SingedAndSinful

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.

We’re all volunteers.

The person who’s needed to handle this issue is currently packing so they can move across the country for a new job.

They were in the middle of doing the thing, but their grandmother just died and they need to go to her funeral.

It requires coordinating with 3 other committees and the members are in 7 time zones and getting everyone together to discuss the problem and decide on a plan of action takes time.

I was waiting on a response that would answer my question to allow me to continue working on the thing from someone who’s asleep right now because they live in Australia.

I was going to do it tonight but I have an exchange fic due tomorrow that I really need to finish.

This person has a first date tonight and they’re too excited to concentrate!

They’re doing the thing, but in bits and pieces around having a 6-month-old baby.

We’re all volunteers.

They did the thing, but they need someone else to sign off on it, and that person is down with the stomach flu.

The thing is ready but it needs more testers before it can be safely deployed, and they’re waiting for people to be able to test it.

We ordered the things we need to allow us to do the thing, so now we’re waiting on the company that will ship them to us.

The 3rd-party software that we use to do the thing went down.

I worked for 5 hours on the thing after I got home from work today and it’s still not done and I’m exhausted and I need to sleep.

I was training new volunteers so that someday we can have more people who can do this thing, rather than working on the thing itself today.

This issue was picked up by one of those new volunteers, who is eager to help but doesn’t necessarily know all the ins and outs yet, and may take more time.

I looked at the insurmountable size of the thing and fell into a deep despair and had to sit and cry for a little while.

The ticket was so arrogant and rude that nobody wanted to answer it so it sat there for 6 weeks.

We’re all volunteers.

I decided that spending time with my family tonight was more important for my mental health and preserving relationships than sitting hunched over the computer for hours.

I made the mistake of going on social media and saw people yelling at us for failing to finish the thing already, what’s wrong with us, why can’t we just do it, it should be easy!

The new movie in the series I love most came out and I’m going to see it tonight!

I was reading a really good fic.

The thing is really complicated.  It just genuinely takes a lot of time to do.  Even paid employees would take a lot of time to do this, because it’s hard.

None of us are getting paid to do this, we are giving up our free time and energy and effort to this project, and sometimes we need to focus on the things we love to remind us why we’re doing this at all.