Don't look for sympathy, you won't find it.

Chief Engineer Lindholm shouted your name as he made his way through the workshop. Deep in your own thoughts and thoroughly consumed by your own work, you didn’t hear him until he stood right next to you.

“There she is.”

“Hmm?” you hummed as your head finally turned toward the short man next to you. Instantly, you pulled your goggles off and looked at him with bright eyes. “Chief EngineerLindholm, sir! How can I help?”

“My office,” he said curtly, leaving no room for you to ask any questions before he walked away. It was odd. He wasn’t the type to actually use his office. More often than not, any and all conversations were held in the workshop. That’s where he did most of his work, anyway. But you promptly followed the broad, muscular man, leaving just enough room so that you wouldn’t step on his heels.

In recent days, there have been a number of posts on tumblr about third party apps that host AO3 fic on them. A lot of people are worried and even more people are pissed.

There is no need to send in emails to AO3 Support or to the Policy and Abuse team. They are fully aware of the situation and are probably drowning in emails right now. 

Here’s what I know and what you can do about it.

Fluff app / Fanfiction Pocket Archive Library app / Archive Track Reader app:

These apps work as a sort of skin for the AO3 site itself. They don’t download works and redistribute them. They provide an access point to AO3.

The developers of these apps are making money from the app itself (through tips and subscriptions - both voluntary), which wouldn’t exist without the free content created by AO3 authors. Since people post their work to AO3 because it is free to access and hosted without ads, authors are understandably angered by this.

Because these apps are basically just a portal to the site, a DMCA notice will not apply in this case. All works currently hosted on AO3 will show up on these apps, because these apps are simply letting you view AO3 through their interface.

Woodsign company apps (including MCU, Harry Potter, Sherlock, Creepypasta, and more):

These apps seem to curate  some fic from the various fandoms and rehost it. They allow users to read offline, so it’s possible they are redistributing it. In this case, a DMCA takedown might be effective.

This app developer is also making money by hosting fanfic that was written and posted for free on AO3. They have put up a paywall so that you can only access the complete fic if you pay for it or rate the app in the App store. 

If you want to post a negative review, consider saying things like:

* these fanworks are free already at archiveofourown.org * you can kudos, comment, bookmark, subscribe, and mark to read for later for free with an archiveofourown.org account * you can also download fics to read later in various file formats - both pdf and formats that are usable by ereaders * archiveofourown.org is a website with full mobile browser accessibility. Anything you can do in this app, you can do on the site - for free, and without ads * the Archive is a fully-licensed non-profit organization run by volunteers, unlike this for-profit app

There is no official AO3 app. The website is mobile friendly and if you want to have quick button access to it, you can Add to Homescreen on your phone and you can click in just like you would on an app. None of these third party apps can provide you with AO3 support. Only AO3 can do that. The best version of the site will always, always be the site itself.

And it kinda monetize our work since they have subscription fee in it. (Refer third pic)

You know what though? I just hope the money is helping them or assisting them in a way that matters, if they’re even making anything at all. Ad revenue doesn’t produce a lot most of the time and I can’t imagine the subscription service being very popular since we’re all broke as fuck and can find our own fic recommendations. Maybe they have medical bills like I do. Maybe they’re hungry and need it. Idk. I hope it’s worth it.

1.) Report the app for DMCA and copyright infringement. As we own the copyrights to our works, they cannot be legally hosted without our permission. On the Google Play store, hit the three dots near the app title, click Flag As Inappropriate, select Other, and describe the infringement as neatly as possible.

2.) Under Developer Contact, the email of the app creator is listed. Send them a cordial email with your writing handles to inform them that you did not consent to having your works hosted on their app, which means what they're doing is, again, illegal. They might not listen to one author, but eventually they'll get the message. Don't harass them, of course.

3.) Using the links provided above, file a DMCA report on whichever version you use (iOS or Android). I know that copyright laws can be murky, but if enough people file a claim, the app will be removed. Neither Google nor Apple want to open themselves up to a lawsuit.

4.) In any works you post, place a note that says that you do not consent to your work being hosted on any unofficial apps, particularly ones with ad revenue and subscription services. Name it or don't name it, but let your readers know that you are very uncomfortable with the idea of your work being used without your permission, particularly with an intuitive mobile reader already available via the web browser.

hhh i promised myself i wasn’t going to go so hard on this ask, but i’m so horny for talon jack i just can’t help myself. also thank you to @darkdrabblings for helping me out!!

Sneaking into Talon hadn’t been an issue. It was actually a lot easier than you had expected it to be, and you’d gotten a lot deeper than you thought possible. No, it was getting back out after your cover was blown that was the real issue. Whatever escape route Winston had arranged for you was ruined the second Talon got wind of a mole, and you were now painfully stuck trying to find a way out. Like, actually, physically stuck.

You couldn’t believe it. Your head and shoulders had passed through just fine, so how come your waist wouldn’t? The hole in the wall should have been big enough for you. By the time you acknowledged the fact that it wasn’t, the edges hugged you so tightly and dug so uncomfortably into your sides that you couldn’t move, leaving you hanging off the wall like some rag doll.

Worse was, you absolutely didn’t have time for this. Soldier: 76 had been hot on your trail, and it wouldn’t take him long to find you, quite literally, hanging around. Panic washed over you as you heard a set of steps gradually grow louder. You huffed and puffed as you used your arms to push off the wall.

“Come on!” you cried out in anguish, arms clawing and hitting the wall in a last-ditch effort to get loose. You willed yourself not to cry. You just needed to think, to calm down and-

Hot Springs

Patron Illustration for February 2019.

Have some spice. :eye_emoji:

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