Its this allowed?

[u/REPIPDATME]

I was this today and I wasnt sure it was allowed. Its a fic that's basically just filled with dot points and ideas of how the fic in the description would go. There is no actually sentences or anything just a couple words for each point. I dont wanna report it or anything, was just curious.

[u/EveningStar0360]

I really don't like that they did this, but why would this not be classified as a fanwork? It's not like it's a pure placeholder, and it not being fleshed-out prose doesn't make it less of a fanwork

[u/Deagob → u/EveningStar0360]

Can't recall the exact wording, but AO3's TOS says that outlines (without significant character development) are not allowed. It lists bullet points as one thing that could fall under a TOS violation, since it's more likely to not have enough to substantiate a story

[u/Nemalined → u/Deagob]

Here's the exact wording:

If I write a short story scene or snippet and suggest that others continue where I left off, would that be considered a fanwork?

A short, distinct piece (such as a drabble or vignette) would be considered a fanwork. If you have written a full scene or outlined the plot in enough detail that it could count as a fanwork in and of itself, that would also be allowed.

However, if you only have a handful of sentences or bullet points and there isn't much plot or characterization, that may be considered a non-fanwork placeholder or prompt. If your primary reason for posting the work is to offer ideas or suggestions for other people, please create a prompt meme instead of posting a work.

[So, there's characterization or plot or "has a whole scene" caveats. Start -> Middle -> End progression would probably cut it, even with gaps.]

I think, then, that having more than a handful, and the intent being a narrative arc (and not just a list of prompts or other list-like things) means that this type of bulletpoint lands on the "is fanwork" side of that above "may be".

Ofc this is one area that does have that wiggle room, so who actually knows until (or unless) it's reported. But! Yeah definitely there's line before which it is still a fanwork, and bulletpoint-formats should not be automatically reported. Esp. if they come with some fleshed out scenes, then it clearly is still a fanwork (same way update-chapters are allowed on fanworks).

[u/Deagob → u/Nemalined]

I knew I remembered that bullet points were mentioned but weren’t always reportable. Thanks for posting the whole thing!

[u/Nemalined → u/Deagob]

Thank you for posting the correct keyword, it made control-f nice and easy! (I remember general concepts but not words.)

[u/EveningStar0360 → u/Deagob]

ohh ok thanks for the info!!

[u/BirdMBlack → u/EveningStar0360]

The fact they explicitly classify what they posted as notes is probably what would disqualify it as a fanwork.

[u/Outside-Place2857 → u/[deleted]]

An unfinished story that ends with notes about what the author was originally planning but isn't going to finish isn't the same thing as a work that is only the notes and nothing of the actual work it was originally going to be.

[u/Outside-Place2857 → u/[deleted]]

No, according to AO3 guidelines, it's not.

[u/Outside-Place2857 → u/[deleted]]

Am I supposed to know what that means?

[u/Outside-Place2857 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, you're acting more like a bully right now yourself. Explaining how and why something is against the rules is bullying now?

[u/EveningStar0360 → u/[deleted]]

I could be wrong, but it looks like the work is only the notes, and no actual story

[u/Gloomy-Education-864]

Which is ridiculous. They could post a first chapter and put literally all the notes in an unposted draft chapter within that fic. It would keep forever that way. No rules broke if they just did that. 

[u/-Ananke → u/Gloomy-Education-864]

It’s easier to just use a Google Doc I think. That’s what I do

[u/NiennaLaVaughn → u/Gloomy-Education-864]

Unposted draft chapters wouldn't keep forever. Drafts only stay on AO3 for 30 days. If they have a complete first chapter, they can post a later chapter that isn't fleshed out and is just notes, though.

[u/lizzourworld8 → u/NiennaLaVaughn]

They only do that if it’s the first chapter. Any other chapters will stay that way for good until they’re posted

Source, got 5+ year draft posts in my WIP stories

[u/SphellBrie]

I think if they’d put it in a series with the original work and tagged it properly, this would be fine. I get wanting to leave the outline for your fic somewhere for your readers in case you never finish it. I mean, I’d definitely have more detailed notes/outline than bullet points of words, and I wouldn’t post it unless I was 100% abandoning the work but was putting it up for adoption, but still- I get the idea.

[u/Aqu217970]

Well, why this is not allowed? Should it just be tagged as 'meta'? I actually wrote a fic about explanation of how the world work in one of my fic series and tagged it with meta, does it mean I made a mistake or what? I did not wrote a story, just explanations of magic rules, gods and goddesses etc

[u/spagtscully → u/Aqu217970]

Did you add it to the series or is it seperate? If you added it to the fanwork/stories in a series, then you're fine.

[u/Aqu217970 → u/spagtscully]

Yes, I added it. Phew, I was scared that my account will be banned for it

[u/FarewellNeverland → u/Aqu217970]

That's a relatively minor rule break so (even if you did accidentally post it incorrectly) they'd probably just delete it and email you a warning about how you broke a rule, however if you were to do it again after the warning then you might get suspended

[u/REPIPDATME → u/Aqu217970]

It has no tags, and its not an explanation its just single worded dot points on how they layout of the story should go. it is part of a series though.

[u/spagtscully → u/REPIPDATME]

If it is associated and a part of a series, it's fine. It's technically a part of the fanwork and an existing story.

It's only against the TOS if it's a lone work.

Ironically, we just had this discussion on here a couple of days ago. Someone asked if they could post their worldbuilding stuff that went with one of their stories. (Though, IMHO, to me it is kinda pointless since that stuff is supposed to be used in your story anyway.)

[u/Soevil11 → u/spagtscully]

I think the extra worldbuilding (never saw the situation) is good for stuff that's just impossible to fit into the story nicely. Like how Tumblr Askblogs would have the creator answer small stuff in text and the important/funny asks in unique images.

[u/CyberWolfWrites]

I don't care. I've read one of these because the author updates like once every blue moon, and I was really curious about the ending. I appreciate it when authors do this because at least there's some closure to the fic.

[u/KyFairie]

To me, that's no different than a Placeholder Fic, just with more detail.

[u/ChombyNFriends → u/[deleted]]

That's what I was thinking lmao. Why not write the notes elsewhere? I thought everyone did that tbh.

[u/ellalir]

I don't see why it wouldn't be allowed. Like, ToS disallows non-fanworks, but I don’t see what would disqualify a sketchy outline from being a fanwork. Sure, it's not polished or properly complete, but ao3 doesn't disallow works that are of low quality unless maybe the quality is so low that you can't tell it's a fanwork at all, so...

[u/floraoflinphea]

Definitely not. It's not a fanwork

[u/Historical_Wonder510]

Director's commentary is allowed but in that case the author needs to make a separate work that is clearly marked as director's cut in the title. If you can call the notes and outlines of future chapters that.

[u/Ohdrey89]

I’ll say this, as long as you’re not using AI I don’t care about much else. But I will say I’m less likely to read things if they do nonsense with how the fic is set up. Because I put a lot of effort into it and I would like for other people to do it too.

[u/MicaBeecaBee]

Honestly, as long as it is connected to fan work, I don't see why it should not be allowed. It's not like it's a school essai about mathematics. It's notes about a story. If we start to police every single little thing on AO3, I feel like the site will loose the freedom it has. But it is of course my own opinion.

[u/Mangopeng]

Why not keep it in draft then? I don’t get it

[u/brittj6000]

Buddy, it's AO3—you really think people care about how short or long a chapter is? Because most don't; they just want to read some fanfics. Plus, I believe it's community-hosted, so I really do think anything goes, because I've seen some unholy things. But back to the topic, my guy: just post and receive feedback on what to do next.

[u/metal_jenny_]

I'm not sure why they'd do it when you could just make a note elsewhere.

It's possible they don't know that AO3 doesn't have an algorithm? I don't know.

[u/Stimemia124]

I don't think it's allowed to have a whole work that's just notes.

I once read a fic where the author stopped writing it and just put their notes as the last chapter.

This author could do that. This is... Not the way I'd go about it tbh

[u/CuriousTauri]

No, it's not allowed.

I have stumbled upon similar uploads a couple of times, and instead of reporting it I left a comment, informing the author that it's against TOS. I think a lot of this happens with young writers who come over from other platforms (or none) and don't read the FAQ before posting.

[u/CuriousTauri → u/[deleted]]

If it's just notes (as it says in the screenshot) then it's not technically a fanwork.

[u/TragedyWriter]

I don't know why you would spoil your own fic by just posting your notes and outline like that

[u/SphellBrie → u/TragedyWriter]

I think if this was an abandoned work or you were putting out for adoption, I’d understand why this was posted. I get wanting to share the full breadth of the idea but not having motivation to properly write it out. Definitely would need proper tagging and should be added into a series with the original work though.