Yet Another AO3 Bot Situation - Please Spread The Word!

Yet another AO3 bot situation - please spread the word!

Hi, it's me again, the person who wrote that viral post about fanfiction plagiarism! Today I'm here to warn you about abuse perpetrated by bots who have stolen AO3 usernames.

There's currently an epidemic of bots going around leaving (apparently random) horrible, hateful comments on people's fics. This isn't the first time bots have invaded AO3, but the big problem with this wave is that they're using real AO3 usernames to do it.

I learned about this when another writer contacted me after receiving the following comment on their story:

Now, while that is my username, I DEFINITELY did not leave this comment (and anyone who would leave something like that on a fic should be slapped! What an awful thing to post). This fic is in a completely unrelated fandom that I have never participated in, nor has that author participated in any of my fandoms, so the probability of it being some intentional fandom drama thing to make me look bad is also low.

The writer whose fic the comment was left on enlisted the aid of some friends and tracked down other guest comments with unrelated usernames attached, which is pretty strong evidence that they are being left by bots at random.

The TL;DR: If you receive a cruel comment from a (Guest) with an actual AO3 username attached, it's most likely from a bot. Please do not lash out at or dogpile the AO3 user who owns that name, and who in all likelihood has no idea that their name has been hijacked for evil.

If finding this kind of comment on a fic, even left by a bot, is likely to upset you, I would recommend changing your comment settings so that only users who are logged in can leave comments. To do this, edit your story settings, and under "Privacy," select the radio button that says "Only registered users can comment," as shown below.

Please spread the word to other AO3 users! And if you see mean guest comments on other fics, maybe let the author know that it's probably from a bot and not a real person who thinks their writing is bad.

my psychologist ("autism expert") greeted me with a blue t-shirt that said: "autism is NOT a disability, it is an skill".

...

Yikes...

Send this to ten other bloggers that you think are wonderful. Keep the game going, make someone smile!!! <3

ok that's really adorable. even if I don't quite understand the game, I'm about to flood the inboxes of other bloggers. hopefully I won't get blocked :-D kehehehehehe

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Phantom - Susan Kay, The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV), Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms, Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence Characters: Christine Daaé, Nadir Khan, Raoul de Chagny, Erik | Phantom of the Opera Additional Tags: Zombie Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - The Last of Us Setting Summary:

It is an alternative universe. The story takes place in parallel (but without a connection) to Last of Us 1.

A lonely woman, on her own, has been living in a forest for a year now. She survives. Somehow. Until an unexpected event throws her out of her safe and familiar surroundings.

Happy Birthday! 🎉🎈🎁🎂

AWWW thank you my dear! <3

It is my Birthday, and I've got the blues again.

So, here is my present to you. A full bonus chapter. Have fun :-) https://tapas.io/episode/3093156