15 votes

The internet’s most beloved fanfiction site is undergoing a reckoning

5 comments

  1. [2]
    Crespyl
    Link
    I have never used AO3, so there's almost certainly context I'm missing, but is there some UX or technical reason why "[tags matching your search], X, Y, Z, ... [and 1600 other tags, click to...

    I have never used AO3, so there's almost certainly context I'm missing, but is there some UX or technical reason why "[tags matching your search], X, Y, Z, ... [and 1600 other tags, click to expand]" isn't an option here? From the way the article describes it, it's hard for me to understand how this got to be such a big community issue when it seems like it could be solved with a few fairly simple changes to the way tag lists are displayed in (some) pages. A simple version might even be possible with pure CSS.

    I feel like I must be missing something.

    9 votes
    1. stu2b50
      Link Parent
      I had the same reaction. After reading the article more, I think part of the point is that it's not necessarily about that specific fanfic abusing tags - it's about that being the last straw on...

      I had the same reaction. After reading the article more, I think part of the point is that it's not necessarily about that specific fanfic abusing tags - it's about that being the last straw on the camel's back of the sites lack of customization and filtering options (and laissez-faire moderating).

      But it still seems somewhat weird that this problem is still persisting from the PoV of the site devs? Just stick a max height on the element with a scrollbar or something. 2 lines of CSS would be a quick fix.

      8 votes
  2. RNG
    Link
    And, as always happens, are immediately proven wrong, and spend the rest of the site's existence in denial of that fact.

    a variant of the classic free-speech idea that permissiveness and openness, not restriction and censure, will bring the most benefit to the community

    And, as always happens, are immediately proven wrong, and spend the rest of the site's existence in denial of that fact.

    7 votes
  3. SocksPls
    Link
    Why not just limit posts to 100 tags?

    Why not just limit posts to 100 tags?

    5 votes
  4. AugustusFerdinand
    Link

    A million-plus-word story is holding AO3’s community hostage.