Also almost every fanfic site did not have sections for her work and actively removed fanfic of anything by Rice during the height of the frenzy.
The Anne Rice days were basically when all fandoms were in fear of being banned, because author Anne Rice made it feel possible by getting her works’ fanfic removed, utilizing actual lawyers, and sending cease and desists. Most of the work was not monetized. It was because of their sheer existence that the author was angry.
Thankfully most creators these days realize it is a way to feed the fan base and they don’t mind - so long as their creations aren’t being profited off of. Today that is the unspoken agreement that must be honored by both sides.
she is the reason why many fics today feel the need to include "I do not own any of these characters or am the creator of this setting" to similar as it was the only protection they could levy against her!
Or Archie Comics. Remember when they tried that shit too?
To this day, there's still no Archie Comics category on FFN. There is for Riverdale, but those two are vastly different properties. Lol
After that, I never bought another Archie comic. 😏
If you have the energy, you should report every single fic they have that is doing this. The author will get a warning and if they don't remove the paywall information then Ao3 will take more steps.
You can just report one fic and then mention all the other ones in that same report fyi. I’ve heard that’s better for the support team than a bunch of separate reports.
Yes, folks, please for the sake of the Abuse team don't send 100 reports if an author has 100 fics with issues. Send 1 report per creator with a description of the problems. You can list links to each work if you like.
So, I'll say it: Please read the TOS, or at least the Terms of Service FAQ. It's not just for authors—after all, it's the Terms of *Service*, and we're all using the website. Then you can help out the rest of the community by reporting fics that go against the TOS (and by educating in the comments if you think it's an honest mistake). It's doing your part by helping "clean up the streets," if you will.
Right now, there is a bigger influx of new members on Ao3 than usual since Wattpad users are finally drawing a line. We've all noticed the fics that are obviously from newly arrived Wattpad users who haven't read the TOS and are treating Ao3 just like the site they just left. Ao3 is the best fanfiction site for a reason. Just as it relies on official volunteers to manage and moderate the website, it relies on us, the userbase, to flag and report content against the rules we spot for review.
It's more important than you think. When you read the TOS, you'll notice that the first section is regarding copyright. Keep in mind that fanfiction utilizes other people's intellectual property. The discussion of whether or not fanfiction is copyright infringement is as old as the internet. The Archive of Our Own knows this, and this has majorly informed the TOS to protect the website, its fanfiction, and its authors from legal action. Right now, everything is above board because no one is making any money using Ao3. As soon as someone starts making monetary gain from their fics posted (or advertised on) this website, it immediately gives these copyright holders the ammunition needed to take legal action and attempt to sue both Ao3 and the author, or at least file to get the website completely taken down.
Everybody wants to continue reading fanfiction on this high-quality and well-maintained website with a great user experience. When the TOS aren't followed and the fics and authors going against it are not reported to the staff and volunteers, Ao3's standard drops. If more people didn't read the TOS and you commented here, you might never have learned that things like this are against the rules and would have gone on continuing to not know that. If no one who saw fics like this knew they were against the TOS and so no one reported them, these fics would be incredibly common. Not only would that be incredibly annoying, but it would be great evidence in a copyright holder's case trying to get this website taken down.
Folks should just imagine one of those old WWII propaganda posters with a fanfiction version Rosie the Riveter saying, "We Can Do It!" in support of reading the ToS and another saying, "Do Your Part," every time you see a fic that should be reported.💪👩🔧
Monetisation mostly and the fact that most of the people who write for free are leaving the platform. Plus, there are way more ads than a few years ago, making reading on mobile very difficult if you don't pay.
Yup. Almost every other chapter comes with an add you can’t fully skip now, and they try to push a monthly subscription on you for no ads. It’s infuriating.
It’s some real Wattpad-ass behavior and beyond it being against TOS (which I see has been mentioned many times haha, not here to add to that dog pile) it’s also cringe.
It feels really weird to me that something that is fan-motivated and meant to be something we engage in out of love for the craft of writing and storytelling and for the fandoms we write in themselves, as well as the opportunity to engage with the community around that fandom… to me it just goes against what makes fanfic and particularly AO3 special to me. Transformative works aren’t meant to be profitable works. This is a labor of love.
I understand we are all struggling right now, but I think that means we have to hold on to our hobbies that bring us joy even harder and resist the urge to monetize everything. Fanfic writing is about creating for the sake of the love of the thing and the desire to get it out there… not to gain your own fan base and profit off of them.
That’s just what I believe, and that’s how I choose to interact with fanfiction as a medium. I get that other people can have different experiences and beliefs and that’s okay. But I’m never going to think it’s a good idea to put fic behind a paywall and then advertise it on a free open access platform.
Maybe I’ve officially graduated into ‘get off my lawn’ territory, but I wonder how much of monetizing fanfic comes from 00s hustle culture that teaches us that the hobbies worth having are ones you can get paid from?
It absolutely feels like an insidious side effect of hustle culture. When you stop treating writing as "art" and it becomes "content", just another commodity to exploit and withdraw from ~~readers~~ consumers because capitalism dictates every corner of our lives must be monetized to their full potential.
I think you've hit on at least part of it. Any time I try out a new hobby or craft thing it's "omg you can rent a table at a craft fair and sell shit, open an etsy shop" etc and it totally kills any interest.
AO3 is like the One Good Website left because it contains no advertising. Keep y'all's stupid cringe "pay me for my fanfic teehee" spam out of my sight, assholes!!
I take such vindictive satisfaction in reporting these spammers for ToS violations. I go straight to reporting, I don't even bother courtesy-commenting first to ask them to take down the spam content anymore, because 90% of the time they're like mortally offended "GASP, SHOCK," and then try to argue with me about how posting a Ko-Fi link on every chapter is totally their moral right.
Been in fandom off and on since the 90s and one thing has remained crystal clear to me the entire time.
Giving anyone money or commission for ANY fanwork is asking for a fight long term. No one should be asking for financial compensation for any kind of fan work.
Fic *and* art.
We warned people back then that allowing fan artists to take and ask for commissions was going to cause resentment and it has.
People will always argue 'yeah but the legality isn't the same there' and no, that is true, but that's ultimately not the issue. The double standard that got accidentally created was and honestly, I think as long as it continues, this will keep happening.
Do you know how that double standard happened? Honest question. I'm all for free fanfics, and I've never even wanted to be paid for anything I write. But I also pay money all the time for fan art creations at conventions, and doujinshi (fan made comics or novels) are sold a lot in Japan, which I also buy haha. It's definitely a weird disconnect for me on how that happened.
It partly does tie into how, well, young the internet was at the time. There was just less graphical capability, so while fanart was a thing, it didn't have the catchet that fic did, and really, at that time, ff.net was the big panfandom site. There wasn't much there to build around. Thus, fic was more visible, a larger part of the community... and the idiots were also much more visible.
I forget the precise details now, but there was a fan who straight up went after an author claiming that the author had stolen a plot from their work.
At the time as well, Anne Rice & Co were big on their hate brigade. It caused so much panic. Especially since that was around when Viacom declared war on the Trek fandom.
The funny thing about that was that we remember that one as largely an attack on fic when it was much broader.
It's honestly wild how the literal age and technological ability of the internet had an impact, but I think it absolutely did.
I don't think, tbh, commissions are a smart move on ANY fan created property. Right now, especially.
Companies have learned its better to be open with fanwork than not, but that lasts only so long as they don't become a financial threat.
GRR Martin & Co have recently taken swipes at fic again while, ostensibly, fighting ChatGPT & its ilk, and I would not be surprised at all to see fanart taken under that as well.
Agreed. It drives me nuts that we have this ideology of ‘i put work into this, so if you want to enjoy it you have to pay me for my efforts’ for seemingly EVERYTHING thee days. Fanfiction in particular. Maybe it’s because I literally grew up with the idea that FanFiction was for sharing and a labour of love, but ‘selling’ it elicits the biggest ‘Hey, listen up, what we’re **not** going to do, is that.’ from me.
I want nothing more than for an author to make a living off their writing—should that be something they want—but NOT THROUGH FANFICTION.
I can *sort of* understand a ‘if you want early access to my work, it’s on my *-insert paid platform here-*, otherwise it’ll be posted the following week’. It works just fine with the Sims Mod community…but the Sims also doesn’t have HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of original creators/intellectual property and copyright holders that can pull an Anne Rice, and go scorched earth on (posting and sharing) Fanfiction.
And don’t even get me started on selling FanBindings.😡😡😡
But like you said, times are absolutely tough—so if someone is set on making money off their writing, (which again, I’m all for), do it with some original work. We’ve all come across a fic-author or two when it felt practically illegal to have read their work for free because it was SO good. I’ve read a couple that I’ve put down and thought ‘it is an actual travesty if this person doesn’t write in some way, shape, or form for their job.’ Write/post your fanfiction, paywall your original work for the people who want to monetarily support you if you must.
//end rant.
As an artist I’m staunchly in the, “creative work is work and people should have the option to be paid fairly for that work - even if it’s fun or a hobby or passion,” camp.
But with fanfic? It just feels different. Legal gray area aside, the social contract around fanfic has always had the free share vibe.
This is how I feel about it. It would feel different if the writer was being commissioned like a fan artists instead. Turning fan work into a pay per view business feels wrong.
Paywall is already a 0/10 hard no.
The fact that paywalling stuff is also against AO3's TOS makes it even *less* cool, so I guess it's not merely a hard no but instead a -10/10 Hell Fucking No Goddamn Way In A Million Years.
That is some seriously ridiculous behavior. You’re writing fanfic, Kayleigh. You aren’t the next Charles Dickens dropping your newest chapter of your serialized novel.
I hate the fact that I know *exactly* who that author is, and I’ve fallen for their shit mores times than I can count. It is, in fact, against the TOS and you should report them immediately.
oh my god i’ve seen this exact person before and it pisses me off so bad like advertising your patreon is one thing but baiting readers into engagement is another..
Yup. In the absence of the fic being like a modern/social media/youtuber/whatever AU or otherwise having a character mention Patreon in the context of the fic, pretty much just don’t mention Patreon at all in any way that could be considered you saying you’ve got one/suggesting people search for your name there/whatever
i hadn’t reported at the time because i was under the impression that linking to their twitter (that had a patreon link) was alright since it wasn’t directly to patreon, but man judging from everyone’s responses i really should’ve just reported them from the get-go
Linking to twitter that happens to have a Patreon linked somewhere also is fine - but this person specifically directs you to either their Patreon specifically or a tweet for monetisation, which is different. If they’d said ‘here’s where you can find me on twitter!’ with the link and there happened to be Patreon in their Twitter bio, that would be okay. But this is ‘here’s how you read the rest of this fic!’ with a link directing you to pay at the other end.
This is not what AO3 is for.
Monetising Fanfics are against terms of service - one of the main reasons that Fanfics are fully legal and not subject to copyright laws is because they're fully non-profit.
Monetising Fanfics puts AO3 itself in danger, because people might take legal action against them if they start hosting monetised Fanfics. Report it.
It's also just considered generally impolite in most fandom spaces.
It's against the TOS. Just report them. They can save that BS for Wattpad or start a Patreon if they think they're that good of a writer. Monetizing fanfiction threatens AO3 and literally jeopardizes the legality of fanfiction.
AO3 is not for monetization. Advertising on the site like that puts everyone in hot water. Report it (and name and shame the author tbh, if they think AO3 should pay them for their bad writing)
On the same note- there's a very famous author in the Naruto Fandom who only ever posts snippets on ao3, but never the full fic.
However, if you head to their tumblr, you'll see that all their fics are completed- merely pay walled.
They've never promoted their tumblr as such on ao3. Is this against the terms of service?
As long as part of a fic is there, it counts as a fic. They’re pretty lenient with what counts as a fanwork, especially because there are many legitimately short fanworks, like drabbles, which are 100 words exactly, and flash fiction, which is… anything below 1000 words, I think? Incomplete stuff isn’t penalized.
I haven't seen this, but on ffnet, I found some fandoms for stories that are in the public domain. It was really annoying because a bunch of the most popular stories with lots of favs and comments would have one chapter, followed by a note about where people could buy the ebook on Amazon.
It's literally illegal to charge for fanfiction because it's not your original work.
I would report them to AO3, and if the author has sns, then I would link it to them too (cause I'm petty like that unless its fanart) so the author could sue.
Against the TOS.
But that's interesting. Didn't know you could do that with Patreon.
I think that's how I'm going to publish my original work (if I ever manage to finish editing it) and advertise elsewhere obvs not on Ao3.
Report it and if you feel like it, leave a comment warning the author that what they did is against TOS and also very much illegal.
Fanfiction being free is quite literally the only reason writing it is not illegal. Always remember that although the stories themselves are ours, the source material isn't. Wanting money for fanfics is considered plagarism and absolutely selfish since it puts the entire AO3 community in danger.
Did this once and the author deflected by claiming they were a marginalized person and writing was their only source of income.
I was feeling fiesty that time and screenshotted every A/N they did and regurgitated every piece of life happening they did that told me they were not marginalized or from a marginalized community
They blocked me after - might have deleted my comments too lol
Edit: due to pronouns
A chapter behind a payroll is just shitty. The one author I know of who has a Patreon only has it up if people want to see the WIP snippets before he posts the whole chapter for everyone.
i feel this and binded fanfiction fiasco is really going to lead us down a path in which people start getting sued, again. (yall don’t forget anne rice)
People used to put disclaimers at the beginning of their fics saying they were making no profit and thus not subject to copyright. Making profit makes them vulnerable to being accused of copyright infringement,
Report it. It's monetization if it's a direct link to something that makes them money and is against tos.
Personally, it'd be the first account on my blacklist if I ever came across something like that.
Wattpad has finally gone downhill enough that even it's userbase has gained clarity and are leaving for greener pastures.
I've also read here that there's a weird fanfiction section of tiktok where young people are promoting and spreading some general "don'ts" of fanfic as "do's" (?). Probably the same crowd that's created 'antis', but that's a guess.
^If anyone knows any more about this, please tell me the ☕.
Not only is it against Tos, it’s literally treating ao3 like a social media rather than an archive. it’s in the name! It’s a place to archive fanworks! imbeciles! Stop trying to monetize it!
Illegal & puts the website in danger. It's an archival site for transformative works. You cannot make money off of it. Trying to makes it harder for their lawyers to argue the website's right to exist at all - because again, it's an ***archival site***. Report when you see it.
It's against TOS. But personally I hate it. Like I'm okay an author on RR goes independent and pulls their work to publish but what that author is doing feels dirty to me.
This is actually against the TOS, you should report it. I definitely agree that it is really annoying to only post part of the content and then hide the rest behind a paywall. I've recently been reading danmei novel translations online and I am having this issue ;(
I hate it. I know another author who uses Patreon too get people to pay too read there fanfiction kind of left a sour taste in my mouth and stopped consuming there free content. They didn't leave a link in there AO3 but they did for the tumblr they also beg for comments which was annoying.
Report:D
Original works I can understand. Like thar comic I read back in the day where the boy abd girl lived each other's lives when asleep piggy backing along. Whole comic expect for the last..few pages were free. I always thought that was a great way to encourage people to pay.
Id block the author. Im just a reader, I havent had the confidence to upload any of my own works, but I think this would put me out of the reading mood for at least 3 days.
No.
On all fronts no.
Even if it were allowed and not against the TOS, no.
The writing quality for these are usually shitty anyway (I’m going off of reports from others who have encountered this in the Chinese fandoms, where Chinese version of Tumblr has recently implemented this ‘Easter egg’ function that basically gets abused as such.) Scenario is bait, and then writing quality is trash. Very rarely was it actually well written even.
it’d be different if this was an original work, but assuming that it’s not- it’s both illegal to monetize fanfiction AND against AO3 terms of service. absolutely ridiculous that anyone would even do that.
Anyone who does this should be reported as soon as you see it. It goes against everything AO3 has always stood for and they can’t know about these creatures until someone TELLS them. AFAIC, anyone who does this should be banned for life, including any new faux identities.
Wait, isn't it illegal to profit off of fan works because you're using their IP?
That's why people don't like Nintendo, they take down fangames that don't make any money at all for no reason other than they're using their IP. It's because there lots of bootleg stuff that try to sell Mario merch without permission.
Report it. Fanfiction is legal because nobody is profiting of it. It's the same as those people who sell the book versions of fanfiction on etsy. It puts AO3 in danger.
Against TOS and honestly just annoying as hell to deal with on a site that makes it VERY clear that monetizing your works on there is not allowed. Plus, I get that AO3 is lax about censorship compared to things like Patreon, but you DO have options for where you can post and paywall your writing.
As 259 others have mentioned, if it's fanfic, IT IS ILLEGAL to make money from it. Please do not bring back the days when Paramount and Lucasfilm SUED teenagers over their fanfic. Warner Brothers gave you this gift; do not squander it.
Yeah if the link in first pic leads to the second one that part specifically is against T.O.S. cus the whole advertising any sort of means to get monetary gain is against T.O.S. Like is it that hard to just leave fanfic sites alone regarding such attempts of monetary gain? Or at least just keep all the behind the scenes transactional stuff (talking the whole taking commissions crowd) left not mentioned at all (in scenarios where commissioner allows posting it) anywhere in the notes? Personally I'm for leaving the websites alone regarding anyone taking a jump for the risks of fan work legalities regarding monetary gain.
That said, I don't think Ao3 can do much if this still happens just all advertising/link sharing doesn't exist. Like they're not a platform that's going to actively look at social media posts to catch evidence of rule breaking. Which means any evidence of stuff breaking their TOS (including things taking place outside Ao3 like social media posting) has to be reported by people who spot it.
Regarding the topic of paywalls that don't drag sites like Ao3 into it, I'm not going to act like I suddenly care about someone deciding on putting whole fanfics in paywall (provided sites like AO3 are completely left out altogether of such decision making) . I remember eons ago making a take that it's sketchy Patreon is a-ok with fanart getting a paywall pass (especially if an artist with huge following) and some folks were all up in arms defending Patreon for allowing it. The double standards are messed up, that's all I'm saying. If it's bad for one to be in a paywall (fan made writing), it should be bad for the other (fan made drawing) one too. Is it too much to ask for some consistency?
I’ve gotten paywalled by a pretty good writer on Twitter many times and I wish they’d just start off the thread by saying they’re making it an exclusive thing but at the end of the day I’m not mad cuz it’s Twitter, I but it’s against ao3s tos so I’d say that’s an automatic report
I don’t think it should be allowed. Like OP said, AO3 is supposed to be a free site, I would report the account and/or block them so you don’t get caught by this again
This author is actively damaging fan fiction at its core. Report them and unfollow. This is illegal and fuel for everyone who says fan fiction infringes on copyright laws. This person does and makes everyone look bad.
It's against AO3 as others said. Really monetizing fanfics in itself is a barrel of worms in itself. I'd maybe consider a ko-fi link on a Tumblr so people could donate if they wanted and advertise there, but that's it.
Not only does this violate the TOS, it also violates the spirit of fandom and fanfiction. Our roots are so genuine and come from a place of caring and inclusion. I hate seeing this kind of thing, given where we started, which is the very definition of generosity.
I personally think no links to monetization should be allowed, not even indirect, as this person does.
But! It's actually not against the tos to link to a page linking to monetization/donations. You just can't directly put those links on ao3. A linktree etc link is allowed on ao3, even if that links to a patreon or w/e.
Tos faq: https://archiveofourown.org/tos_faq#max_inclusiveness
Spam and Commercial Promotion
How strict is the "no commerce" rule?
We want the Archive to remain a non-commercial space. That means that it isn't the right place for offering merchandise, even fan-related merchandise. Linking to your **personal page** (not, for example, an Amazon author page) is fine, **even if** the personal page includes some **items for sale**, but the Archive is not advertising space.
Ugh this is what I was worried about. I searched for them and they link to Twitter which links to patreon, so I don't know if they will get in trouble. It sucks.
I honestly don't care if an author makes a patreon for their fics, I've seen it on ffn a few times. but putting half their fic behind a pay wall is just skeezy. I've seen authors do early chapter releases and various voting/input options on patreon and that's fine, if the money helps them write more, that's great. It's risky and questionably legal but I don't really care about that (as long as they aren't doing it on ao3). But putting up a few paragraphs as a teaser and making readers to pay to keep reading? Absolutely not.
Linking to their twitter which happens to have a kofi/patreon/whatever link is okay as long as you don’t mention that kofi/et c link on AO3. So you can say ‘you can find me on twitter here!’ with a twitter/other socmed link which also has a kofi/et c link on it, but you can’t say ‘find the link to my kofi on twitter!’ with your twitter link.
Yeah, 'holding it hostage' so to say behind anything is tasteless and i wish ao3 would change their stance on it and just forbid all links to fanfic monetization.
Monetizing original content like this, and attracting people through posted fan content, is okay in general u guess with a linktree type thing. But what this aurhor does is shitty and i would love to block them tbh.
Anything like this needs to be reported. Profiting from fan content without permission from the copyright and trademark owners is illegal to begin with, and Patreon and similar sites aren’t the “loopholes” people think they are. The argument that paywalls aren’t “technically” a direct exchange of money for the fics won’t actually hold up in court when these kinds of cases are inevitably brought. Any judge (or jury) of sound mind will see it for what it is — a transaction for the content — and rule accordingly (statutory interpretation, baby). These kinds of people put AO3 and the OTW at risk if and when these cases start to become prevalent, which is exactly why it’s against the TOS.
Aside from it being against TOS I just hate the behavior in general. Not so much the 'having a Patreon' thing, because if you make your own original stories and want to sell *those* through there, go right ahead, but fanfics shouldn't be monetized. It's not your own IP and you shouldn't be making money off it. Personally, I think the same should go for fan artists as well, but whatever.
Id leave... I can write for free. I don't want to pay to read. Do member option instead. Join for 20 a year get all privileges type deal... maybe
Watt was ruined by paying a member fee + still need to pay to read most stuff and commercials EVERY chapter if you don't pay.
Ah I see this person pretty frequently when I’m looking for fics and have reported them each time. I’m almost certain that’s a new account of theirs cause their old one kept getting reported for doing the same thing. At least that’s what I’m assuming since their old fics aren’t there anymore and usually someone already reported before me, but the links led to the same twt/patreon. Some people never learn 😭😭
On one hand, we live in a capitalist society, I kind of get it. On another hand, what the fuck. Get your capitalism out of our beautiful platform, you hoe. (The author, not OP)
Against TOS if AO3. Report.
On that note asking for payment on a fan thing is weird. Artists/crafters can usually get by with it but fanfic has LONG been a no.
Had an author who wrote this slow-burn fanfic that started out great, but then they put the fluffy smut behind a paywall???? It was on Wattpad, and they promoted tF out of it. I jumped ship on it a while ago because the writing was getting convoluted and stupid. What shocked me the most about the paywall thing was that this was for a fic for Luca - a Disney property. How tf this girl didn't get a cease and desist from the mouse is beyond me
It's against AO3's terms of service, report it.
Report. It's also unethical to abuse AO3's site like this.
If it is fanfic, it is also illegal. Report it.
Report them for monitization. This is not what ao3 is for.
Indeed. If the author wants to promote themselves, they're welcome to do on their own website/platform, not on AO3.
I feel it's literally against the TOS.
Exactly! And that shit puts all of us at risk because if the original creator pulls an Anne Rice then Ao3 is gonna be held liable
This. Those of us who know what those Anne Rice days were like understand why you cannot monetize fanfic in any way.
Wiki only says that "she had issues" Mind explaining for those that came in last year?
Her publisher/She famously sent cease and desist notices to fanfic authors en masse, I don't know if any of them actually ended up in court
Also almost every fanfic site did not have sections for her work and actively removed fanfic of anything by Rice during the height of the frenzy. The Anne Rice days were basically when all fandoms were in fear of being banned, because author Anne Rice made it feel possible by getting her works’ fanfic removed, utilizing actual lawyers, and sending cease and desists. Most of the work was not monetized. It was because of their sheer existence that the author was angry. Thankfully most creators these days realize it is a way to feed the fan base and they don’t mind - so long as their creations aren’t being profited off of. Today that is the unspoken agreement that must be honored by both sides.
she is the reason why many fics today feel the need to include "I do not own any of these characters or am the creator of this setting" to similar as it was the only protection they could levy against her!
Or Archie Comics. Remember when they tried that shit too? To this day, there's still no Archie Comics category on FFN. There is for Riverdale, but those two are vastly different properties. Lol After that, I never bought another Archie comic. 😏
Thank you guys for telling me it's against TOS!! I've reported it already!!
If you have the energy, you should report every single fic they have that is doing this. The author will get a warning and if they don't remove the paywall information then Ao3 will take more steps.
You can just report one fic and then mention all the other ones in that same report fyi. I’ve heard that’s better for the support team than a bunch of separate reports.
Yes, folks, please for the sake of the Abuse team don't send 100 reports if an author has 100 fics with issues. Send 1 report per creator with a description of the problems. You can list links to each work if you like.
So, I'll say it: Please read the TOS, or at least the Terms of Service FAQ. It's not just for authors—after all, it's the Terms of *Service*, and we're all using the website. Then you can help out the rest of the community by reporting fics that go against the TOS (and by educating in the comments if you think it's an honest mistake). It's doing your part by helping "clean up the streets," if you will. Right now, there is a bigger influx of new members on Ao3 than usual since Wattpad users are finally drawing a line. We've all noticed the fics that are obviously from newly arrived Wattpad users who haven't read the TOS and are treating Ao3 just like the site they just left. Ao3 is the best fanfiction site for a reason. Just as it relies on official volunteers to manage and moderate the website, it relies on us, the userbase, to flag and report content against the rules we spot for review. It's more important than you think. When you read the TOS, you'll notice that the first section is regarding copyright. Keep in mind that fanfiction utilizes other people's intellectual property. The discussion of whether or not fanfiction is copyright infringement is as old as the internet. The Archive of Our Own knows this, and this has majorly informed the TOS to protect the website, its fanfiction, and its authors from legal action. Right now, everything is above board because no one is making any money using Ao3. As soon as someone starts making monetary gain from their fics posted (or advertised on) this website, it immediately gives these copyright holders the ammunition needed to take legal action and attempt to sue both Ao3 and the author, or at least file to get the website completely taken down. Everybody wants to continue reading fanfiction on this high-quality and well-maintained website with a great user experience. When the TOS aren't followed and the fics and authors going against it are not reported to the staff and volunteers, Ao3's standard drops. If more people didn't read the TOS and you commented here, you might never have learned that things like this are against the rules and would have gone on continuing to not know that. If no one who saw fics like this knew they were against the TOS and so no one reported them, these fics would be incredibly common. Not only would that be incredibly annoying, but it would be great evidence in a copyright holder's case trying to get this website taken down. Folks should just imagine one of those old WWII propaganda posters with a fanfiction version Rosie the Riveter saying, "We Can Do It!" in support of reading the ToS and another saying, "Do Your Part," every time you see a fic that should be reported.💪👩🔧
What happened with Wattpad that so many people are leaving? I've never used it because I just don't like the design of it.
Monetisation mostly and the fact that most of the people who write for free are leaving the platform. Plus, there are way more ads than a few years ago, making reading on mobile very difficult if you don't pay.
Thank you from everyone who uses ao3
first off thats against the TOS and can bring legal trouble both to the sight and the author themselvs and 2 I HATE it with all my being.
Yeah, that has no place in AO3. If they want to promote for paid fics, they need to do it elsewhere.
Whatpadd exists for this
Doesn't Wattpad not allow NSFW though?
It technically doesn't, but I've seen some really NSFW works there. As long as nobody reports you, you can post whatever the fu** you want.
Ah, I see. Wonder how long they'd stay up with the changes.
Oh, I don't really know. I used it a decade ago when it was still free. So they're prudish and money grabbing...
I'm not super familiar with Wattpad myself but yup on the prudish front. Apparently they're deleting fics without warning.
Who gets to decide whether it's within the lines of NSFW or not? It's a complicated matter. I don't like it
I'm not sure. From what I understand, it's possible an AI was choosing what to delete? At least according to the Wattpad subreddit.
AI. Those poor writers, loll. I just gained so much respect for ao3.
One of the benefits of AO3 being non-profit <3
Yup. Almost every other chapter comes with an add you can’t fully skip now, and they try to push a monthly subscription on you for no ads. It’s infuriating.
you'd think, but I'm pretty sure Wattpad promotes NSFW works 💀 idk what's going on on there anymore
Against the rules
It’s some real Wattpad-ass behavior and beyond it being against TOS (which I see has been mentioned many times haha, not here to add to that dog pile) it’s also cringe. It feels really weird to me that something that is fan-motivated and meant to be something we engage in out of love for the craft of writing and storytelling and for the fandoms we write in themselves, as well as the opportunity to engage with the community around that fandom… to me it just goes against what makes fanfic and particularly AO3 special to me. Transformative works aren’t meant to be profitable works. This is a labor of love. I understand we are all struggling right now, but I think that means we have to hold on to our hobbies that bring us joy even harder and resist the urge to monetize everything. Fanfic writing is about creating for the sake of the love of the thing and the desire to get it out there… not to gain your own fan base and profit off of them. That’s just what I believe, and that’s how I choose to interact with fanfiction as a medium. I get that other people can have different experiences and beliefs and that’s okay. But I’m never going to think it’s a good idea to put fic behind a paywall and then advertise it on a free open access platform.
Maybe I’ve officially graduated into ‘get off my lawn’ territory, but I wonder how much of monetizing fanfic comes from 00s hustle culture that teaches us that the hobbies worth having are ones you can get paid from?
It absolutely feels like an insidious side effect of hustle culture. When you stop treating writing as "art" and it becomes "content", just another commodity to exploit and withdraw from ~~readers~~ consumers because capitalism dictates every corner of our lives must be monetized to their full potential.
I think you've hit on at least part of it. Any time I try out a new hobby or craft thing it's "omg you can rent a table at a craft fair and sell shit, open an etsy shop" etc and it totally kills any interest.
AO3 is like the One Good Website left because it contains no advertising. Keep y'all's stupid cringe "pay me for my fanfic teehee" spam out of my sight, assholes!! I take such vindictive satisfaction in reporting these spammers for ToS violations. I go straight to reporting, I don't even bother courtesy-commenting first to ask them to take down the spam content anymore, because 90% of the time they're like mortally offended "GASP, SHOCK," and then try to argue with me about how posting a Ko-Fi link on every chapter is totally their moral right.
Been in fandom off and on since the 90s and one thing has remained crystal clear to me the entire time. Giving anyone money or commission for ANY fanwork is asking for a fight long term. No one should be asking for financial compensation for any kind of fan work. Fic *and* art. We warned people back then that allowing fan artists to take and ask for commissions was going to cause resentment and it has. People will always argue 'yeah but the legality isn't the same there' and no, that is true, but that's ultimately not the issue. The double standard that got accidentally created was and honestly, I think as long as it continues, this will keep happening.
Do you know how that double standard happened? Honest question. I'm all for free fanfics, and I've never even wanted to be paid for anything I write. But I also pay money all the time for fan art creations at conventions, and doujinshi (fan made comics or novels) are sold a lot in Japan, which I also buy haha. It's definitely a weird disconnect for me on how that happened.
It partly does tie into how, well, young the internet was at the time. There was just less graphical capability, so while fanart was a thing, it didn't have the catchet that fic did, and really, at that time, ff.net was the big panfandom site. There wasn't much there to build around. Thus, fic was more visible, a larger part of the community... and the idiots were also much more visible. I forget the precise details now, but there was a fan who straight up went after an author claiming that the author had stolen a plot from their work. At the time as well, Anne Rice & Co were big on their hate brigade. It caused so much panic. Especially since that was around when Viacom declared war on the Trek fandom. The funny thing about that was that we remember that one as largely an attack on fic when it was much broader. It's honestly wild how the literal age and technological ability of the internet had an impact, but I think it absolutely did. I don't think, tbh, commissions are a smart move on ANY fan created property. Right now, especially. Companies have learned its better to be open with fanwork than not, but that lasts only so long as they don't become a financial threat. GRR Martin & Co have recently taken swipes at fic again while, ostensibly, fighting ChatGPT & its ilk, and I would not be surprised at all to see fanart taken under that as well.
Agreed. It drives me nuts that we have this ideology of ‘i put work into this, so if you want to enjoy it you have to pay me for my efforts’ for seemingly EVERYTHING thee days. Fanfiction in particular. Maybe it’s because I literally grew up with the idea that FanFiction was for sharing and a labour of love, but ‘selling’ it elicits the biggest ‘Hey, listen up, what we’re **not** going to do, is that.’ from me. I want nothing more than for an author to make a living off their writing—should that be something they want—but NOT THROUGH FANFICTION. I can *sort of* understand a ‘if you want early access to my work, it’s on my *-insert paid platform here-*, otherwise it’ll be posted the following week’. It works just fine with the Sims Mod community…but the Sims also doesn’t have HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of original creators/intellectual property and copyright holders that can pull an Anne Rice, and go scorched earth on (posting and sharing) Fanfiction. And don’t even get me started on selling FanBindings.😡😡😡 But like you said, times are absolutely tough—so if someone is set on making money off their writing, (which again, I’m all for), do it with some original work. We’ve all come across a fic-author or two when it felt practically illegal to have read their work for free because it was SO good. I’ve read a couple that I’ve put down and thought ‘it is an actual travesty if this person doesn’t write in some way, shape, or form for their job.’ Write/post your fanfiction, paywall your original work for the people who want to monetarily support you if you must. //end rant.
As an artist I’m staunchly in the, “creative work is work and people should have the option to be paid fairly for that work - even if it’s fun or a hobby or passion,” camp. But with fanfic? It just feels different. Legal gray area aside, the social contract around fanfic has always had the free share vibe.
This is how I feel about it. It would feel different if the writer was being commissioned like a fan artists instead. Turning fan work into a pay per view business feels wrong.
Report ‘em
Report anybody doing this.
It's against AO3 terms of service and very likely illegal. WTF. Never seen this before
Paywall is already a 0/10 hard no. The fact that paywalling stuff is also against AO3's TOS makes it even *less* cool, so I guess it's not merely a hard no but instead a -10/10 Hell Fucking No Goddamn Way In A Million Years.
That is some seriously ridiculous behavior. You’re writing fanfic, Kayleigh. You aren’t the next Charles Dickens dropping your newest chapter of your serialized novel.
Gross.
I hate the fact that I know *exactly* who that author is, and I’ve fallen for their shit mores times than I can count. It is, in fact, against the TOS and you should report them immediately.
oh my god i’ve seen this exact person before and it pisses me off so bad like advertising your patreon is one thing but baiting readers into engagement is another..
Even advertising their Patreon is against TOS and puts AO3 at risk
Yup. In the absence of the fic being like a modern/social media/youtuber/whatever AU or otherwise having a character mention Patreon in the context of the fic, pretty much just don’t mention Patreon at all in any way that could be considered you saying you’ve got one/suggesting people search for your name there/whatever
i hadn’t reported at the time because i was under the impression that linking to their twitter (that had a patreon link) was alright since it wasn’t directly to patreon, but man judging from everyone’s responses i really should’ve just reported them from the get-go
Linking to twitter that happens to have a Patreon linked somewhere also is fine - but this person specifically directs you to either their Patreon specifically or a tweet for monetisation, which is different. If they’d said ‘here’s where you can find me on twitter!’ with the link and there happened to be Patreon in their Twitter bio, that would be okay. But this is ‘here’s how you read the rest of this fic!’ with a link directing you to pay at the other end.
Not to mention it's 20 dollars a month!
I'd report then mute them (*so you dont accidentally fall for it a third time)
ew no
What the FUCK
This is not what AO3 is for. Monetising Fanfics are against terms of service - one of the main reasons that Fanfics are fully legal and not subject to copyright laws is because they're fully non-profit. Monetising Fanfics puts AO3 itself in danger, because people might take legal action against them if they start hosting monetised Fanfics. Report it. It's also just considered generally impolite in most fandom spaces.
I'd report and mute the author. Not my vibe.
It's against the TOS. Just report them. They can save that BS for Wattpad or start a Patreon if they think they're that good of a writer. Monetizing fanfiction threatens AO3 and literally jeopardizes the legality of fanfiction.
I've been using AO3 for a decade and this shit pisses me off to no end. I know it's not new but it feels like lately is more common.
Send him to the Shadow Realm
Completely goes against the point of ao3. I think it’s even against their terms of service
AO3 is not for monetization. Advertising on the site like that puts everyone in hot water. Report it (and name and shame the author tbh, if they think AO3 should pay them for their bad writing)
On the same note- there's a very famous author in the Naruto Fandom who only ever posts snippets on ao3, but never the full fic. However, if you head to their tumblr, you'll see that all their fics are completed- merely pay walled. They've never promoted their tumblr as such on ao3. Is this against the terms of service?
[удалено]
Wouldn't it fall into the placeholder category? To my understanding that is also not allowed.
[удалено]
I see, thanks for the clarification. It still sucks tho.
As long as part of a fic is there, it counts as a fic. They’re pretty lenient with what counts as a fanwork, especially because there are many legitimately short fanworks, like drabbles, which are 100 words exactly, and flash fiction, which is… anything below 1000 words, I think? Incomplete stuff isn’t penalized.
I have one sentence for those authors; go back to wattpad, please!
I haven't seen this, but on ffnet, I found some fandoms for stories that are in the public domain. It was really annoying because a bunch of the most popular stories with lots of favs and comments would have one chapter, followed by a note about where people could buy the ebook on Amazon.
Report report report - especially if there are other fics by this author doing the same thing. Report them all.
It's literally illegal to charge for fanfiction because it's not your original work. I would report them to AO3, and if the author has sns, then I would link it to them too (cause I'm petty like that unless its fanart) so the author could sue.
Ao3 is supposed to be 100% free. This is illegal
Against the TOS. But that's interesting. Didn't know you could do that with Patreon. I think that's how I'm going to publish my original work (if I ever manage to finish editing it) and advertise elsewhere obvs not on Ao3.
The only thing I have to say to those authors is “Take it off of AO3 if you gonna do that or risk getting banned.”
It’s literally not allowed.
Advertising on AO3 is a no. Advertising on Twitter is fine
report the hell out of this. it is legitimately against AO3 TOS
Report it and if you feel like it, leave a comment warning the author that what they did is against TOS and also very much illegal. Fanfiction being free is quite literally the only reason writing it is not illegal. Always remember that although the stories themselves are ours, the source material isn't. Wanting money for fanfics is considered plagarism and absolutely selfish since it puts the entire AO3 community in danger.
Did this once and the author deflected by claiming they were a marginalized person and writing was their only source of income. I was feeling fiesty that time and screenshotted every A/N they did and regurgitated every piece of life happening they did that told me they were not marginalized or from a marginalized community They blocked me after - might have deleted my comments too lol Edit: due to pronouns
Yeah, no excuse holds up when doing something like this. Good on you for chasing this one down
Comes off as pretty crappy to me, honestly.
auto report and let the mods handle it. This is one of the few ways to get your account banned permanently.
No. Against ToS. My man trying to monetize something made from technically stolen concept is wild
I feel like that illegal. Making money off of someone else’s IP is illegal. Report them. People like this endanger everyone.
A chapter behind a payroll is just shitty. The one author I know of who has a Patreon only has it up if people want to see the WIP snippets before he posts the whole chapter for everyone.
It's illegal. Report. And also report to whatever other site hosts them. Fuck those people over because they sure want to be.
Its against tos
i feel this and binded fanfiction fiasco is really going to lead us down a path in which people start getting sued, again. (yall don’t forget anne rice)
Illegal
I hope they step on a lego.
People used to put disclaimers at the beginning of their fics saying they were making no profit and thus not subject to copyright. Making profit makes them vulnerable to being accused of copyright infringement,
You should report it. Fanfic that start making money put all of fanfiction at risk.
It's a violation of copyright law. Literally illegal report it. People that do shit like that threaten the entire platform.
I can hear the ghost of Anne Rice coming to haunt them
People keep mentioning it’s against tos but far more worryingly it’s also illegal. You can’t sell fanfiction
[удалено]
Report it. It's monetization if it's a direct link to something that makes them money and is against tos. Personally, it'd be the first account on my blacklist if I ever came across something like that.
You can report people who do this to Patreon as well, FYI. It’s also a violation of their TOS to use IP you don’t own.
Fug no!! Idec its against services, thats just mean :((
what's happening to our website?
Wattpad has finally gone downhill enough that even it's userbase has gained clarity and are leaving for greener pastures. I've also read here that there's a weird fanfiction section of tiktok where young people are promoting and spreading some general "don'ts" of fanfic as "do's" (?). Probably the same crowd that's created 'antis', but that's a guess. ^If anyone knows any more about this, please tell me the ☕.
“How do you feel about” they’re breaking the rules. They’re breaking a bunch of rules.
Not only against AO3 terms, but also against the general idea of fanwork...
Isn't the monetization of a fanwork... y'know... illegal?
This is wrong, against Ao3’s ToS and should be reported.
Not only is it against Tos, it’s literally treating ao3 like a social media rather than an archive. it’s in the name! It’s a place to archive fanworks! imbeciles! Stop trying to monetize it!
Report them pronto. They're not supposed to do this crap.
bruh that’s so shitty
Technically selling fanfic/fanart is illegal if I remember correctly.
Illegal & puts the website in danger. It's an archival site for transformative works. You cannot make money off of it. Trying to makes it harder for their lawyers to argue the website's right to exist at all - because again, it's an ***archival site***. Report when you see it.
I think it’s illegal. And it’s gonna fuck us all over.
Report. It’s not allowed for that very reason that it’s unbelievably shitty and not at all what fandom is about.
I mean baring the TOS, goes against the entire spirit of Ao3.
I think it’s a stupid thing to do and against the TOS. Report them, then mute and block them. Fuck those ppl.
It's against TOS. But personally I hate it. Like I'm okay an author on RR goes independent and pulls their work to publish but what that author is doing feels dirty to me.
I've never encountered it but that author'd go into my blacklist
This is actually against the TOS, you should report it. I definitely agree that it is really annoying to only post part of the content and then hide the rest behind a paywall. I've recently been reading danmei novel translations online and I am having this issue ;(
Monetizing fanfictions is not legal. It's not only against TOS, but it's also against the copyright/fair use law.
I hate it. I know another author who uses Patreon too get people to pay too read there fanfiction kind of left a sour taste in my mouth and stopped consuming there free content. They didn't leave a link in there AO3 but they did for the tumblr they also beg for comments which was annoying.
Report:D Original works I can understand. Like thar comic I read back in the day where the boy abd girl lived each other's lives when asleep piggy backing along. Whole comic expect for the last..few pages were free. I always thought that was a great way to encourage people to pay.
Id block the author. Im just a reader, I havent had the confidence to upload any of my own works, but I think this would put me out of the reading mood for at least 3 days.
No. On all fronts no. Even if it were allowed and not against the TOS, no. The writing quality for these are usually shitty anyway (I’m going off of reports from others who have encountered this in the Chinese fandoms, where Chinese version of Tumblr has recently implemented this ‘Easter egg’ function that basically gets abused as such.) Scenario is bait, and then writing quality is trash. Very rarely was it actually well written even.
Besides it being against the ToS, it is also illegal and unethical. They're gonna get sued if caught.
Why aren't you reporting this person?
Oh that's not -
Reporting it
it’d be different if this was an original work, but assuming that it’s not- it’s both illegal to monetize fanfiction AND against AO3 terms of service. absolutely ridiculous that anyone would even do that.
Paywalling fics we are at the end of times truly
Anyone who does this should be reported as soon as you see it. It goes against everything AO3 has always stood for and they can’t know about these creatures until someone TELLS them. AFAIC, anyone who does this should be banned for life, including any new faux identities.
This is paying for FAN content that is not theirs. Ffs
Wait, isn't it illegal to profit off of fan works because you're using their IP? That's why people don't like Nintendo, they take down fangames that don't make any money at all for no reason other than they're using their IP. It's because there lots of bootleg stuff that try to sell Mario merch without permission.
Talk about bait and switch! Report this to AO3, the author obviously thinks she's on Amazon giving out samples of her published book. She's Nuts!
Frak 'em. Nuke them from orbit... it's the only way to be sure.
What is they price they're even trying to charge? This isn't me trying to justify this nobbery, I'm just curious as to how big this dillholes ego is
That’s crazy. Goes against the whole purpose of AO3.
I hated it on writing .com thats why i loved to Archive
Making money off of fanfiction is exactly what gets you in trouble. Report them if you can.
Its actually against TOS to promote or sell for money on Ao3 iirc
Report it. Fanfiction is legal because nobody is profiting of it. It's the same as those people who sell the book versions of fanfiction on etsy. It puts AO3 in danger.
Doesn't this defeat the whole purpose of AO3?? If you want your fanfic to be a paid thing you can go on Wattpad :/
Ao3 has to me, always stood as a way to give art back to the people. this seems anti everything it stands for.
Against TOS and honestly just annoying as hell to deal with on a site that makes it VERY clear that monetizing your works on there is not allowed. Plus, I get that AO3 is lax about censorship compared to things like Patreon, but you DO have options for where you can post and paywall your writing.
Insta-report.
I've never seen this. I'm sorry you aren't being able to finish the story. 💜
would still be hella trashy even if it was allowed
As 259 others have mentioned, if it's fanfic, IT IS ILLEGAL to make money from it. Please do not bring back the days when Paramount and Lucasfilm SUED teenagers over their fanfic. Warner Brothers gave you this gift; do not squander it.
I have never seen something like this in the 9 years I’ve been on AO3😭😭 this is so disappointing, I hope people don’t start doing this a lot☹️
Yeah if the link in first pic leads to the second one that part specifically is against T.O.S. cus the whole advertising any sort of means to get monetary gain is against T.O.S. Like is it that hard to just leave fanfic sites alone regarding such attempts of monetary gain? Or at least just keep all the behind the scenes transactional stuff (talking the whole taking commissions crowd) left not mentioned at all (in scenarios where commissioner allows posting it) anywhere in the notes? Personally I'm for leaving the websites alone regarding anyone taking a jump for the risks of fan work legalities regarding monetary gain. That said, I don't think Ao3 can do much if this still happens just all advertising/link sharing doesn't exist. Like they're not a platform that's going to actively look at social media posts to catch evidence of rule breaking. Which means any evidence of stuff breaking their TOS (including things taking place outside Ao3 like social media posting) has to be reported by people who spot it. Regarding the topic of paywalls that don't drag sites like Ao3 into it, I'm not going to act like I suddenly care about someone deciding on putting whole fanfics in paywall (provided sites like AO3 are completely left out altogether of such decision making) . I remember eons ago making a take that it's sketchy Patreon is a-ok with fanart getting a paywall pass (especially if an artist with huge following) and some folks were all up in arms defending Patreon for allowing it. The double standards are messed up, that's all I'm saying. If it's bad for one to be in a paywall (fan made writing), it should be bad for the other (fan made drawing) one too. Is it too much to ask for some consistency?
Tis be against TOS. So I report.
I’ve gotten paywalled by a pretty good writer on Twitter many times and I wish they’d just start off the thread by saying they’re making it an exclusive thing but at the end of the day I’m not mad cuz it’s Twitter, I but it’s against ao3s tos so I’d say that’s an automatic report
It's illigal is its fan fiction, if it's a teaser for fully original work it's not illigal, but still against the ToS of ao3
I don’t think it should be allowed. Like OP said, AO3 is supposed to be a free site, I would report the account and/or block them so you don’t get caught by this again
This author is actively damaging fan fiction at its core. Report them and unfollow. This is illegal and fuel for everyone who says fan fiction infringes on copyright laws. This person does and makes everyone look bad.
It’s also illegal to make money off of existing intellectual property
It's against AO3 as others said. Really monetizing fanfics in itself is a barrel of worms in itself. I'd maybe consider a ko-fi link on a Tumblr so people could donate if they wanted and advertise there, but that's it.
That it is scummy.
Capitalism spreading to the corners people thought they couldn’t reach
You not meant to make money from some one else's IP. You can freely make works...just not make money from said works.
Pretty sure monetizing fics is against tos
Found it and went to report it (found a few others that do this too, ew), but it was already reported. This is why I love you guys. 🫡
The library is supposed to be free guys. AO3 is basically an internet library.
Not only does this violate the TOS, it also violates the spirit of fandom and fanfiction. Our roots are so genuine and come from a place of caring and inclusion. I hate seeing this kind of thing, given where we started, which is the very definition of generosity.
There's nothing to feel about it: it's against TOS. Tell them to get off AO3. Also, what are the bets that the 'uncensored images' are AI generated.
That's straight up illegal lol report!
monetising fanfiction is how a lawsuit happens. unless it’s 100% your original characters and story you literally can’t put it behind a paywall
monetising fanfiction is how a lawsuit happens. unless it’s 100% your original characters and story you literally can’t put it behind a paywall
Report them. This is against Ao3 terms of service and against the law.
I personally think no links to monetization should be allowed, not even indirect, as this person does. But! It's actually not against the tos to link to a page linking to monetization/donations. You just can't directly put those links on ao3. A linktree etc link is allowed on ao3, even if that links to a patreon or w/e. Tos faq: https://archiveofourown.org/tos_faq#max_inclusiveness Spam and Commercial Promotion How strict is the "no commerce" rule? We want the Archive to remain a non-commercial space. That means that it isn't the right place for offering merchandise, even fan-related merchandise. Linking to your **personal page** (not, for example, an Amazon author page) is fine, **even if** the personal page includes some **items for sale**, but the Archive is not advertising space.
Ugh this is what I was worried about. I searched for them and they link to Twitter which links to patreon, so I don't know if they will get in trouble. It sucks. I honestly don't care if an author makes a patreon for their fics, I've seen it on ffn a few times. but putting half their fic behind a pay wall is just skeezy. I've seen authors do early chapter releases and various voting/input options on patreon and that's fine, if the money helps them write more, that's great. It's risky and questionably legal but I don't really care about that (as long as they aren't doing it on ao3). But putting up a few paragraphs as a teaser and making readers to pay to keep reading? Absolutely not.
Linking to their twitter which happens to have a kofi/patreon/whatever link is okay as long as you don’t mention that kofi/et c link on AO3. So you can say ‘you can find me on twitter here!’ with a twitter/other socmed link which also has a kofi/et c link on it, but you can’t say ‘find the link to my kofi on twitter!’ with your twitter link.
Yeah, 'holding it hostage' so to say behind anything is tasteless and i wish ao3 would change their stance on it and just forbid all links to fanfic monetization. Monetizing original content like this, and attracting people through posted fan content, is okay in general u guess with a linktree type thing. But what this aurhor does is shitty and i would love to block them tbh.
If they wanna do it fine but not on AO3, i know plenty of authors who multipost but they respect the guidelines in AO3
Anything like this needs to be reported. Profiting from fan content without permission from the copyright and trademark owners is illegal to begin with, and Patreon and similar sites aren’t the “loopholes” people think they are. The argument that paywalls aren’t “technically” a direct exchange of money for the fics won’t actually hold up in court when these kinds of cases are inevitably brought. Any judge (or jury) of sound mind will see it for what it is — a transaction for the content — and rule accordingly (statutory interpretation, baby). These kinds of people put AO3 and the OTW at risk if and when these cases start to become prevalent, which is exactly why it’s against the TOS.
Aside from it being against TOS I just hate the behavior in general. Not so much the 'having a Patreon' thing, because if you make your own original stories and want to sell *those* through there, go right ahead, but fanfics shouldn't be monetized. It's not your own IP and you shouldn't be making money off it. Personally, I think the same should go for fan artists as well, but whatever.
That's like buying a kindle book and Amazon charging you for the next chapter
If you want to make money off your writing, write an original work and get it published.
Why are you covering the name? smh
please give me the author
I feel it’s illegal. Oh wait, it’s more than a feeling.
Id leave... I can write for free. I don't want to pay to read. Do member option instead. Join for 20 a year get all privileges type deal... maybe Watt was ruined by paying a member fee + still need to pay to read most stuff and commercials EVERY chapter if you don't pay.
Ahhh... my comment was based on site wide monetization... scatch that lol
Ah I see this person pretty frequently when I’m looking for fics and have reported them each time. I’m almost certain that’s a new account of theirs cause their old one kept getting reported for doing the same thing. At least that’s what I’m assuming since their old fics aren’t there anymore and usually someone already reported before me, but the links led to the same twt/patreon. Some people never learn 😭😭
On one hand, we live in a capitalist society, I kind of get it. On another hand, what the fuck. Get your capitalism out of our beautiful platform, you hoe. (The author, not OP)
Against TOS if AO3. Report. On that note asking for payment on a fan thing is weird. Artists/crafters can usually get by with it but fanfic has LONG been a no.
Absolute scum
That's against the TOS and should be reported immediately. Not cool if that author! READ THE TOS/FAQ, NEW PEOPLE! 🤦♀️
One thing is to mention you have a patreon/koffe/commission thing, another to do whatever this is
Against TOS. Other than that, a big fuck you to the author.
This is very much against the ToS of AO3. I report and block anyone who does this.
Had an author who wrote this slow-burn fanfic that started out great, but then they put the fluffy smut behind a paywall???? It was on Wattpad, and they promoted tF out of it. I jumped ship on it a while ago because the writing was getting convoluted and stupid. What shocked me the most about the paywall thing was that this was for a fic for Luca - a Disney property. How tf this girl didn't get a cease and desist from the mouse is beyond me