Blog archives
I have questions about AO3 that weren’t answered here, who should I ask?
Answers to some frequently asked questions about AO3 can be found in the Archive FAQ. If you need technical assistance or have questions about how to use AO3, you can contact Support. For answers to common questions about the AO3 Terms of Service, check out the Terms of Service FAQ. If you have a question that isn’t answered there or if you’d like to report a violation of the TOS, contact AO3 Policy & Abuse. If you aren’t sure who to contact, you’re welcome to contact Communications and they’ll forward your message to the correct committee as needed.
Why is AO3 only available in English?
Our goal is to make AO3 available in as many languages as possible, so that non-English speakers can use it just as easily as English speakers. This is something that is actively in progress and we’re working hard to achieve. You can follow along with our progress in the AO3 Release Notes. However, as all our coders and translators are volunteers, it may take some time before a translated AO3 interface is ready for use. If you’re interested in helping support this work and are familiar with coding, you’re encouraged to contribute to AO3!
What is tag wrangling and how does it work?
Tag wrangling is the process by which tags on AO3 are connected and made more easily filterable by adding them to the autocompletes for tags when creating works or bookmarks and when searching and filtering for works. When you tag a work with a tag that has never been used before, a tag wrangler must review it and evaluate what to do with it. A tag wrangler will look at the tag and consider if it means the same thing as an existing “canonical,” also called a common tag, and connect the two if so. If the tag does not mean the same thing as… Read more
I’m interested in statistics about AO3. Where can I find them?
For some general statistics about AO3, you can check out: Our past news posts about site stats The OTW 16th Anniversary Survey Report which contains data from a survey of AO3 and other OTW project users The 2012 OTW Community Survey Report which contains data from a survey of OTW community members conducted You can also find infographics with stats relating to all our projects in our Annual Reports.
Why doesn’t AO3 have an app?
AO3 does not have an app for a few major reasons. First and foremost, we simply do not have the capacity to develop AO3 and an app simultaneously at this time. Coders who work on AO3 development do so on a volunteer basis, and they’re hard at work keeping AO3 running smoothly and improving the website. Additionally, releasing an app (or rather, several apps for each of the various mobile platforms) would cause similar increases in the number of hours needed to test code for an app, learn about and provide technical support for app-related issues, write and maintain documentation about the app, and more…. Read more