Since I keep seeing people worry that report brigading will get AO3 works deleted for no reason, here’s a quick primer on AO3’s report process.
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.”
If you’ve read all this and are still worried about hostile eyes on your work, consider archive locking it or using AO3’s comment moderation tools to control who can comment on your work. Remember, comments that violate TOS can be reported too.
