Saving Our Lives Can Wait

saving our lives can wait

RB IF YOU AGREE

AO3 discourse season is upon us, and in light of the many, many posts I see disparaging the website and attempting to dissuade people from using it, there’s one thing I want to throw out into the fray that I haven’t seen others say:

AO3 isn’t for everyone. 

And that’s totally okay. A bunch of people made their own space so they and others could host whatever they wanted, because pre-existing platforms (platforms which still exist today– fanfiction.net, livejournal, wattpad, etc.) didn’t allow it. That was their goal, they achieved it, and now plenty of people are supporting the continued existence and use of that created space.

But, like…those platforms which ban explicit forms of NSFW, they still exist. If someone is more in favor of stronger censorship surrounding fanfiction, then that person 100% has options outside of AO3 that they not only can use, but should use if it’s going to cause them acute distress otherwise. If more controlled publishing environments is what they want to support, then they can! And they can do so without being atrocious to other people, which is even better. AO3 doesn’t have a monopoly on fanfiction, or any other kind of fiction, by any means– it’s just one website among many. 

So if this AO3 discourse season you feel the need to remind everyone exactly why you despise using AO3 and why no one should ever monetarily support the website, take a moment and consider if continued use of the website–indirect support of it–is truly ‘right’ for you. AO3 may not be, as some people have strongly suggested, in need of being burnt to the ground: it may just be that it isn’t a website that fits your needs nor desires, and it’s time to move on and hunt for a hosting platform that does.

So we are engaged.

link to original tweet