In the wake of the news that Wattpad had updated its explicit content policy, there were just as many social media videos complaining about how an influx of fleeing Wattpad users would ruin Archive Of Our Own (AO3), the internet’s last, best remaining bastion of good, smutty fanfic, as there were videos incorrectly describing the Wattpad update as a blanket porn ban. In response to the online grumblings, AO3 has put out a statement essentially telling everyone to calm the hell down, illustrating why they are and will remain the GOAT of internet fanwork hosting.
“[AO3] has no plans to change the content we allow on AO3, and we stand by our commitment to maximum inclusiveness of fanwork content,” AO3 said on its website.
The best thing about AO3 is that it knows exactly what it is and has remained consistent in that identity in the almost two decades of its operation. It is a website where people can post their fanworks with an extraordinary degree of freedom. And it’s that freedom that’s causing so much concern about the potential effect that users leaving Wattpad will have on the site.
We’re currently in an era of unprecedented sexual conservatism. Payment processors are pressuring sites like Steam, itch.io, Gumroad, and more to cull their NSFW offerings. There have been so many conversations online about the “needlessness” of sex in media, including a movie just released about a so-called “sex purge” that was notable for how little sex it contained. All these conditions are present in fandom spaces where aggression against subversive, challenging, explicit, or even just plain ole disliked material is taken up to 11. There were concerns that users coming from an app that, while known for smut, would not have prepared them for AO3’s unique degree of permissiveness (i.e: depravity) and might seek to change the site for the worse by reporting works, authors, or tags—the system AO3 uses to categorize specific elements of a fanwork—that they don’t think are appropriate.
But with its statement, AO3 is attempting to turn down the temperature. “We will not remove works unless they violate the AO3 Terms of Service, and we don’t make decisions based on how many times something is reported,” it said. “Users do not need to worry that anyone’s works will be taken down due to a baseless report or a mass-reporting campaign, if one were to occur.”
Translation: Everyone chill the fuck out, we got this.
That said! Let me take a moment to address new AO3 users, no matter their provenance, on some etiquette. I want everyone to happily and safely enjoy their chosen brainrot in whatever form it takes. But it’s up to you to curate your space well. Tags exist for a reason. Use them! Filter the ones you don’t want to see. You do not get to come into someone’s home and complain about the furniture.
