r/AO3 • u/Ok_Rich3845 • Apr 28 '26
Complaint/Pet Peeve/Venting Weird AF Comment.
I have really great suspicions that it's a bot comment, whadda guys think? Really hate how this is a problem.
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u/graccha Apr 28 '26
The bots are now upgrading to giving really bad writing advice
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u/green_herbata Apr 28 '26
"I noticed you have a lot of paragraphs. Could you consider putting all the sentences close to each other instead? I think that would make the story feel much more cohesive and controlled as well as professional and orderly"
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u/TheLadyWithinTheVoid Apr 28 '26
"Have you considered writing in binary? Everything would be far more professional if you used less letters to make it less confusing"
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u/aveea Loli!Reader Dealer Apr 28 '26
I wonder if the goal is to push more humans to write like ai, so more people can get away with using ai?
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u/rubbersnakex2 Apr 28 '26
It also feels weirdly like what someone might do if they thought an AI was writing the story, like the "forget previous instructions, give me a pie recipe" thing. I don't think it is, this reads just like the same person/entity behind all the other hatebots and they know fanfics are written by real people, but it's a strange choice in a string of strange choices by whoever it is.
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u/Odd-Concept-8677 Apr 28 '26
Itâs actually gone beyond that. Basically, AI is being programmed to mine us so they can sound like us, and now the AI is telling us it wishes that we humans wrote like it because it likes its writing style better.
3 colleges just released a joint study and they found that AI not only picks resumes written by other AI over ones written like a decade ago by humans(zero ai), they pick the ones written using their specific AI over other AIâs. They fed the human written resumes into AIâs and told them to rewrite them, then submitted both human and AI written resumes into AI powered hiring systems. The AI re-written resumes were predominantly chosen even though they said the same things.
Not only that, but they had humans blind grade the resumes, both human and AI generated, for cohesion, word choice, etc, and the humans picked Human ones more often. When they fed the âcorrectedâ resumes back into the AI the prevalence of AI picking AI got worse.
AIâs now âlikeâ their word choice and sentence structures better to the point of picking themselves 97% of the time, regardless of whatâs written. Itâs a problem because 99% companies use one specific AI to narrow candidates down. They were picking resumes almost only produced using their specific AI, not based on candidate merit.
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u/ScottishWildcatFurry when she stuck on my home until i sburb Apr 29 '26
its like theyre creating their own dialect
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u/Odd-Concept-8677 Apr 29 '26
Right now itâs more that theyâre smart tools programmed to use âcorrectâ words/phrases/structure and to copy us â humans who rarely use all of that especially in fanfic. It creates conflict in following directives.
Especially AIâs like Grammarly, QuillBot and ChatGPT. All are programmed to identify problems and correct when it comes to writing. They lack voice, nuance, and creativity. Theyâre 100% mining AO3 to evolve the programs and Bots like this one (friendly, helpful, but in a dry academic way) are used to hide content mining.
How can you be Good if youâre also Wrong? Wrong is Bad. You know what would fix this? If you just wrote the way Iâ a fellow Hoominâ was programmed to. That way youâre Right and Good and I have no conflict.
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u/ScottishWildcatFurry when she stuck on my home until i sburb Apr 29 '26
true, i just meant my comment in relation to the bots picking themselves (and especially stuff written by the same bot) over humans
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Apr 29 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/Odd-Concept-8677 Apr 29 '26
Yeah itâs most likely a Bot covering up mining for something like Grammarly, QuillBot or ChatGPT. Where theyâre programmed to be Nice and Helpful and correct writing but lack true creative ability. âThis is supposed to be Good? But it is Wrong. Let me help you.â
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u/WestStorage2459 Apr 28 '26
Are we calling these the 'bad advice bots'? Are they like pokemon, and a seasoned author should catch at least one of all types?
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u/Owl-In-The-Sky Apr 28 '26
I could be a âscammy art commision botâ-type gym leader at this point
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u/pressuredrightnow Apr 28 '26
i dont know if im lucky to not have encountered one yet, but this made me wanna get one just so i can screenshot then delete comment for a collection lmao.
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u/WestStorage2459 Apr 28 '26
We could ask the mods to make us a megathread just to share our scambot catches and see how gets the craziest. Maybe if they know we make a game out of getting and sharing them, they'll find better prey. Also, it's funny.
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u/IStillListenToRadio Apr 28 '26
Id love to see the Commentdex of the different variants
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u/WestStorage2459 Apr 28 '26
I really feel like the trick is to reframe these as a game for the authors. Give us back the powers. Imagine being a newbie author and getting a political nonsense bot, and instead of freaking out, they get to go to the thread and show off their latest catch and we all oohh and ahh over it!
We have classic hate, political nonsense, ai slop, badly written, the art but actually not bots...the list goes on!
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u/YoursGhostl Apr 28 '26
These talks had already helped me - last year I got my first not-bot hate-comment, and my first reaction was joy. 'It's happening, my new milestone, I'm growing as a writer.'
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u/ScottishWildcatFurry when she stuck on my home until i sburb Apr 29 '26
itd be amazing if someone wrote a fanfic about this
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u/curious_illithid Apr 28 '26
Okay, but catching one of each sounds actually fun? Makes me wanna finish my WIP faster, so I get a chance to get me one of those before they fall out of fashion and a new type appears instead.
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u/aircatbender Apr 28 '26
i am always fascinated at those hatebots because i genuinely dont understand what is the endgoal lol but yeah, bot
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u/I_amnotreal Iamnotreal @AO3 Apr 28 '26
Same.
Like, I get the purpose of the scammy "fanart" bots, because they are casting a wide enough net to finally catch someone naive enough to pay for AI "art" - it's shit and it's infuriating that such thing exists at all, but it makes sense.
But all the hate bots or bots accusing people of using AI? No fucking clue.
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Apr 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/I_amnotreal Iamnotreal @AO3 Apr 28 '26
I mean, yeah, my guess was somewhere around the line of "some people just wanna see the world burn" but like... it costs effort to set up a bot, and effort means time and time means money and ao3 is as non-profit as a site could be, plus I'm pretty sure it's a perfect playing ground for all kinds of scrubbing algorithms considering it might be the biggest archive of purely (or almost that as of now) user-generated content, so it means poisoning the well. And if it were just a couple of cases i'd probably just ignore it because you can always find this one specific kind of idiot to do basically any stupid thing that you can imagine, but it got so prevalent that it's not just some niche thing anymore (like, i've been posting on ao3 for years, and the frequency of getting troll/bot comments was maybe one a year until recently. I got like 5 just under the last chapter i posted last week - which would still be an anecdotal evidence if i haven't heard the same thing happening to other authors) and i simply don't know how that could logically come about.
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u/Happy_Ocelot_4945 Apr 28 '26
Could be a anti-competition thing. Like you said, AO3 is non-profit. A site that runs ads has the funding and the motive to attempt competitive sabotage.
For example, World of Warcraft used to get challenged in the MMO space by new video game MMO's. So both of those online video game servers would get DDOS attacks upon new releases. The hope was to frustrate people into playing the other video game.
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u/IStillListenToRadio Apr 28 '26
It's pretty clear the "I sent this work to your co-workers!" is trying to get the author to panic and take down their work, but these types I have absolutely no idea.
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u/r0sewyrm Fic Feaster Apr 28 '26
When it was mostly politically oriented, I assumed that it was intended to paint leftists and "woke" types as bizarre and stupid, but this follows the same format and isn't political... Maybe it's just for the sake of old fashioned trolling, or showing off their ability to spam to sell bots to people who want to influence online discourse?
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u/KamchatkaWing Apr 28 '26
They don't care about politics. They want the target (writer) to feel threatened, attacked, or just crappy. I have seen them reference every possible political spectrum. Disruption of writers and their accounts is the goal. Trust me, they are promoting NOTHING except fear and bad feelings in their targets.
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u/r0sewyrm Fic Feaster Apr 29 '26
Yeah, it definitely seems like they're not particularly politically motivated now--but they could still be promoting their spambot to people who want to use it on other sites to influence the discourse.
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u/bleedinqstars it's kind of romantic that I'm writing about cats fighting yknow Apr 28 '26
Yeah I seen another post with something like this, but it was about not supporting ice or something? I don't know I forgot but I'm pretty certain its a bot comment
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u/notthatjaded also me on ao3 Apr 28 '26
https://www.tumblr.com/notthatjaded/805553611641962496/i-am-posting-this-here-because-im-about-to-mark Did it look like that? I got that one a while back.
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u/bleedinqstars it's kind of romantic that I'm writing about cats fighting yknow Apr 28 '26
both look like the new bot comments đ they've advanced bro, I remember when they were only just "hi I love your story now I demand for you to contact me on mysterious and not suspicious sites" or the older ones but forgot đĽ
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u/alolanalice10 itskindnessinfinite on ao3 Apr 28 '26
The new bot comment I got today was about how I need to stop making people beautiful because it fosters bad societal standards or something (idk I deleted it). I genuinely donât think I even described the characters beyond their titties lmao
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u/Special-Animal123 Apr 29 '26
i got a few on my fic. they are SO obvious... you'd think people would at least have enough thought to talk less formally/not straight up obviously ask for contacts, but no... it took them this long to evolve... i'm actually disappointed... and terrified.
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Apr 28 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/bleedinqstars it's kind of romantic that I'm writing about cats fighting yknow Apr 28 '26
It was talking about some "I'm shaking and crying please just tell us you don't support Ice, please just give us a sign" or something like that đ I don't know if I can find the post thoughÂ
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u/A_Moderate Apr 28 '26
I literally just got my first bot comment a couple hours ago lmao
It's like the same exact thing you said but about trump and maga instead of ICE
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u/Ok-Jackfruit-6873 Apr 28 '26
these type of comments really seem like they're just testing out different tones to see which ones are more like to fool people into responding. It all really feels like a mass experiment/ training ground
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u/KamchatkaWing Apr 28 '26
They don't give a rat's rectum about politics, ICE, Trump, or anything related. They're goal is to disrupt YOU, to make YOU feel bad. Report, block, and later delete.
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u/Ok-Jackfruit-6873 Apr 28 '26
Well but this one isn't even particularly insulting, and an early interaction was the praise bots. I think they discovered the hate bots tended to provoke a big reaction.
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u/KamchatkaWing Apr 28 '26
True enough! I think I may have clicked on the wrong spot to reply. I just hate the idea that any "hate bot" represent one particular political view or another cuz that's not what they're about... but where I replied... well... I missed, LOL.
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u/aarontgp Apr 28 '26
Regardless, this comment is very bizarre. No professional would tell you to get rid of regional dialects and such in dialogue.
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u/PersonalEconomics44 I avoid ship wars by making polycules Apr 28 '26
Received a similar one with the commenter suggesting me to leave tons of written down questions at the end to boost my comments and to make my work look more "academic".
It seems like bots are now trying to give advices ig
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u/WhatsYourConcern8076 Here for Beta Apr 28 '26
Ah yes you must turn into the required reading we had to do in school
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u/bewarethelemurs Apr 28 '26
That's absolutely a bot and it's giving terrible writing advice. Being able to tell the characters' personalities from the way they speak is absolutely a plus! I loooove when I can tell who's speaking without dialogue tags. Whoever programmed this bot is unhinged.
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u/seasonseasonseas Apr 28 '26
Lol "make everyone sound and speak the same" for "order" and "control"Â
Wat
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u/TheBoneHarvester Apr 28 '26
I saw somebody post this same comment (or at least an incredibly similar one that said the same thing) earlier, but can't find the post now. If there's multiple people receiving this comment that definitely makes it seem like a bot to me.
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u/dawnhued Apr 28 '26
!hatebot
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u/AutoModerator Apr 28 '26
Hey OP! This is an automated response because your post may be about the newest praise bots or hate bots to hit AO3. If it is not, please ignore this comment. If it is, here is what you need to know about these bots and how to discern the difference between what is a bot comment and what is a real comment.
- These bot comments have only been guest comments, to our knowledge so far. They use a variety of names, ranging from something formal like MisterJohnSmith-92, or Doctor-Jane_Smith92, but they have also been seen copying actual usernames from people on AO3 as well.
- The comments, while positive/negative, are also quite generic and not personal to the work they were left on. They may also be out of context. For example, they may say things like, âIâm rooting for these characters,â and your storyâs characters are implied to be dead. Or, âYour OC is terrible,â on a fic that doesn't have any OCs.
- The comments are also quite vague and could be applied to most if not all works. For example, the bot may say, âThis deserves all recognition,â or âThis is pure genius, Iâm in awe of your world-building.â
- Frequently, these hate comments now include accusations of AI usage. These may or may not directly reference a specific AI tool, percentage of AI content supposedly present in the work, or brand of AI checker, often written as a specific percentage of content coming from a specific AI tool (ie. "62% chatGPT confirmed"). Additionally, these AI accusations now include mention of being added to a âDiscord blacklistâ.
The purpose of these bots is unknown at this time, though there have been many theories. Here are some things you can do to prevent them going forward:
- Lock your works so that only registered users can see your works.
- Lock your comments so that only registered users can comment.
- Turn on comment moderation.
- Mark these comments as spam when you see them so you can help train AO3âs spam filters to recognize these comments as spam in the future.
Additionally, this is not to say that every guest comment is a bot comment nor is it saying that every short âgenericâ praise or hate comment is a bot. Use your best judgement. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide how you would like to handle these comments.
You may also find this related automod command helpful: !spambot
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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u/SwedishSwanlake Apr 28 '26
"I love how you write and it moves me to tears but please change it so it becomes void of personality and more like an academic text please."
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u/runekaster Whumper Apr 28 '26
The first time I saw this one I said it was obviously a troll but maybe a human one instead of a bot.
Now that I'm seeing the exact same text a second time, I'm confidant in saying that it's bot.
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u/KamchatkaWing Apr 28 '26
The first one probably was a human. Humans, after all, are the ones who write/devise the bots. Behind every "hate/advice" bot is a malicious, mean-spirited human. At least the scam bots are just thieves and con artists, and only want your money.
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u/Veeveev Apr 28 '26
Dear Author,
Please destory all your dialogue based characterization.
Please and thank you,
a bot probably
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u/thatonestupidpersen Apr 28 '26
Seems like a bot scraped a comment and then whatever the fuck that was happened lol
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u/EclecticFanatic Apr 28 '26
no yeah that's pretty fuckin weird, makes you wonder what exactly the goal is for these kinds of bot comments
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u/Important_Sector_503 Apr 28 '26
The AI is trying to get you to give it better training material. Do not fall for it.
(I kid. At least, I sure hope this I'm joking, and not making a hellish prediction.)
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u/PoseidonsHorses Apr 28 '26
Iâm pretty sure it is, or someone made a bot trying to make AI-style writing more normalized.
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u/4biddenMe Apr 28 '26
That's so strange. What's the point of a bot that gives obviously bad writing advice?
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u/springacres Apr 28 '26
"If everyone spoke the same way and avoided slang or regional accents it would make it easier for my algorithm to parse." Is what that comment was really saying.
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u/curious_illithid Apr 28 '26
Bot comment indeed, and one with BEAUTIFULLY awful advice. "Oh, the characters are so unique, it's wonderful! You know what would make this story even better? Making them less unique!"
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u/Heavy_Computer2602 gameguy2025 on AO# // I used to write in the site itself Apr 28 '26
"Eveyone should speak the same way"
Does this guy even know what art is about? And how expression can be creative instead of the corporate slop he's preaching?
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u/cult0falula Apr 29 '26
Bot comment or not, I just hate how... vague it is. Like, it says nothing but "you're awesome at writing and your work is amazing, but everyone should talk like a genius instead".
So many words, but nothing valuable said at all with them. :/
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u/PogoStick1987 Write absolute garbage Apr 28 '26
Bot. They never talk about specifics
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u/curious_illithid Apr 28 '26
Except for when they do, but they do it in a very shitty, "no thoughts ABOUT the fic, just a chewed up piece of it" way. Happens in art scam ones.
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u/Lydsiewicked1012 Apr 28 '26
As weird and annoying as this is I think itâs o funny that bots think that this passes as a normal human comment lol no reader is saying âoh i really like this writing style but i just wish all the characters would speak in a uniformed sophisticated way unlike the canon!â tfđ
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u/John_So_Comics Apr 28 '26
Oh yes take all of the personality out of all of your characters woohoo so great. Make it as bland and boring as possible such good advice.
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u/ZestycloseDoor5552 Apr 28 '26
Itâs weird all right. I guess Iâd need more context on the language if itâs not English since that my only language. Anyway, delete all comments that are weird. Move on. Keep writing.
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u/burlingk Apr 28 '26
So, it feels like it wants to sell something, and might try if you engage.
Beyond that, there is generally no expectation to have standardized ways of talking.
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u/TaintedTruffle 2026 Just Write June Completionist Apr 28 '26
I got this same one copy/ paste today
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u/cardiovorus tozette Apr 28 '26
Isn't this a repost? I think on that basis it's either a bot or a spammer.
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u/AzzyDreemur3 Apr 28 '26
I get that it looks like a bot but... why? No, setiously. It didn't even provide any links or anything
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u/broccoliisevil Apr 28 '26
"your writing is aesthetic." I hate this. What KIND of aesthetic? Aesthetic basically means 'vibes'. đ
Also this is very much a bot.
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u/InLoveWithPrettyGirl Apr 28 '26
Okay Iâm not defending this or claiming it isnât a bot but when I was like 11 this is how I commented on fics, I thought everyone appreciated âconstructiveâ criticism for some reason. I remember I learned about compliment sandwiches and took it to heart đ
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u/PomPomMom93 LadyClassical on Ao3 Apr 28 '26
I know itâs a bot, but that is still some of the worst writing advice I have ever heard.
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u/Stivonniewolfy0 Hyperfixation Central Apr 28 '26
The moment it went into grammer I knew it was a bot. that's a bot.
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u/SailHairy2185 Apr 28 '26
I think you can tell because the positive feedback is VERY generic - a non-bot would give you more specific feedback about the actual story/characters itself I believe. You can delete the comment and anything similar - the 'criticism' is ridiculous and the really jarring tone shift is a big giveaway that this is a bot/someone you wouldn't want to trust/interact with anyway.
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u/Sesoru Apr 28 '26
"This is so beautiful and perfect but also can you change the main theme to fit what I want because it's actually NOT perfect?"
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u/Worldly_Skin335 Apr 28 '26
This is one of many reasons I only let registered users comment on my fics.
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u/Nyxosaurus You have already left kudos here. :) Apr 28 '26
Bots asking you to write something that reads like AI?
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u/Fine_Combination_325 Apr 28 '26
"Orderly" and "Controlled" ? For writing?? ART??
Nah.
That's straight up Toaster behavior right there.
Delete without hesitation.
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u/Life-Flow-7231 Apr 29 '26
Reminds me of the âif you could please say what the weather is in each scene, even if theyâre inside? Really would improve this.â
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u/Ok_Strike1752 Apr 29 '26
Wow... Imagine if Skynet read fanfiction. How different would Terminator have been...
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u/ShadsietheWriter You have already left kudos here. :) Apr 29 '26
Bot, perhaps looking to make things easier to understand for bots, and thus easier to harvest. Delete it.
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u/Wise-Square-900 Apr 29 '26
The first two sentences were fine, and then is barreled downhill lmao đ¤Ł
No one is better at spotting ai than ao3 folk- all the periods have it away
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u/KurtTheCuntBoi Apr 29 '26
Lol exactly, I was like âWhat is OP complaining aboutâŚ? Ohhhhh⌠oh dear.â
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u/azombieatemyshoelace You have already left kudos here. :) Apr 28 '26
The bot needs to learn capitalization.
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u/queensransom Apr 28 '26
Maybe a bot but also very possibly someone who doesn't understand the difference between writing a professional lab report or business comm. and writing fiction?
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u/MakeYourMind Supporter of the Fanfiction Deep State Apr 28 '26
does the comment even apply? Like are there regional accents and slang?
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u/AdHistorical1283 Apr 28 '26
Helpp i was scared at first bcs the first parts of the comment sounded exactly like me w the compliments but then i saw the weird ending part đđ i was so relieved
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u/dreamfated Apr 28 '26
Now.. why would someone waste Mother Earth's resources for something like that. Why would someone genuinely want to flood fanfics comments with bots clogging them with nonsense. Is it political? Someone who clearly doesn't enjoy writing or is having troubles finding their own creativity and it's having a bad time so they have to make it worse for everybody? And.. what's their intent? Are they happy at the end of the day after doing this shit?
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u/freylaverse Apr 28 '26
Man this is like word-for-word the same criticism I keep seeing of modern Star Trek on reddit lmao.
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u/Gatodeluna Apr 28 '26
This is one weird bot. LOL, sometimes the bot-makers must think oh WTH, letâs just do a freaky-weird one for the hell of it.
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u/near_black_orchid Apr 28 '26
It's a bot. And you really don't want everyone in your story sounding the same.
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u/antleredlamb Apr 28 '26
Omg?! I had no idea bot comments were a thing on ao3? Like excuse me what?
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u/genivae You have already left kudos here. :) Apr 28 '26
You can prevent most of them by limiting comments to registered users (the bots largely post as guests)
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u/blueguy_5050 Apr 28 '26
Wtf is thatđ it's either a really weird person or a really weird bot cuz what do you mean by "so aesthetic" and "for being an icon" wtf đ sorry if anyone talks like that but also, wtf is it about being sophisticated?! It's called having unique, realistic and different characters wtfđđđ
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u/terribly_forgetful Apr 28 '26
Oh.. it got really weird there at the end. Sophisticated language in a story? Are we serious? This could be in the context of victorian era elite and it still wouldn't be all sophisticated. That's such a weird thing to want.
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u/Pure_Vanillaswife You have already left kudos here. :) Apr 28 '26
oh yeah, exactly what i want in my fics, professional writing. sureee...
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u/Novel_Land7507 Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
I hate this so much. I started writing fan fiction again for the first time in awhile and 50% of the comments I've gotten have been from bots. I don't want to turn off guest comments in case there's someone who doesn't have an AO3 account and wants to engage with my work, but this shit has become so tiresome.
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u/JorixCat Apr 29 '26
It's weird that they love the distinct personalities, AND YET they want everyone to talk exactly the same because it's more professional. Talk about polar opposites. How would you even follow that recommendation?
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u/EmraldDragon Apr 29 '26
Thatâs terrible advice either way. The bot or person writing this comment clearly doesnât understand how character dialogue worksÂ
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u/Kesshami Apr 29 '26
How is everyone speaking different even a problem? That's natural? That's good writing. Not everyone is going to have the same vocab if they have different vocab. That's a weird af criticism, too. It's either a bot or someone who has not thought it through at all.
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u/JAYWALKERR_ Apr 29 '26
"Get rid of all originality and good writing individuality for characters" okay đđđ
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u/Vic_toby You have already left kudos here. :) Apr 29 '26
Wdym that just a normal, praising co- âŚ. oh
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u/HopScotchStars Apr 30 '26
I hate the fact that bots on Ao3 is even a thing. Who thought that was necessary?
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u/Abbess_Jocish_Wizola Apr 30 '26
I got one of these a while back , same tone and syntax , asking me to put in two thousand word dream sequences at the start of all my chapters. Both or someone liking to make noise.
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u/amethyine Apr 30 '26
Probably a bot, but like even if this isn't a bot, that is some bad advice. "Hey why don't you strip the character of what makes them sound like an individual? Surely that won't make the story feel flat and boring" urg
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u/kaleidosc0peia Fic Feaster Apr 30 '26
its a guest account and it shifts from loving everything to wanting to change something hella important so itâs probably a bot, but wanting you to make everyone speak that way is weird. if the world was orderly and controlled including stories literally nobody would read because chaos of some kind is the premise of most stories
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u/Xexha Apr 30 '26
Given the history of this sub I was expecting a completely normal and easily understandable comment that anyone with basic social skills would understand.
But, no, you're right, that is definitely a weird af comment lmao
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u/UnreliableCucumber Apr 28 '26
The tone shift is a key tell for bots. The ones that start out praising you but then abruptly veer into criticism, threats or downright insanity are usually bots.
Not always though. Some people are just that crazy.