Attract weirdos, manage chaos.

"things are getting bad again" -> "im just like the character"

"i dont feel like myself" -> "the character is here"

"i dont feel connected to reality" -> "i am immersing myself in the character's world"

"who am i" -> the character! the character.

There’s a lot of evil on dropout that must be ignored

(Source: @catadromously​’s art)

“Tell us your wisdom, O Great One!”

To start, we can reference this section of the TOS FAQ.

To report something on AO3, you need an email address and a link to the page you’re reporting. Then you fill out the Policy Questions and Abuse Reports form, which appears in the footer on every page of the website. You do not need an account to fill out the form.

The form asks you for both a description of the content you’re reporting and a shorter summary line. The Policy and Abuse team uses the summary lines to sort reports as they come in, so using clear, relevant keywords matters. You might say “Placeholder,” “Spam comment,” or “Harassment,” depending on what you’re seeing. The form also asks you to select a language. This is the language the Policy and Abuse team will use when they update you on their ticket. They currently have the capabilities to respond in thirty-three languages.

Once a page has been reported, duplicate reports will not be logged. That’s how AO3 safeguards both their authors and their volunteers from the burden of handling mass reporting campaigns. See what happens when I try to file a second report on a placeholder work I know has a report already pending.

The above system demonstrates why report brigading is unlikely to be a problem, but how does AO3 handle reports themselves? Luckily, the FAQ above has a detailed answer for that.

Because the Policy and Abuse team is small and made up of volunteers, they prioritize urgent matters. Anecdotally, my reports of placeholder works often take a few weeks or months to resolve, but on the rare occasion that I’ve needed to report something serious like doxxing, the matter has always been settled within the hour. This is another reason why it’s important to give your reports clear titles. If it’s urgent, no one wants it to slip through the cracks.

If your work has been reported, AO3 will only contact you if they find you in violation of the terms of service. This section talks about what that would look like. You’re never going to lose access to things without warning. If your work is ever deleted for violating the TOS, AO3 will email you a copy of it along with an explanation of why it was taken down.

Here is what the FAQ has to say about reported content that does not violate the TOS: “If we receive a report about something that isn't a violation, we will let the reporter know and close the report. If someone attempts to abuse our reporting system, such as by intentionally submitting baseless complaints, we may consider that harassment and take appropriate action.”

the same bitches who see a man trying on candy scented perfume rather than axe body spray and go "omg you go girl!!" "see you during your transition sweetie! 😘" "which could mean nothing!" are the same bitches who decry the gender binary and say shit like "makeup has no gender!" "clothes have no gender!" "your self expression doesn't equal your gender!" it's almost like y'all see queerness as inherently feminine. hmm.

maybe this is a hot take, but goofing around with gender expression isn't restricted to queer people, nor should it be. cishet men can wear skirts and eyeliner. cishet girls can bind and cut their hair short. cishet people can get funky with presentation and still be happy as their agab. stop reinforcing gender binaries by calling every seemingly cishet person who decides to deviate from gender norms an egg