Turning off comments on your works

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2020-08-09 16:55:34 UTC

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In the next few days, we will be adding a new option that allows work creators to turn off comments. The option will be available on the forms for posting or editing individual works as well as the form for updating multiple works at once, and we've done some minor rearranging of the forms to accommodate the new option.

What turning off comments does

Turning off comments will replace the comment form at the end of your work with a notice that says, "Sorry, this work doesn't allow comments."

If your work already has comments, all existing comments will remain accessible to you and anyone who can access your work. You will still be able to delete any unwanted comments or mark guest comments as spam.

Users who have left logged-in comments on your work will also still be able to delete their comments.

How to turn off comments on individual works

In the "Privacy" section of the posting and editing forms for individual works, you will find a set of options called "Who can comment on this work." It will have three options:

Registered users and guests can comment
Only registered users can comment (this is equivalent to the old "Disable anonymous commenting" option)
No one can comment

By default, it is set to "Registered users and guests can comment." To prevent anyone from commenting on your work, choose "No one can comment" and save your changes.

How to turn off comments on multiple works

If you'd like to change the comment settings for more than one work at a time, you can use the Edit Multiple Works page. (Please refer to "How do I edit multiple works at the same time?" for information on accessing this page and selecting works to edit.)

Once you've chosen the works you want to edit, locate the "Settings" section of the form. There will a set of options called "Who can comment on these works," and it will have four choices:

Keep current comment settings
Registered users and guests can comment
Only registered users can comment (this is equivalent to the old "Disable anonymous comments" option)
No one can comment

By default, it is set to "Keep current comment settings." To prevent anyone from commenting on the works you are editing, choose "No one can comment" and save your changes.

Other options for controlling comments on your works

Please check out our Comments and Kudos FAQ for more information on controlling comments on your works, including:

Update 15 August 06:22 UTC: These changes are now live!

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Lady_Bellatrix Mon 10 Aug 2020 01:34AM UTC

Oh, finally.
I hope this can curtail the harassment to Asian fans in Asian media fandom.

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Get_below_my_line_of_vision Mon 10 Aug 2020 02:20AM UTC

Thank you!!

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(Previous comment deleted.)
1. anon (Guest) Mon 10 Aug 2020 02:39AM UTC
  
  See, this is exactly why people need to be able to turn off comments, so they don't have to get comments from people like this.
  
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Account Deleted Mon 10 Aug 2020 04:20AM UTC

This is really great!! Thank you so much for all you guys' amazing work!

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1. badpenny (Guest) Mon 10 Aug 2020 12:03PM UTC
  
  this is a cringe comment. when bipoc talk about abuse, they're talking about a range of maliciousness, including people who deliberately don't tag because they know ao3 has a history of bipoc reporting abuse and nothing being done. "you have only yourself to blame" is so aggressive, and it becomes doubly aggressive when you consider it's not even true.
  
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2. 1. Rambert Mon 10 Aug 2020 10:28PM UTC
    
    Aaaand it’s already deleted, I didn’t even see it. But you’re right!
    
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Twisted_Mind Mon 10 Aug 2020 04:48AM UTC

Big thank you to the OTW and AO3 development teams for implementing this! I'm sorry that this new feature--which will hopefully help limit any further harassment of minority fans and fanworks dealing with controversial topics--isn't being appreciated in the comment section the way it deserves. Thank you for the work you do to make AO3 a better place.

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LinXueLian Mon 10 Aug 2020 06:14AM UTC

Thank you for your hard work! Integrating and testing features can be tough. Thank you for taking time for it!

Last Edited Mon 10 Aug 2020 06:16AM UTC

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Appreciate the OTW (Guest) Mon 10 Aug 2020 07:21AM UTC

Thank you for the time to implement this feature. Thank you to the OTW for everything you do. These privileged kids don't understand what it was like to be a fanfiction Author when the OTW didn't exist.

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knight7272 Mon 10 Aug 2020 10:30AM UTC

well i agree the a03 needs to do something about the harassment but the only concern i have is that turning off comments means that people who like the story that the author is saying can't comment

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1. AkaiMirage Mon 10 Aug 2020 01:59PM UTC
  
  True, but in this case, shouldn't the authors' wellbeing be taken more into consideration, rather than fans who could very well use the kudos system to show their appreciation if the comment option is excluded?
  
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2. 1. knight7272 Mon 10 Aug 2020 02:02PM UTC
    
    very good point akai that author's wellbeing should be considered
    
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  2. Account Deleted Mon 10 Aug 2020 06:20PM UTC
    
    Agree that author wellbeing is important. Though I'll say this: we can turn off comments, we should be able to do that with kudos. You can't even delete kidos if your harasser wants you to remember they're there - they can just do that and there's absolutely nothing you can do.
    
    Last Edited Mon 10 Aug 2020 06:20PM UTC
    
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  3. 1. AkaiMirage Mon 10 Aug 2020 06:26PM UTC
      
      Never considered it from that perspective, but you are absolutely right! Though, it's mind-boggling to think that some people can be so mean spirited.
      
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AlreadyPainfullyGone2 Mon 10 Aug 2020 11:17AM UTC

Thank you so much for all the hard work! We really appreciate it.

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04C Mon 10 Aug 2020 12:09PM UTC

as always, thank you for your hard work. i deleted my old account because one person was hell bent on harassing me in the comments of every fic i posted and i had no way to block them or stop them, and they would always delete their comments after a while so by the time the abuse team responded there was nothing that could be done about it. that being said, i am so glad this feature exists now. thank you again.

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1. AkaiMirage Mon 10 Aug 2020 12:46PM UTC
  
  Sorry to hear that.
  If that were to happen again (hopefully not!), might I suggest that you take a screenshot of the comment(s). That way, they are saved as "evidence" even if the guilty party deletes them.
  Is what I would do, in any case.
  
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2. 1. 04C Mon 10 Aug 2020 10:22PM UTC
    
    if it ever happens again i'll definitely take screenshots 👍
    
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Rhaelver (Guest) Mon 10 Aug 2020 01:16PM UTC

Thank you very much @ all the volunteers who programmed and tested this new function! <3 <3 <3
I have been waiting for this for a long time!
I am a POC, though probably not “Black” by any US standards. I’m never sure if my voice counts, as all discussions surrounding racism in fandom seem to be extremely US-centric. I have experienced harassment via comments for years. I have anon turned off and comment moderation on. But there was not a lot the abuse team could do when it comes to people on a mission who make up a new account whenever one gets banned. Therefore I very much look forward to turning off comments on all my works.
(And yes, I’m posting this anon since I have enough self-preservation instincts to not attract any more harassment to my account.)

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1. Account Deleted Mon 10 Aug 2020 06:18PM UTC
  
  Imho, discussion of racism should not be solely US centred in fandom (I hail from Canada originally, we have really ugly anti-indigenous racism for instance), but for what it's worth, I think your voice counts - and should count to the OTW, and other fan spaces for instance.
  
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Enkihusband Mon 10 Aug 2020 01:42PM UTC

Oh okay

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WolfKomoki Mon 10 Aug 2020 02:23PM UTC

If we start allowing works to get deleted, then what's to stop works from getting deleted because someone is Anti LGBTQIA+? What's to stop works from getting deleted because someone didn't like a pairing? What's to stop works getting deleted because the work contained swearing? What's to stop works from getting deleted because someone didn't like the parenting style of certain characters?
What's to stop trigger happy people from mass reporting fics to get them deleted? What's to stop a work from getting deleted unfairly?
I was there for the fanfiction.net purge, and let me tell you: y'all don't know how good y'all have it here. I've had a lot of my fanfictions on fanfiction.net deleted because someone filed a false report on my works and got the abuse team to delete it.
Yes, the racism on here is absolutely inexcusable, but allowing works to get deleted is not the solution because people will abuse this feature and get works deleted unfairly.
A better solution would be to have a warning appear on the fic for whatever the content may be if it's untagged that says this fic contains *Insert problematic content here*.
Until we can be 100% sure that this hypothetical feature won't be abused, I am very much against it. The OTW exists so that fans are free to create fan projects without having their stuff taken down.
I am done trying to make y'all understand why allowing works to be deleted is a bad idea.
Thank you for adding this feature. Thank you for everything that the OTW does for us fans.

Last Edited Mon 10 Aug 2020 02:27PM UTC

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1. Likho Mon 10 Aug 2020 08:21PM UTC
  
  People really can't handle controversial themes these days.
  
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2. 1. Rambert Mon 10 Aug 2020 10:35PM UTC
    
    Antiblackness isn’t a “controversial theme” it’s just hate speech.
    
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  2. 1. Likho Mon 10 Aug 2020 10:43PM UTC
      
      And hate speech isn't controversial? Lol.
      
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3. knight7272 Tue 11 Aug 2020 06:48AM UTC
  
  that i would say is a fair concern that this could be abused by someone to censor fic writers over something that they don't like so i would want safeguards to prevent that
  
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4. 1. WolfKomoki Tue 11 Aug 2020 07:01AM UTC
    
    Exactly. People don't realize how easy it would be to abuse that feature if it existed.
    
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  2. 1. knight7272 Tue 11 Aug 2020 07:49AM UTC
      
      the otw needs to address this before it could start
      
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    2. 1. WolfKomoki Wed 12 Aug 2020 01:14AM UTC
        
        I hope it never starts. People would abuse a feature that allows fics to get deleted. They already do on fanfiction.net.
        The comments thing is awesome. The hypothetical feature that allows fics to get deleted however is a disaster waiting to happen.
        
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      2. knight7272 Wed 12 Aug 2020 04:54AM UTC
        
        the a03 admins would probably have long discussions about that
        
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5. Elf (Elf_Herself) Wed 12 Aug 2020 06:36PM UTC
  
  There are zero plans to allow users to decide on works to be deleted. And while the June 26 admin post says they're looking into revamping the TOS with a better understanding of harassment, I'm entirely positive that that doesn't mean "some fandom tropes will be considered harassment that can cause a fic to be removed." I understood it to mean they'd be investigating more subtle harassment in comments and in bookmarks, and sometimes in works that are deliberately targeting specific other users.
  AO3 was founded to be a haven for works that would be deleted elsewhere. That's not going to change.
  Staff is working to make better sorting and filtering features so people can find what they like and avoid the works they don't want to see or are harmful to them.
  
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6. 1. WolfKomoki Thu 13 Aug 2020 05:28PM UTC
    
    Good.
    
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Guest (Guest) Mon 10 Aug 2020 03:05PM UTC

Rambert's just mad that their comments like this can be prevented with the new feature (taken from another news post, was posted on a Transformers fic):
"Delete this trash. This fic is racist and sick. Take it down you coward. You’re the reason we can’t support Anonymous uploads, you creep. TAKE THIS FIC DOWN NOW."
Operates under the guise of supporting POC but in reality, is nothing more than a troll that likes to harass writers into deleting their fics. If you truly supported POC, you wouldn't want to deny them this feature they've been asking for. Block option will be even better, then people can mass block trolls and you'll just be screaming into the void.

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1. AkaiMirage Mon 10 Aug 2020 03:18PM UTC
  
  Agreed, think this block comment feature is better than nothing.
  
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2. Anon2 (Guest) Mon 10 Aug 2020 05:13PM UTC
  
  Rambert made me sympathize with the Transformers fandom. Impressive.
  
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3. 1. Rambert Mon 10 Aug 2020 10:31PM UTC
    
    Thanks for admitting you’re racist. Because that work was trivializing the Black Lives Matter movement by demonizing it. Y’know...like racists do.
    
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  2. 1. Anon2 (Guest) Mon 10 Aug 2020 11:41PM UTC
      
      The large swathes of context you're missing about me were good for a laugh.
      All the best.
      
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4. BlackKittens Mon 10 Aug 2020 05:36PM UTC
  
  If that's true, that's interesting because weren't they complaining about how the author took it down (and I think reposted it without offensive content? I don't remember exactly, but I don't want to reread their comments to check, yesterday was enough for me). Rampert is clearly a troll, yeah, unfortunately. They keep speaking over the POC in this comment section that expressed thanks for this feature, explained their reasonings why they like it, and disagree with their arguments. They don't respond to any one else's arguments either, and latched onto one black person who was upset (and did unfortunately get accused of not being black, but it looked to me last night like the person deleted the accusation and apologized; Edit: I doublechecked that part, it is deleted, but someone else apologized for mixing them up with Rambert in another comment) and keeps yelling about it. They claim to be anti-racism, but this white person (they admitted that) clearly doesn't care what anyone, including POC, think unless it fits their trolling, which is disgusting. All the more reason for the new features Ao3 is implementing, I guess.
  Anyway, I never thanked Ao3 for implementing this to help out, so thank you, staff!
  
  Last Edited Mon 10 Aug 2020 05:40PM UTC
  
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5. Rambert Mon 10 Aug 2020 10:33PM UTC
  
  I don’t support “POC” I support Black Brown and Indigenous voices over all. The fic I commented on was villainizing the Black Lives Matter movement.
  
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6. 1. parkinginback Mon 10 Aug 2020 10:58PM UTC
    
    Hate to break it to you but no matter how abhorrent or wrong you think this work is it isn't going to be taken down. AO3 was created on the foundation of a censorship free environment, where authors could feel free to express themselves without worrying about their works being taken down for no valid reason (copywritten and spam material being the exception of course). You're free to found your own site with guidelines of what authors can and can't post but you don't get a say in what AO3 allows to stay up.
    
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  2. 1. Rambert Mon 10 Aug 2020 11:00PM UTC
      
      All right, how about a compromise of adding bigotry, slavery, or racism (I'm not qualified to pick the best succinct description) as an archive warning instead? And if authors are reported for not using said warning then they'd have the work changed to No Rating/Choose Not To Warn?
      
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    2. 1. Seeking_Chaos Tue 11 Aug 2020 01:58AM UTC
        
        That’s obviously not going to work because in-universe racism isn’t the same as the author being racist. No racist author will label their own work racist and it becomes up to someone else to determine if they’re racist anyway, defeating the purpose of the warning
        
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      2. Rambert Tue 11 Aug 2020 01:44PM UTC
        
        You bring up good points here. I guess I was thinking if enough reports were made the work could be forcibly changed to include a left-out warning, but you’re right that racists aren’t usually self aware enough to tag. I’m just attempting to brainstorm here that’s all.
        
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      3. parkinginback Tue 11 Aug 2020 02:30AM UTC
        
        Those are already tags that authors can use and an author should not be punished for choosing not to use them, the overarching tag "Author chose not to use archive warnings" is in place for that very reason. Nobody is required to tag their fic, though it is a wonderful practice and I personally think it is the best thing an author can do when posting their work, but I also don't think authors should be forced to do it.
        
        Last Edited Tue 11 Aug 2020 02:31AM UTC
        
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LizardLaugh Mon 10 Aug 2020 03:11PM UTC

Thank you so much for this! This will be very useful indeed...

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Ironic (Guest) Mon 10 Aug 2020 05:04PM UTC

Some of this comment section is exhibit A for why this change is desperately needed.
Thanks mods, much appreciated.

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1. Nightcandle Mon 10 Aug 2020 09:31PM UTC
  
  I second every word of this :)
  
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MissInara2020 Mon 10 Aug 2020 05:56PM UTC

Sounds like a good idea. I'm up for it

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JustALilHime Mon 10 Aug 2020 06:19PM UTC

I wonder if we'll have the choice to allow or not bookmarks within the work (as in, to choose of they want the story's bookmarks to be public or not). Many people use it to either spoiler the whole work altogether or to harrass the author and story and now that the comment block option has been created, I'm sure many more people will turn to the bookmarks to leave their hate.

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1. Account Deleted Mon 10 Aug 2020 06:22PM UTC
  
  +1, while I haven't seen hateful bookmarks myself I've definitely seen plenty of spoilers and can easily see how they can be (and are) used to harass.
  
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2. bloodwrites Tue 11 Aug 2020 12:22AM UTC
  
  I'm a bit concerned about this myself. The option to make all bookmarks on your own work private (to the bookmarker) would be valuable.
  
  Last Edited Tue 11 Aug 2020 12:23AM UTC
  
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3. tabaqui Wed 12 Aug 2020 02:49PM UTC
  
  Reading all the comments here has made me boggle at the lengths some people will go to to be hateful and ugly. I'm just...baffled. Happy my corner of fandom (even though it's big, juggernaut pairings), doesn't have anyone like that.
  I'm sorry people have been asshats to you in every way they could. Jeeze.
  
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jxkuzure Mon 10 Aug 2020 06:51PM UTC

Don’t know if I’ll ever use this feature in the near future, but this can be helpful for others. Im wondering if there’ll be a day where a mute/blacklist feature will be rolled out for registered users just like there is a ‘subscribe’ option (i.e that muted user and their work(s) not appearing within search results). UNLESS that feature exists already (someone point it out for me), I remain hopeful for the future. Im not a technical person but its really a feature I’d love to see.

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1. mags (Guest) Mon 10 Aug 2020 07:44PM UTC
  
  They said in their statement 2020-06-24: "We will also continue our design work on additional features like user muting and blocking and explore other possibilities like saved searches to filter out certain works, tag muting, or taking user-added bookmark tags into account with filtering."
  So that's coming!
  
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2. Alyndra Mon 10 Aug 2020 07:58PM UTC
  
  For now, there's just AO3Savior or similar external tools that let you do this.
  
  Last Edited Mon 10 Aug 2020 07:59PM UTC
  
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3. Search (Guest) Mon 10 Aug 2020 09:13PM UTC
  
  archiveofourown.org/ admin_posts/ 10851
  Here are the instructions for search operators.
  -creators: username to filter out all works by a particular creator
  
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