So AO3 would not allow me to submit a complaint regarding a certain fanfic which keeps changing titles but was formerly known as Sexy Times with Wangxian. Since AO3 refuses to accept my complaint, allow me to air out my grievances here. Let it be known that it is not simple inconvenience that I complain of.
My complaint (which AO3 refuses to accept):
The author virtual1979 has been reported before multiple times due to the use of an overabundance of tags that has made the service nigh unusable by users who use screen-readers or older devices. They have been suspended before but have been found by OTW to not be in violation of the rules and has been allowed to resume enjoyment of the service. They have since begun to use the title and the fandoms field of the above-linked fic formerly known as Sexy Times with Wangxian to continue inconveniencing other users of the service. The title is changed on an almost daily basis and has gotten progressively longer. Malice is evident in that they formatted their summary to include only one letter per line before hitting enter and starting another paragraph. However, the heart of my complaint is that the most recent title of work contains both the N-slur (anti-Black) and the C-slur (anti-Asian) in an evidently taunting manner. The most recent title is nothing more than a random jumble of words designed to incite outrage, including a transphobic slur in addition to the racially-charged words. These are fighting words exempt from the protections of free speech, words and phrases which, in their common, everyday use and understanding are personally abusive and likely to incite violent reaction.
I understand that AO3 denounces censorship as a matter of policy. However, a line has been crossed into the territory of unprotected speech.
Ao3, I love and adore and completely and totally appreciate your volunteers, but I urge you to include an abuse of rights clause in your ToS. Just because you’re protecting free speech doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be limits to the exercise of such, not when the author of this fic is already causing so much frustration and active harm.
