specific about the dynamic here. I get that ship preferences are up to the individual and that's totally fine but camera work is a storytelling device that is often used to tell you something about the characters and how they relate to each other, and I feel like people ignore this all the time. The other really obvious example of this that's Stargate-adjacent is the deleted scene in the Sanctuary finale where Nikola and Helen are flirting in her office. The way the camera moves and frames them in that scene is VERY obviously trying to convey a certain vibe, even if you mute the dialogue.

Anyway whether or not you agree with the vibe is up to you (and you are absolutely free to disagree with it), but if the camera work is trying to sell a vibe, it's perfectly within reason for other people to even subconsciously pick it up and run with it. All of this is to say when people ship things in TV and movies, regardless of what the particular dynamic is, nine times out of ten they're not pulling it out of their asses. They're picking up on something that has been conveyed through the storytelling devices the film medium has available to it, even if they can't fully articulate what they're picking up on

[anxietyproblem]

[ampervadasz]

Unmute !

[rumplefuckingstiltzkin]

POV: You are Simba

[drtanner]

Love it when you can see the impending disaster before it hits, lol.

[ceekari]

you know the camera is going down, so you’re just guessing which dog it’s gonna be

until suddenly you know

[geezerwench]

In Prince's funky name, amen.

[greywrenn]

Millennial here. All the above and:

Please send me the training or tutorial in a written format with maybe some screenshots if necessary. I don't want a video tutorial. I don't want to waste time trying to scroll to the exact moment in the instructions that I need and then have to pause and replay it because I missed the .01 seconds of actually relevant information.

Please. Text. Maybe some images for clarification. I can read. I promise.

[homoqueerjewhobbit]

Skimmable, SEARCHABLE instructions. If they're long, there should be a hyperlinked table of contents.

[debetesse]

Elder Millennial here cosigning HARD

If you really need to show a movement, embed a gif or 15-scond-or-less video in the text, like Jod intended.

[cinemaocd]

I work in science communications and I am constantly hearing about how we need to try to do video to appeal to the newest generation of scientists and it's like do you think physicists who can't read are a good idea?

[stargazingdustbunny]

Gen z and please just give me text!

[dduane]

This. All of this. AH PLEASE GOD NO MORE INTERMINABLE TUTORIALS THAT TURN OUT TO BE NOT NEARLY ENOUGH ABOUT THE SUBJECT BUT ALL ABOUT THE TUBER IN LOVE WITH THE SOUND OF THEIR OWN VOICE.

Just write a damn article and stick in a few screenshots or whatever where necessary.

...FFS.

[mattsmemes]

[littorinaobtusata]

the friar from much ado about nothing after his faking a death scheme actually works: wow, I can't wait to tell my friend in verona about this one weird trick!

[mathgirl24]

[thoughtsickles]

people in books and tv shows are always getting so upset they throw an untouched meal in the trash. that would never be me. i'd receive the worst news of my life and still be like Let me put this in the fridge.

[everyday-cutephoto]

[curatorofthisdigitalmorass]

"Village Church with Flying Saucer" - Art by Mark Bryan

[everythingfox]

[rylandsgrace]

#Elmo's so real

[belle-and-the-giant-donut]

I too don't really know what I'm gonna do in the next five hours.

[persianmom-deactivated20251026]

i was such a weird lonely little girl and maybe i grew to be a weird lonely woman but idc i built this life for myself and maybe it doesn’t always make sense to others and maybe isn’t always easy or beautiful but it is mine and i cherish it

[secondbeatsongs]

somehow instead of saying "as a treat", I've started using the phrase "for morale", as if my body is a ship and its crew, and I (the captain) have to keep us in high spirits, lest we suffer a mutiny in the coming days.

and so I will eat this small block of fancy cheese, for morale. I will take a break and drink some tea, for morale. I will pick up that weird bug, for morale.

I'm not sure if it helps, but it does entertain me

[sockdreams]

We often eat pie at work...for morale.

[eerian-sadow]

"As a treat" implies a special occasion, a temporary state. "For morale" makes the joy essential, because you have to have good morale to keep going.

[funniestbitchinfaerun]

i love being a 30+ woman in fandom. reblog if you also love being an old dame in fandom