I would watch people say "no one should be fired for what they say/like/write in fandom or journalism" while actively going out of their way to try and get me fired. Or trying to get OTHER black people fired.

Because we used OUR rights to free speech to say something they dislike about race/racism

Ugh I have so many thoughts because people will (more or less adequately) ping increasing sex negative perspectives in fandom as conservatism to push against... While openly sneering at and harassing Black people in fandom who give a shit about racism. To the point of defending racists here.

And it shouldn't be? It being empowering and creative and radical is one thing. But, for example, queering or transing Harry Potter characters isn't activism. It helps no one. It changes nothing. It doesn't even make Rowling mad. Because you're still keeping her IP relevant despite supposed rage.

Do you know how many people accuse Black people in fandom of being conservatives for talking about antiblackness in fandom/fanworks? Often while defending nice racists in fandom? It's a LOT.

But also, beyond that & the pressure on perverts? Writing or drawing fanworks isn't a form of activism?

I do not and have never understood why people believe that queer and feminist fandom (or any fandom, but esp here) sits outside the world and is both inherently progressive and non political? There are no consequences for bigotry here. People have radicalized themselves into being & defending bigots

Idk, saying "AO3 is a space for authors, NOT readers" displays a lack of empathy that feels very antithetical to the bedrock of fandom and fanspaces, which should be all about *connecting with other fans* in positive ways. Maybe that's just me.

AO3 centers the archiving of fanwork (primarily fic) for creators - a blessing! - but centering a function doesn't mean that that's its ONLY function, and the literal architecture of the site proves that it's a space for readers, too.

If you want a place where the literal only function is to archive your work, flashdrives exist. But when you post to AO3 hoping for your story to find readers, that's an act of *sharing with a community.*

Hell, even the fact that you can access work and see tags/etc at all without an account by default makes work accessible to readers.

"But all these things help authors, too!"

Yes. Because fandom is a community and AO3 is a living community space, not a sterile repository.

Any fanspace must be built with the principle of community in mind or it's not a fanspace, imo. Fandom IS community. AO3 is not a sterile untouchable repository, it's a living space w/ comment sections and exchanges that facilitate interactions btw authors and readers. And that's part of its appeal!

Not everyone uses ALL these features, but they're there, and I would guess that a non-zero percentage of authors use a lot of these - even the most die-hard "AO3 is for authors not readers" folks. They're *participating in a community* whether they acknowledge it or not.

Right, exactly! And even if you DID use AO3 purely as an author looking to preserve your work, why would you add tags, summaries, etc? Why would you not just disable comments entirely? Why would you sign up for an exchange, read other fic, make bookmarks, use kudos?

I don't think the Archive/org are awful and deserve burning down. They have major issues, for sure, but deep down, I still want them to exist, just *better.* Some people will say that's a naive hope and I shouldn't hold my breath, but let a girl dream.

AO3 and the OTW were born from a dream to improve fanspace - to create structures & spaces tailored to fans' needs based on community discussion. So why is improving the Archive/org itself and discussing changes to it so anathema? Dreams change. Needs evolve. So should the Archive/OTW.

The issue is not "AO3 is terrible" but "AO3 is slow & unwilling to change, in ways that are behind the curve & detrimental to users" - f'r ex, their pretty half-assed blocking/muting functions are relatively recent, coming WELL AFTER they became a standard feature of most other websites.

--not having access to some tools (natively) on ao3 that will automatically save and then filter out a logged-in user's triggers & such every time they search, AND having a moderation team do very little to enforce the rules about warnings &tc means that you literally can't curate effectively ever.