Northy Dummy Girl, babe

ok but what if instead of being a bobots they were a kitty cats 🤯

It would seem a whole new kind of AO3 reader/writer is emerging and it is becoming clear not everyone quite understands how the website community works. Here is some basic guidance on how most people expect you to go about using AO3 to keep this a fun community archive that funtions correctly:

Kudos is for when the story was interesting enough to make you finish reading. If it sucked or was badly written, you probably left. If you finished - you kudos.

If you liked it, you should comment. It can be long and detailed or a literal keysmash. Writers don't care, we just love comments.

No critisism unless the author has specifically asked or agreed to hear it. Even constructive critisism is a no-no unless an author note tells you it's okay. Many people write as a fun hobby or a way to cope with, among other things, insecurity. Don't ruin that for them.

Do not comment to ask the author to write/update something else. It's tacky and off-putting and will probably have the opposite effect than the one you want.

There is no algorithm, it's an archive. Use the search and filter function to add/remove the pairings/characters/tropes etc. you want to read about and it will find you the fics that fit the bill.

For this to work, writers must tag and rate stories. This avoids readers finding the wrong things and missing the stuff they want. I don't care how cringy that trope is in your eyes - it gets tagged.

Character A/Character B means a ROMANTIC or SEXUAL relationship of some kind. Character A&Character B is PLANTONIC, like friendship or family.

Nothing is banned. This is an implicit rule because banning one thing is a slipperly slope to banning another and another, until nothing is allowed anymore. Do not expect anyone to censor for you. Because of the tags system, you are responsible for your own reading experience.

People can create new chapters and sequels/fic series any time after they "complete" a story. So it's considered perfectly normal to subscribe, even to a finished story. You can even subscribe to the author instead just to cover your bases.

Do not repost stories or change the publishing date without an extremely good reason (like a complete top to bottom rewrite). It's an archive, not social media. No one cares what's the most recent, only what fits their tag needs.

Avoid deleting a story you wrote if you hate it - orphan it so others can still enjoy it, without it being connected to you anymore.

This is a creative fanfiction archive. No essays on your insights or theories please. There are other places for that.

I KNOW there's plenty more I missed but I'm trying to cover most of the basics that people seem to be struggling with.

DO NOT

Comment things like “more please”, “update soon”, “why haven’t you updated?”, “hope this updates”, and my personal most hated, “it’s been X [unit of time] where is the update??”

Why not comment those things?

Well, the vast majority of fanfic writers don’t just sit on completed chapters waiting for some noble soul to comment “content pls” before they post it. Fanfic is a hobby and writers prioritize their own lives first. They might have a chapter outline, some scenes written, or nothing at all. Sometimes inspiration dies and we have no way to resurrect it on command. For many writers, reviews like the ones listed above aren’t motivating enough to get around writer’s block. While they do indicate interest in the story, they also ONLY indicate that interest, and may make the writer feel bad for not pumping out more content. Feeling guilty is not usually conducive to writing.

What can you do instead?

“Come here often?”

i want what they have 🥹

some wolf blitzbee for your soul(aka my soul) because i love them 🫶

TFA Megatron fancam with this song because