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Disclaimer:
For the sake of clarity, and not pissing people off, the title is in fact a joke, and human beings are not to be reduced to "invasive species" when engaging with new spaces.
That said, when entering a new space on the internet- or really anywhere- it is important to conduct yourself in a way that does not disrupt what draws people in. It is not automatically assumed those who are new to this platform will invariably ruin the experience for those who have been here before.
However, it is a concern that with such a sudden influx of new people coming in from communities which are not guaranteed to be aware of the workings of the communities on ao3, that without guidance of any sort, adjustment will be messy. Should you be one of these new readers, please take no insult to this introduction to ao3.
1. About the Dead Dove Fics
The most pressing issue to cover is the concept of a Dead Dove Fic. Many readers will go through the experience of reading a Dead Dove Fic without fully reading the tags, but they are tagged for a reason. Platforms such as ao3 are built around the free exploration of any topic through writing and a way to interact with other writers to perhaps improve the quality of your work.
If you do not like the themes explored, you do not read the fic, or maybe no more fics from that author at all. We all have our opinions, but for a subsection of you; you may find yourself totally misunderstanding the direction of a fic, the purposes of its existence, and yet feel very strongly about it being unsuitable.
This is not a one size fits all rigid rule and policy, but this preliminary point is : please carefully consider how you engage with a fic, and always read the tags.
You may find yourself believing you are in the right, pushing forth for the cause of reason and morality, and then end up bullying someone's (healthy yet complex) way to cope clean off the site.
a subsection of this point is : not all portrayals of problematic scenarios are an endorsement of them.
2. About Commenting
Same as anywhere, be kind. Even if you are to be critical, be kind in your delivery, and please do not do so unsolicitedly. Some people want to improve, some people merely want to write for their own catharsis or joy. Do not let your passion for your own opinions cloud your sense of empathy.
There may be incomplete fics that you are absolutely in love with and cannot wait for the next update. Please do not spam the author with requests to update their fic. They are also humans with their own busy lives and may end up deleting the entire fic if they so choose. Regardless of how well meaning you may be, it is best to avoid this out of the stress the fic author may feel. Despite whether you see it as pressure or not, it is kinder to be considerate of those who may anyway. If you would like to show appreciation, just leave a kudos and an encouraging and polite comment.
3. About Tagging
If you are interested in publishing your fics on this site, that is wonderful! Please make sure to tag your fic appropriately. While you do not need to tag everything, keep in mind that there are people on this site who are actively trying to not read traumatizing material, including minors. Use/create tags like “canon compliant triggers proceed with caution” if you do not want to list out too many tags.
If you do not care about triggers and do not place importance in being clear and kind for those who may have PTSD or the like, this is not the site for you. Respectfully, you may need to reevaluate yourself if you cannot be considerate.
4. No Algorithm
AO3 is an archive, not a social media. This means that even though you have a profile and the ability to “like” (kudos) fics and interact with other users, there is no algorithm (engagement-based or otherwise) and no recommendation feed. Posting placeholder works or chapters will not help you on Ao3, because there’s no algorithm to boost you. In fact, placeholder content is explicitly against the rules and will be removed! Beyond it being antithetical to the site’s purpose, on ao3, things like placeholder fics can be perceived as baiting, especially when they are marked in ways which on other platforms would be appealing to the algorithm (ex. A placeholder fic marked completed or with tags that are totally inapplicable even by technicality or brief reference). No one wants to be so unpleasantly surprised.
For similar reasons, direct links to paid services like Patreon or Kofi within your story are also against the rules. Ao3 is solely for archiving and writing purposes, not for monetization. Keep that for the rest of your socials!
Again, Ao3 is an archive, not social media. You can allow other users as much or as little interaction with you as you’d like. You can respond to comments and link your socials like Tumblr blogs or Discord servers (just nothing explicitly monetized linked through Ao3); you can limit reading/commenting access to signed-in users only (many authors do this to avoid bot comments or AI scraping their stories); or you can turn comments off entirely and simply publish the work to have an online record of it. You can even publish stories anonymously, not linked to your account, by publishing to the Anonymous collection.
5. About AI Usage
Many people can be uncomfortable with engaging with AI-enhanced or AI-written work for a variety of reasons, a good portion of which are related to the environmental impact of using AI. Given the nature of this site being anti-censorship, if you are inclined to AI usage, please be courteous and tag that you have done so for each of your fics. This ensures your fics will be enjoyed by an audience you will find more supportive and to your liking.