Friendly-Neighborhood-Tumblrite

the whole point of ao3 is that it’s a safe space for all fics, and that includes fics about taboo subjects

ao3 has always been firmly against censorship since the day it was created, that’s why it’s run by fans, for fans, on fans’ donations, why it’s a nonprofit organization, that’s also why it has no ads or algorithms or any of those capitalism bullshit

FYI, I personally know two people who got scam comments from the same AO3 account today alone. They were very similar to the ff.net comments in this reddit post, and go something like:

As a concept artist, I really enjoyed your story! The characters were compelling, and the plot kept me engaged from start to finish. Your writing has so much depth, and I could really envision the world you’ve created. While reading, I got some ideas for potential artwork to bring your characters or key scenes to life. I’d love to chat more about a possible collaboration if you’re interested

The main difference between this and a previous wave of similar comments is that this is from a logged-in account as opposed to a guest.

I'd recommend reporting the comments if you get them, and like I said above, block the users.

I've been getting these near constantly on FFnet, they started by out of the blue PM-ing asking if I wanted to work with them for a commission, and now more often they'll try to PM first and establish some kind of rapport before hitting me with the sales pitch. One account actually left a "review" (which was of course ML generated crap) before sending the PM request.

In general, be wary of any unknown account that messages you out of the blue. Check their account. It will usually be a stub, empty aside from a couple socials. Username will be super generic and botlike. Their messages will usually read as generic with that "marketing copy" sheen to the diction, though I caught several in a row that sounded like the same script sent through wildly different tone filters. They will usually ask to take the conversation offsite. DO NOT DO THIS. I suspect the endgoal is to steal your PII and financial info. And possibly your "commission request" description to make some cheap AI art which they might also sell and/or use to make themselves look more legitimate.

They immediately pressed me to 'discuss details and ideas,' and when I asked what they charge for commissions, they said:

My usual prices are start from $180 for an half body character and i have a good payment plans available like you can break the payment in two to three terms

Which, like... payment plans?? What are you, a fucking used car dealership? I have never once encountered an artist who talks like this 😂

When I asked if they did sketches or head shots for lower prices, they said they could do a 'half body sketch for $100.' Mind you, I never even mentioned characters or what fic they supposedly commented on, and any real artist would first ask... you know. What the client wants?? before throwing out dollar amounts?? Some clients might ask for a whole scene to be illustrated but the artist isn't great at backgrounds, or they might want an image of a robot character but the artist doesn't take commissions for robots, mechs, etc.

I never questioned that this was a scam, but the instant pushiness and the way they didn't even ask what I wanted was just further confirmation.

I was getting bored with them at that point, so I just said thanks, but I couldn't afford that, and they replied:

But wassup? Can you tell me your budget?

Again: basically no artist ever is going to be that pushy or demand to know how much money you have available. And if they are, you sure as fuck shouldn't trust them.

So, yeah, it seems like this scammer is trying to get folks to pay for a portion of the 'commission' up front, but then of course, they'll never deliver a sketch, let alone a finished product.

This probably took this person 3 seconds to do but it immediately told me that they liked my story enough to come back and read it again and they liked it again the second time.

Your favorite writers Do Not Know that you think about their stories after you read them. I generally assume that my stories make people happy for the few minutes they’re reading and then they never think about it again. To know that that’s not the case and that someone has returned just makes my little heart swell with joy.

The best part has been the people putting tags on their reblogs along the lines of “I’m totally going to do this now” and “I didn’t think authors would like something this simple but I can do this” and authors saying how much this type of comment also means to them.

The second best part was the person who went and read Worship because of this post and then commented on it.

An interesting part has been seeing what a kind of popular post does to your notifications.

Pirates and Librarians and Archivists aren't different types of people, they're different sides of the same coin. Pirate if you have to, Archive if it's at risk, Library...ize? If you can.

okay the lack of a verb for "Library" slightly ruins the metaphor. But the point is: Librarians make sure everyone can access it. Archivists make sure it will always exist. Pirates make sure it can be gotten for free, without limitations. We need all these roles at different times, and they all work together.

"'fandom' is a vehicle of marginalized subcultural groups (women, the young, gays, etc.) to pry open space for their cultural concerns within dominant representations; it is a way of appropriating media texts and rereading them in a way that serves different interests, a way of transforming mass culture into a popular culture"

Jenkins, Henry. “Star Trek Rerun, Reread, Rewritten: Fan Writing as Textual Poaching.” Critical Studies in Mass Communication 5, no. 2 (1988): 85–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295038809366691.  

Also copyright law does not fuck around and if you aren't looking for a legal battle in court I highly recommend that you don't even try monetize your fanfics. Fair use isn't enough - and in some cases is non-applicable depending on the media in question. Just because the plot is yours does not mean you can just sell it when it contains parts (characters, settings, power systems, ect) that you yourself did not create and don't legally own the rights to. Anyone- booktoker, influencer, a friend, your mom- who says otherwise is full of shit and doesn't know what they're talking about.

I have worked in the food service industry for 20 years and I just wanted to make an informational list of common mistakes or misconceptions I see in writing about said industry. Not trying to be a jerk, just thought I would try to make a helpful list! I will add more if I think of any and please feel free to ask any questions you may have!

- it's cookie dough, not cookie batter. Doughs are for thicker stuff, typically something you can pick up in your hand (cookies, bread). Batters are more liquid and pourable (cakes, brownies, muffins)

- one person cannot make all the products from scratch and bake everything themselves unless they are a very slow business. Most of the time someone has a specific thing they do weather it's focused on specific products or split up like one person does the batters/doughs, one person preps and bakes, one person decorates. Sometimes one person does multiple things but generally not every single thing every day by themselves

- Front of House = people interacting with customers like barista, waiter, person at the register. Back of House = people making the food (line cook, baker, etc), dish washer (the worst job in the world, I salute all dishwashers everywhere)

- if they're doing stuff like bagels, doughnuts, breakfast pastries, cinnamon rolls, bread, etc they are there EARLY. Depending on the product some people start working at 2 in the morning. I saw a published book that had someone making dozens and dozens of cinnamon rolls from scratch in like one hour. Not possible even though I wish it was

- frosting, icing, and glaze are all different things. Frosting is the thicker stuff you see on cakes and cupcakes. Icing is typically for cookies, especially the decorated cut out sugar cookies. Glaze is thin, like what you get on doughnuts

- what time it is

- how long you’ve been reading

- how many chapters you’ve covered in the last 24 hours

- what you were late for because you were reading

- the woeful few hours you have left to sleep

- the emotional outbreaks you’re experiencing

- the inappropriate place you’re having said outbreak

- the general public’s reaction to your outbreak