Open Comment Period for AO3 Terms of Service Updates

OTW Announcement

In order to make AO3’s rules clearer to our users, we intend to update the AO3 Terms of Service (TOS) in mid-November 2024. Once this occurs, all users will need to agree to the updated TOS to continue using AO3. The full text has been posted for public review, as well as a detailed explanation of what has (and hasn’t) changed:

Summary of changes

As part of reorganizing the TOS for better clarity, the new TOS is structured differently than the old one. A detailed explanation of what was changed and why is available in the update guide. These are the highlights:

  • We’ve clarified the Content Policy, but we haven’t changed what works are or are not allowed. If your fanwork was allowed on AO3 before, then it is still allowed.
  • The TOS has been split into three pages (General Principles, Content Policy, and Privacy Policy). This should make it easier to find what you’re looking for when you want to know about a specific part of the TOS.
  • We’ve simplified the language throughout the TOS and removed redundant or overly specific phrases and passages. When longer explanations would help to provide clarity, we’ve added new questions to the TOS FAQ instead.
  • We’ve updated the descriptions of how we and our subprocessors collect and process user information (including personal information) in the Privacy Policy.
  • The Abuse Policy has been generalized to provide the AO3 Policy & Abuse committee with greater flexibility to determine how to address TOS violations, while still providing protections for fanworks in accordance with AO3’s mission.
  • The “Underage” Archive Warning, which is used for works that depict or describe underage sex, is being renamed to “Underage Sex”. This does not change the meaning of this warning or how it is enforced. When the TOS update occurs, all works with the “Underage” Archive Warning will be recategorized automatically to display the new “Underage Sex” Archive Warning label instead. If you have a work that carries the “Underage” warning and you don’t want it to display the “Underage Sex” label, you can replace it with the “Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings” label at any time.

You can read the proposed changes and comment here on this news post with any questions, suggestions, or feedback you might have about the new TOS or TOS FAQ. Comments will remain open until November 18th, 2024. After comments close, the Board of Directors for the OTW (the Organization for Transformative Works, which is AO3’s parent organization) will vote on the proposed changes to the Terms of Service. If the Board votes in favor, the Terms of Service will be updated and all users will be required to agree to the new TOS to continue using AO3.

To make your opinion heard prior to the Board vote, make sure to submit your comments here before November 18th.

2024-11-04 Retired Personnel
Announcement
  1. StarWatcher commented:

    Several months ago, there was a post on r/AO3; the OP wished that people would actually *read* the TOS before they started using the Archive. Some comments suggested that the TOS were too complicated and extensive for easy understanding. (It sounds like you’re trying to address that; thank you.) Other comments pointed out that the TOS had to be couched in strict legal language for legal-safety sake.

    I suggested that perhaps there could be a “stripped-down” page of “usage guidelines” in very simple, direct format, with each point linked to the relevant “legal” section of the TOS. Off the top of my head, I came up with the following list:

    [1] AO3 is NOT a social site. Posts asking for prompts, ideas, etc are not acceptable. When found, they will be reported and removed. Posts made for work-searches (“Looking for a fic ) are not acceptable. When found, they will be reported and removed. (link to relevant TOS.)

    [2] AO3 does NOT have an algorithm for “boosting” your work. You cannot enhance your views artificially, so don’t try to game the system. (link to relevant TOS.)

    [3] As a feature of [2], “placeholder” works are not acceptable. When found, they will be reported and removed. (link to relevant TOS.)

    [4] AO3 is an archive; all levels of content are allowed. Complaints about ships that you disapprove of, or levels of explicitness that you dislike, will not change these rules. (link to relevant TOS.)

    [5] As a feature of [4], YOU are in charge of what you read. Works on AO3 are tagged, and AO3 allows you to refine your work-searches. When searching for works, it is your responsibility to exclude tags and ratings that bother you. (link to relevant TOS.)

    [6] As a feature of [5], you should appropriately tag the works you post, so that other users can find works they would like and/or discard works they wouldn’t like. This means, tag for the soft stuff (eg. fluff) as well as for the hard stuff (eg. trauma). (link to relevant TOS.)

    [7] AO3 is, and must remain, a non-profit site. Links to Patreon or Ko-fi accounts are not allowed, and works containing these will be removed. (link to relevant TOS.)

    There are others, but those are what I remembered as most discussed at r/AO3 and r/Fanfiction. Some of your volunteers may remember or think of others.

    Anyway, many of the users on r/AO3 think such a plain-spoken page about AO3 usage and culture would be very helpful for new AO3 users.

    I have no idea if such a page is even feasible; there may be legalities I’m not aware of. But if the team thinks this is a valid idea, feel free to use my impromptu list as a starting point.

    Thank you to all the volunteers who keep AO3 running and healthy. I use the site daily, and am so grateful to have so much fic, in so many fandoms, at my fingertips. I really appreciate all the work you folks do to make it work so well.

    • star_mooligh commented:

      ok

    • Marty (OTW News Post Moderator) commented:

      Hello StarWatcher,

      Thank you for your feedback, I’ve passed it along to the Policy & Abuse committee!

      Best,
      Marty
      OTW News Post Moderator

    • e commented:

      Everything is good except for 6. Because you are not required to tag at all, the only things required are the language of the fic, a title, and choosing at least “not rated” and “no warnings apply” or “chose not to use warnings”.

      You are allowed to tag or undertag as much as you want on Ao3 and that will not be changing.

    • B commented:

      Ok

  2. star_mooligh commented:

    ok，Understood, will use.

  3. Tabyrose commented:

    Ok