Comment moderation is coming

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Published:

2015-10-27 20:04:47 UTC

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The Archive currently offers a few ways to control how other people interact with your works: you can choose to only allow comments from signed-in users, or you can make your work only accessible to signed-in users to begin with.

However, to counter cases of severe harrassment on the Archive (including abusive comments from throw-away accounts created to circumvent the anon restrictions), we are now introducing a way for creators to review any comments before they appear on their works.

(Please note that this feature is undergoing testing, and all screen shots are approximate.)

What this means for creators

Once the feature is deployed, creators will be able to turn on comment moderation for new or existing works in the Privacy section of the posting and editing form.

The checkbox for enabling comment moderation on an individual work

Enabling comment moderation on a work will prevent new comments from appearing publicly unless they are approved by the creator. If the creator has comment notification emails enabled, they can access and review individual comments directly using the links at the bottom of the email. Creators can also review all comments on a work by accessing the work and following the "Unreviewed Comments (#)" link in the work's navigation.

The button-style Unreviewed Comments (2) link at the top of a work

Each unreviewed comment will have options to Approve or Delete. Note: Abuse personnel will have access to this page, so you can alert them to harrassing comments via the abuse report form without having to approve the comments first.

The Unreviewed Comments page for the Sliding Doors work, with a comment from a logged-in user and another from a logged out user. Both comments have Approve and Delete options.

Once approved, comments will be publicly available on the work. Approved comments cannot be unapproved, but they can be deleted. Comments posted by the work creator will be approved automatically.

Creators can also turn on comment moderation for multiple works at once with the mass editor, which can be accessed using "Edit Works" link on their dashboard.

What this means for commenters

The comment form will display a notice informing commenters if comment moderation is enabled on a given work.

The comment form with a message saying comment moderation is enabled on the work

Commenters will be able to enter their comment as normal. After the comment is submitted, a message will inform the commenter that the comment has been received and will not appear on the work until the creator approves it.

A message above the comment form letting the user know their comment has been received

Commenters will receive email copies of their comments if they have that preference enabled. They will be able to access their comment using the "Go to the thread" link included the email.

More improvements to come

Our Abuse team works hard to clean up abusive comments when they are reported and to take action against users involved in harassment, but they are limited in what they can do, particularly against users who are willing to go to the trouble of creating throw-away accounts. This change will enable creators to control comments on their own works, preventing abusive comments from ever being seen.

We will be introducing some further features to help users and our Abuse team deal with harassment and spam: allowing users to reject unwanted gifts, making it possible for Abuse to delete all of an account's works at once (to more efficiently remove spam), allowing Abuse to mark works as spam/not spam, and improvements to the Report Abuse form.

We hope these features will help the Archive be a safer place for users to enjoy posting and consuming fanworks.

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wannaliveindeansdimples Wed 28 Oct 2015 03:54AM UTC

Wonderful! ♥

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kiloamps Wed 28 Oct 2015 06:00AM UTC

It's not fantastic that this is considered necessary, but I'm glad that those who need it can use it. Awesome work coding and abuse teams!

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Lakritzwolf Wed 28 Oct 2015 07:16AM UTC

I love what you're doing, and I am grateful for all the work you're putting into this to give us this space to express and enjoy ourselves. Thank you!

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LeonoraChris Wed 28 Oct 2015 07:21AM UTC

I don't see myself using this, but thanks.

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not_poignant Wed 28 Oct 2015 11:41AM UTC

A fantastic resource! Not one I'm likely to use myself, but one that I'm sure will help a lot of authors feel safer in their AO3 space - brava!

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1. Anonymouse (Guest) Fri 06 Nov 2015 08:17PM UTC
  
  [insert obligatory link to "My Safe Space" from South Park...]
  
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cathat7714 Wed 28 Oct 2015 12:36PM UTC

Thank you for doing something about this. It's wonderful that you listen

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GiselleSwain Wed 28 Oct 2015 12:43PM UTC

Just a reader, not a writer, so I was surprised (and saddened) to see this upcoming feature. I didn't realize this was even a problem on ao3, because comments I've read by others and left myself seem to only be supportive and encouraging.
That being said, I am pleased that the writers willing to put their work out there are now able to have some control over comment abuse. Such a shame, though.
It would be nice to have a pm system someday, controlled by the author. I have a couple of writer "ficfriends" I like to blather with now and then, but we don't necessarily want to bore everyone with our convos in the comments section. I don't tweet, tumble or blog, so pm-ing is it. Just a thought.

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chimera01 Wed 28 Oct 2015 01:43PM UTC

Thanks ever so much for this. Too many good people fall away from writing because of abusive comments.

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dagdasgoddess Wed 28 Oct 2015 02:33PM UTC

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING THIS! <3
I've been getting a lot of hate comments. Not just "YOUSuk11" but shit like people sending rape and death threats. What the fuck!
I wish we could have a block feature too there are SO MANY people on here I wanna block.

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KrazyK Wed 28 Oct 2015 05:12PM UTC

I am so glad to see you guys are trying to handle this kind of situation! I am not a writer but I have see such horrible comments on other works that have really hurt my heart so badly. I cannot imagine how hard it is to see such terrible comments on a story that you have worked so hard on. Thank you for taking steps to stop this abuse. I have no problem waiting the extra time it takes to have my comment posted as long as the authors will get to see them.

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teaberryblue Wed 28 Oct 2015 05:13PM UTC

Thanks!
But, as someone who has gotten countless negative comments on her fics, this method makes me somewhat uncomfortable. I would much prefer to be able to screen unscreened comments than to unscreen screened comments.
Being able to unscreen screened comments but NOT screen unscreened comments means that authors who are inclined toward goodwill and attempts to promote mutual understanding with people who are critical or who disagree are unfairly penalized by this system. Someone who monitors their comments ruthlessly and only posts positive ones can do that, but someone who is more willing to open a dialogue and then decides they may have made a mistake is put in the position of having to delete comments (thus no longer having a provable permanent record of them if they wish to report harassment) or leave up rather nasty things. Which is the current status quo and one that really doesn't work in author's favor or in fandom's at large as it encourages authors NOT to take the risk of dialogue over criticism.
Despite having received dozens, if not hundreds, of negative comments on my fic, I have only ever deleted two: one that gave out personal information about a co-author, and one that was a deeply personal accusation from someone angry that I would not write a different fic that they wanted me to write. I would love to be able to screen but not permanently delete things-- and I regret having had to delete them as I would prefer to have a record of what those people did and said somewhere where only I and the Ao3 team can see it. I want a tool to help me deal with occasional trolling comments and harassment, not something that would keep any comments from being posted until I deem them fit. Reader criticism is one of the best ways to improve as a writer, and I feel like this tool will discourage that kind of conversation more than it will discourage harassment, which people will just take to tumblr and other forms of social media where they have even more control over it.

Last Edited Wed 28 Oct 2015 05:23PM UTC

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1. Deadmockingbirds Thu 29 Oct 2015 03:47AM UTC
  
  You have to remember that not everyone is here for con-crit... and I don't know why they would be. You don't know the person reading your works, you don't know how qualified their opinion is. Nine and a half times out of ten, the comments ppl believe to be 'helpful' are just muse killers. I've not found one helpful. In fact, I've gotten far more out of the positive comments and reader response vs the negative. Actually got nothing out of the negative.
  The conversations are exhausting. I've been in them multiple times in attempt to come to understandings with readers. Seldom is an understanding reached and more often further misinterpretations happen due to the nature of trying to discuss through text. The author gets witch hunted, b/c that first brave commenter, gives fuel to others. Being able to delete stops it cold. I personally would rather not have these conversations with people. I just don't have the time. Perhaps you do and you enjoy them, not all of us do.
  What's so wrong with someone only wanting praise in this particular venue? Why should we be forced into castigation? I just don't get that. If you want to improve as a writer, you practice, educate yourself, read lots and hire a personal editor. Not take tips from someone you don't know online. They might be wrong. Very wrong. Also, everyone's going to have a different POV. Is the author supposed to change her style based on each "critique?" No. That would never work.
  
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2. 1. lilyj Thu 29 Oct 2015 11:03PM UTC
    
    Yes, readers can be wrong, because spelling, for instance, is subjective. Yay.
    
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  2. 1. . (Guest) Thu 29 Oct 2015 11:32PM UTC
      
      That's just pedantic and not really speaking to what Deadmockingbirds is saying.
      
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    2. 1. Deadmockingbirds Fri 30 Oct 2015 12:56AM UTC
        
        I like you (.). <3
        
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  3. teaberryblue Mon 02 Nov 2015 05:04PM UTC
    
    I know that and I am 100% not suggesting that people who dislike it should have to accept it-- what I am saying is that the current implementation of screening doesn't help people who want to engage with concrit at all. If you get a comment that you're not sure about about and choose to unscreen it and take a chance replying to it, you don't have the option to screen it later if the person who left the comment turns out to be a jerk-- so it encourages people to err on the side of not taking chances on comments like that.
    I have had a very different experience than you in fandom, I think, because I would never characterize the people who leave critical comments as unhelpful-- some of them are the people with whom I've built some of my strongest fandom friendships. Their criticism, advice, and opinions are always valuable even when I don't agree. And I just wouldn't feel right treating the people who are critical of my writing like their voice isn't important-- if I say that critics' comments aren't worthwhile, that's judging the people who leave positive comments just as unfairly, because we're all in the same boat here. I couldn't say that I respected the positive comments if I didn't respect the negative ones, too-- provided that the negatives ones aren't people who are just being jerks-- and that's what I want, is a system that makes it easier to weed out jerks and harassers without discouraging me and other writers from unscreening questionable comments and just giving people a shot.
    
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  4. 1. Anonymouse (Guest) Mon 02 Nov 2015 05:32PM UTC
      
      It begs the question: if comment moderation is turned on for a particular story, is every comment in a thread moderated? If it is, that helps with your dilemma--people can screen a comment later in a conversation if they feel the conversation is taking a turn for the worse.
      As it is, without comment moderation, you can either stop enganging in the conversation and let everything sit out in the open, or you can just delete the conversation either totally or in part. Adding a pre-screening process doesn't detract from those ablities but it does allow an author to hold back a comment and get a second opinion from the abuse team.
      
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    2. 1. teaberryblue Tue 10 Nov 2015 04:48PM UTC
        
        No, you can't screen a comment later-- that's the problem. You can only start with comments screened. Once a comment is unscreened, you only have the option to delete it.
        
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    3. Deadmockingbirds Mon 02 Nov 2015 06:13PM UTC
      
      We are saying the same thing teaberryblue.
      That's my point exactly. A relationship must be built before true con-crit can take place. Once a level of rapport is built then their suggestions gain credence with the author. I too have made wonderful friendships on here, I can understand that.
      But some random person you don't know? You just don't know what their experience level in critiquing/reading/writing is. For instance, because I write about controversial lifestyles, I can tell when the person commenting/critiquing has no experience in 'said' lifestyle. They make assumptions and disagree, thinking I should have written it different to play into the rules they think that lifestyle should have. But it's just their lack of knowledge/experience making them think that way. Therefore, their 'opinion' is not truly helpful. That's what I meant. I've found talking to these sorts of people makes zero difference. It's way too hard to chat controversy on the internet ;-)
      So no. I've not yet found stranger criticisms helpful. With the friends I've made? That's different.
      The worry of "not getting people to engage in commenting" is not going to come to fruition. I still get many comments, we have full on discussions and I already don't allow certain things on my page. I make it very clear that certain behaviours will earn you a scolding (in the least) and deletion and banishment in particularly terrible cases. I'm very strict and yet, I've still managed to make friends. My friends actually help me enforce these rules. So no, this won't happen, you don't have to worry.
      Also, if the author is open to critiques, they can say so in an A/N.
      And that's my whole point. It should be up to the author if they are willing to accept con-crit. That's the heart of what I'm saying. An author may just not be ready and here to have fun. It shouldn't be a commenting free for all. The reader should ask. That's all. I'm still confused as to why having a reader ask the author if they may critique is wrong. It's polite.
      If you are okay with critiques, that's great! Go for it honey! You can let everyone know it's okay on your page, it won't affect your readers courage over commenting. But that's you. Many of us prefer a beta, someone we know first and have a relationship with. And that's okay. Let the ones of us who are less open to stranger con-crit worry about what our readers will stop saying.
      Anyways, I think we actually are on the same page, but I just wanted to clarify my POV b/c it sounded like maybe you didn't completely receive what I was trying to say. It's really hard over the internet. Tone of voice makes a big difference.
      I respect the HELL out of my readers. I love them dearly and they mean the world to me. I would never want them to think they don't matter because they do, so SO much.
      
      Last Edited Mon 02 Nov 2015 06:15PM UTC
      
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    4. 1. teaberryblue Mon 02 Nov 2015 06:38PM UTC
        
        No, we aren't saying the same thing. I'm talking about why the new feature doesn't work for me, personally, and you are talking about a completely different group of writers and bringing up points that belong in a completely different discussion and one I wouldn't personally take a side in because it's all up to personal preference.
        I want to be able to screen comments that are already unscreened. Not being able to do that doesn't work for me. There have been days when I've received more than 200 comments in a single day and I need a better way to moderate those. Being able to screen unscreened comments would be immeasurably more helpful than having to unscreen everything individually, because it's really rare that a comment is going to be so bad I'll want to screen it, but if it is, it's VERY IMPORTANT that I shouldn't have to delete it.
        I'm not sure what that has to do with your experiences with concrit but I think you are probably so used to people debating concrit that you mistook my comment for being part of that discussion. All I'm asking for is a feature that works for the way I use Ao3, and this doesn't.
        
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      2. Deadmockingbirds Mon 02 Nov 2015 06:52PM UTC
        
        Um, but you said:
        [the current implementation of screening doesn't help people who want to engage with concrit at all
        I would never characterize the people who leave critical comments as unhelpful-- some of them are the people with whom I've built some of my strongest fandom friendships. Their criticism, advice, and opinions are always valuable even when I don't agree. And I just wouldn't feel right treating the people who are critical of my writing like their voice isn't important]
        I was responding directly to this comment. I do understand that you were commenting on why the feature doesn't work for you personally. I see I should have led with that. I left it out, only because of course, that's your personal choice.
        In regards to con-crit, the second piece I quoted, did make it sound like you were talking about con-crit...it says con-crit in your comment. You do talk about criticisms. It's not because "I am used to debating concrit" it's because of what you wrote and the way you wrote it.
        You talked about friends you've made on here, and that's the "group of writers" I was talking about too. My friends. I'm not sure how that's a different group of writers, or a different discussion.
        Anyway, I wanted you to know I do understand your point about personal preference regarding the new feature. Gotcha.
        
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        Shota (Guest) Mon 02 Nov 2015 07:49PM UTC
        
        I think what you are describing is the current abuse process (where you ask abuse or technical support to screen an unscreened comment), but you would like to have that middle step removed, and let you, the author, screen the comment without asking abuse/technical support to do it?
        For the proposed comment moderation, would you have it on on all your stories (I assume the 200+ comments didn't come from one story, but if it did, I see why unscreening each one would be a huge drag), if you were to turn it on?
        I write shota and there has a been a witchhunt against shota writers in the past year, so I would turn on comment moderation to let non-troll anons join the discussion on my works whilst protecting them from troll-anons, regardless of how many times I have to unscreen comments, because letting some doxx comment go up for even a minute is super damaging. That is to say, even if I could screen a comment, it could be too late. So comment moderation is going to work for me (I'm so happy, I can't believe how much this gives me the opportunity to interact with fans who couldn't speak to me before. I have anon commenting disabled, for obvious reasons).
        I hope it is an easy addition for the coders to add what would work you: letting the author screen a comment after it has posted (without having to delete it). I think it would be good for conversations that take a turn for the worse too.
        
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        teaberryblue Mon 02 Nov 2015 10:23PM UTC
        
        Yep, that's exactly what I'm asking for-- it's what LJ and Dreamwidth both allow!
        I am a professional message board moderator, so believe me, I understand 100% all of the reasons why someone would want to default screening on. I am super impressed that you're willing to wade through those comments to unscreen them for your readers, because I've definitely been the person dealing with people who simply don't approve of the type of writing I want to do. I think the addition of the screening process is great, I just want the opposite for exactly those reasons-- so I can screen things that go south without deleting them completely. And one of the comments I have had to delete was a doxx comment, so I'm right there with you on that. Totally understood.
        And no, I've received up to 400 comments in a single day on the same individual fic. None of the fics I'm writing right now have that kind of commenting but it was a huge task to try to moderate those comments every single day when it was happening, and who knows if it'll happen again! And a lot of those were conversations between readers that I wasn't part of, but felt it was my responsibility to moderate.
        What I want is to not have to turn on screening automatically, but to be able to screen individual comments even if I don't turn on auto-screening, if that makes sense. That should be something the author has the ability to do. I want everything on my fics to be automatically unscreened, but if I see something that shouldn't be there, I'd like to be able to screen it without deleting it.
        
        Last Edited Mon 02 Nov 2015 10:24PM UTC
        
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        528491 Tue 03 Nov 2015 01:13AM UTC
        
        https://trello.com/c/d6qe3dTY/520-ability-to-manage-comments-enable-disable-commenting-comment-moderation
        They are discussing such a proposal for future implementation. :)
        
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3. M. (Guest) Sun 01 Nov 2015 04:58PM UTC
  
  This.
  
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vype Wed 28 Oct 2015 05:14PM UTC

This is a nice feature! I'm glad to see it's being implemented. I'm a bit curious as to whether it's an opt-in or opt-out thing, but that's a relatively minor question.

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1. I didnt log back in... (Guest) Sat 31 Oct 2015 06:01AM UTC
  
  It looks like you can choose to implement it or not. Possibly story by story? At least that's what I'm getting.
  
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Princess (Guest) Wed 28 Oct 2015 07:14PM UTC

Thanks for this!
So just to clarify -- if we don't think we'll need this feature, if we do nothing, all comments will appear without being moderated, just as the situation is now?
In other words, to use the feature we have to opt in?

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1. Knave (Guest) Sat 31 Oct 2015 09:56PM UTC
  
  No, it's story by story (or you can use the mass edit tool to enable a lot of stories at once). You will choose to use it in the story edit window, where you turn on/off anon commenting.
  "...creators will be able to turn on comment moderation for new or existing works in the Privacy section of the posting and editing form."
  
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2. 1. Princess (Guest) Sun 01 Nov 2015 01:12PM UTC
    
    Thank you; I just wanted to make double sure it wasn't going to be automatically turned on. In other words, if we don't feel the need to use it we take no action.
    Thanks for taking the time to answer.
    
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Account Deleted Wed 28 Oct 2015 10:10PM UTC

Is it really bad on here? I just joined here over the summer.

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1. iArgent Wed 28 Oct 2015 11:47PM UTC
  
  Heya! While I do not get many comments (and none of them have been bad.) Sometimes I just get super polite 'this bit is a bit odd, maybe this' and it's nice. but! There are crappy people out there, much like anybody anywhere. So, while I can say it's not the usual, it does happen. This is just a nice measure to avoid anything nasty being aired before you can find the delete button.
  
  Last Edited Wed 28 Oct 2015 11:48PM UTC
  
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2. 1. Account Deleted Thu 29 Oct 2015 01:06AM UTC
    
    ah ok. I thought you guys might've gotten trolls or something.
    
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  2. 1. iArgent Thu 29 Oct 2015 02:35AM UTC
      
      Oh there's trolls. There are everywhere. It's just not as bad as other places and our lovely admins are nipping it in the bud. :)
      
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    2. 1. Account Deleted Thu 29 Oct 2015 06:35PM UTC
        
        I see. Thanks.
        
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Butterynutjob Wed 28 Oct 2015 11:43PM UTC

OH I LOVE THIS

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iArgent Wed 28 Oct 2015 11:55PM UTC

I like this. And while I likely won't need it, I might activate it anyway just in case. I'm nervous enough about posting my stuff, rude and/or nasty people don't need to ruin that. I like my happy polite concrit givers, but the random insults and rude people? Nah man.
An aside, if anybody would be put off of leaving a comment because an author has the moderator on, that's sort of awful. Like,The moderation tool is to cut down on abuse if it happens. I've never deleted a comment here, but who hasnt had a scam artist or bot leave a message. No Karen, I don't want to know how you made ten thousand a week from home. Much like, no, I don't feel like being insulted today, try again when I'm off my medication and feel like I deserve it.
Really it's just in everyone's best interest. Sad that it's necessary though.

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1. magic9mushroom Sat 31 Oct 2015 04:12AM UTC
  
  I put effort into my comments, as I do with my posts anywhere, and I find it rather demeaning to have them essentially declared guilty until proven innocent and censored by default. Why should I expend my effort if I don't even know whether the product will see the light of day? So no, I'm not awful for not wanting to have to beg to express myself, any more than you'd be awful for complaining if all your writing had to be approved by the AO3 staff before going up.
  I'm saying this as someone who was actually badly traumatised by someone bullying me over my fic, incidentally. I know exactly where this is coming from and I still don't think it's worth it.
  (And I'm not seeing how this achieves its stated goal of helping authors not get abused. They've still got to see it to reject it; unless it's something like a doxx attempt, that's the damage done already. Unless you just let them pile up without actually checking them, in which case... just don't read the comments section at all.)
  
  Last Edited Sat 31 Oct 2015 04:13AM UTC
  
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2. 1. I didnt log back in... (Guest) Sat 31 Oct 2015 05:41AM UTC
    
    No, you are not awful. The precedent of "I won't comment if I can't be 100% sure othercreviewers will see it" kind of us.
    While I would be mildly bothered if ao3 needed to check my writing before it went up, if there was the possibility it would help one person, I wouldn't be all that put out.
    Now, this does help the authors. And this is coming from someone who suffered ff.nets crappy admin system for dealing with harassment and sadly didn't have ao3s lovely delete button.
    Please note how if one person comments, more follow, yes?
    Say the author has left for the weekend, and logs in to a nasty comment that may cause writers block. Not concrit, not a polite refusal of something in the story, something just mean. Now, without comment moderation, this comment popped up. Now, this is a popular story and this person has linked that story to one of Tumblrs stupid burn pages, if even two more people join in on the hate, pairing, character, whatever. The author now has a string of nasty messages that have nothing to do with the story. The author must now go through and delete them. Not sure if you are familiar with anxiety, but it is far easier to delete one negative comment, then go through and slowly feel your hobby destroying you with a thread of hate, as opposed to one message. 3/4 of people aren't going to delete critical messages unless they are rude.
    Now, as you said, you put a lot of thought into your comments, yes? You also said the author needs to read it anyway. So which is more important, a person dedicating their time to write something you thought enough of to comment on reading your comment, or various strangers reading your comment? Because if you need an audience to tell someone something, that's a bit strange.
    It is not demeaning. It is not persecuting. If you are a decent person, who leaves polite messages or concrit, you literally just need to wait a bit for your comment to be public. If you are rude and demeaning, you won't gain a following in the comments. It's not being judged guilty, it is people taking a breath and saying "It sucks that this is necessary. But we've had a lot of issues, and this might help."
    
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  2. 1. magic9mushroom Sat 31 Oct 2015 07:22AM UTC
      
      I am afraid my trust in people not to delete concrit is somewhat undercut by the people in the comments of this very article saying that it's inherently rude and that they will delete it. And yes, it is demeaning (I didn't say "persecuting", as I recall); a whitelist treats people as scum by default, and I like to think that I'm not scum. I also like to think that it profits us all more to trust by default, and to withdraw that trust when proven wrong, than to suspect the unknown and ask people to prove themselves - or, in this instance, to prove themselves every single time they speak.
      And I like to think that some things I say might be interesting to people besides the author. I believe I may have inspired one fic with a comment I made.
      But oh, well. Not much I can do about it. I suppose I'll just take the "these comments are moderated" warning as a "go away" warning and let them chill their own peaches.
      
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    2. 1. I didnt log back in... (Guest) Sat 31 Oct 2015 07:52AM UTC
        
        I'll leave you to it then. If you cannot understand how others feel at all i guess one less comment won't hurt anyone.
        
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      2. I didnt log back in... (Guest) Sat 31 Oct 2015 07:53AM UTC
        
        I'll leave you to it then. If you cannot understand how others feel at all i guess one less comment won't hurt anyone.
        And you did not say prejudice in any form. However your stance that this entire safety net is demeaning implies you feel you are being slighted as part of a group. When a group feels it is being treated unfairly the common way of saying such is prejudicial. Or against a group.
        
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      3. . (Guest) Sat 31 Oct 2015 02:30PM UTC
        
        Authors already have the ability to delete comments. Adding the optional step of moderation doesn't change that. If they don't delete your comments already, what makes you think they will start now?
        Think about it like this: some people write controversial pairings or kinks. Many are forced through bullying to turn off anon commenting. With comment moderation, they can turn anon commenting on, allowing commentors that want to protect their identities to comment and join in the discussion, while keeping out trolls, thereby keeping the comment space a safe and welcoming place for discussion.
        You will know by looking at the ever present comment box at the end of every story whether comment moderation is turned on or not. If it bothers you so much, don't comment on those stories.
        But really, the people who will have this OPTIONAL tool turned on are doing it for their own control of their own work, and it has nothing to do with you personally. Please don't take a tool designed to help with a backlog in the abuse system as some sign that you personally aren't welcome, unless you are a troll (in which case, this *is* meant just for you).
        
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  3. alyse Sun 01 Nov 2015 05:57PM UTC
    
    In terms of helping authors not get abused, I think it will help in certain cases. I'm thinking particularly of Teen Wolf here (I'm not in the fandom, but have friends who are) - there is one particular troll who leaves 5, 10 comments at a time on any fic that happens to contain a pairing that they disagree with, with the timestamps only minutes apart, all of which are utterly vile (I hope you die, you should kill yourself, I hope you get raped, this is shit and you're shit for writing it. you're fucked in the head for shipping this pairing and it's disgusting).
    In those scenarios, they're obviously looking for a reaction from the author and from people reading the comments. If the first of those comments never even sees light of day, it's unlikely they'll go on to make a string of them. They don't just want to bully that one author - they want to bully everyone who ships those pairings, whether reading or writing.
    This is the environment in which those authors are operating, and I have no idea whether it's the only fandom this is happening in. Given that AO3 have introduced a countermeasure, I suspect not. Many authors who write that pairing have been driven to turn off anon commenting, but as noted in the main post, that's not stopping it. Trolls are signing up for throw away accounts to leave comments like that.
    Given those circumstances, do you really think that you're being declared 'guilty' because an author may decide to turn on comment moderation on particular stories? This is not something that's being rolled out over the entire site and being enforced on everyone. This is a) opt in and b) at the story level, not even author level.
    Those authors writing those pairings can now choose to moderate those stories where they know they're going to get abuse.
    I have some sympathy if you think that this is an infringement on your ability to comment freely on stories, although, if you're not writing feedback for the author, who will see your comment whether they leave it in the moderation queue or approve it for publication, I do wonder who you're leaving feedback for. If it's for other readers, then you still have the ability to bookmark a fic (and make notes on the story attached to that bookmark in there) on AO3 or write meta/recs elsewhere and link back to the site. In other words, you still have the ability to say what you like about a story in your own space. The additional step that might (not will) happen in relation to the comments you leave on AO3 directly on an author's story does not negate that.
    However, I have a hell of a lot more sympathy for the authors who are on the receiving end of this abuse in their spaces. They need additional tools to help manage their environment, which is precisely what AO3 are offering.
    
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ff_fan Thu 29 Oct 2015 12:08AM UTC

I like the idea, at the moment I only allow registered users to comment.
Will it be possible to automate the approval of comments e.g. for registered users, users who have previously commented and have been approved or only moderate anonymous user's comments?

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1. iArgent Thu 29 Oct 2015 02:39AM UTC
  
  That's actually a really good idea. But it looks like it's all or nothing right now.
  
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2. River_of_Dreams Thu 29 Oct 2015 05:56PM UTC
  
  Agreed, this is a very good idea! One for further development, maybe?
  
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Deadmockingbirds Thu 29 Oct 2015 03:15AM UTC

Thank you, thank you for this!

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msilverstar Thu 29 Oct 2015 06:01AM UTC

There are trolls and jerks who pile on posts and flood them with gross attacks. The advantage of pre-screening is that the nastiness can be contained and doesn't spill out in public.
I'm sorry for the occasional loss of constructive criticism, but protection against extreme assault is more important.

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teal_emotion Thu 29 Oct 2015 06:41AM UTC

Are there any plans for chapter-by-chapter ratings? (One chapter of the same work is T, the next is M, etc.)

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1. kiloamps Fri 30 Oct 2015 03:38AM UTC
  
  I actually quite like that idea (as someone who likes to avoid smut), but I think the best way to offer suggestions is through the "Technical Support and Feedback" form, linked under contact us at the bottom of every page. There's also a link to suggestions that have been approved, are pending etc. I feel like I saw chapter-by-chapter ratings on there somewhere...
  
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2. 1. teal_emotion Fri 30 Oct 2015 05:38AM UTC
    
    Thanks.
    
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