Untitled by choice

AO3 writers, apparently spam bots are now reaching the new low by leaving negative comments on authors' works (that are most likely copied and pasted, mass posted on random fics), meant to discourage and make authors delete their works. Holy shit.

Writers, if you receive mean/rude/negative comments on your fics, please always know that — with the new wave of bots — there are high chances of these comments being spam meant to try to get you to delete your works (so far, the only reason I can think of as to why they want writers to delete their works off AO3 is because, once the works have been deleted, it's nearly impossible for authors to claim ownership of their works in case of the works being stolen, used or re-uploaded without authors' permission).

Know that these negative comments from spam bots do not mean your works are "bad" in any way! They leave the same copy and paste script on various fics, because they want authors to feel discouraged, they want you to delete your works so they can maybe steal your works later without you being able to strike them with copyright violation once the original fics have been deleted.

How to tell if a comment is spam? These bots are always vague with their comments. They never include details from your fic (such as characters' names or specific scenes from your work) in their comment. They're being vague because they're leaving the same comments on various writers' works, various fics, various fandoms without reading the actual works.

Report these comments and move on.

I know how much a rude comment can affect an author. But please always remember that they just copied and pasted the same comment, same script onto your fic like they did dozens (if not hundreds or thousands) of other writers. They never even read your works. They're bots. They just want you to delete your fics so they can safely steal them.