It doesn't really surprise me. Think of the outrage published works regularly cause among various sets of people for various reasons and how popular banning certain types of media is becoming again in certain jurisdictions, including those that actually don't have a long history of censorship, at least not a continuous one. Project that onto things that aren't only accessible to basically anyone for free, but also have skyrocketed in public recognition and popularity especially since around 2020 (while having been around for decades with barely anyone in mainstream culture noticing), and you'll be able to guess where the complaints that reach the OTW come from.
What actually keeps disturbing me about that is that people actively waste the AO3 Staff's time and energy to this degree, despite the TOS being absolutely unambiguous about the "We're NOT going to take moderative action on a work just because YOU don't like it!" core prinicple the site has a long tradition of upholding.
Maybe its time for AO3 to have a big banner that appears at the top of every page that says "IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T READ IT" XD But no, on a serious note, it is getting ridiculous. You wouldn't BELIEVE the amount of non-fanworks I see where its just the "author" shitting on people who write said "offensive" content and giving reasons as to why they shouldn't be allowed on here or in fandom. I'd love for these people to go into a library, find one of the most controversial published novels, and try telling a librarian that they're offended and that the book should be taken off shelves. They would literally die if they knew how many published novels contain the offensive content that they so badly want gone. And I'm sure most librarians would laugh in their face and ignore them and redirect them to the kids section.
While I don't like every single thing written about on here topic wise, even I understand a03 allows it. This is a place where everybody can post pretty much anything they want even if it's something a lot of people frown upon, and I don't get why some people just don't understand that and insist on complaining.
Comment on January 2026 Newsletter, Volume 207
Splashstorm Thu 05 Feb 2026 07:17PM UTC
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