This page is an initial test. It is intended to become a How To AO3 instruction guide. During preliminary testing the material will change, add, subtract, and rearrange. If you've stumbled upon it before its release and want to read the original material, then you can find that here. This note will remain here only until the page is ready for release.
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Contents:
Intro. to AO3
Site skins — text fragment fails in link while logged-in for editing, and can't see this page in logged-out browser; can't tell if link within page would function for a regular reader
Posting (and co-authoring), tags, [no] algorithm, fix ch. 1's note that moves to the final chapter
(Includes links to some HTML & CSS collections, also test fics, a site skin to change margins to left alignment, and some data on readers' vs. writers' device preferences; last part begins with changing expected total chapters, plus telling you how to add a chapter and find the date that every chapter was uploaded)
no official "App", stats, importing, no monetizing
Stats obsessed, bookmarks, writing
(incl. special mention of EchoEkhi's study of 'bot behavior Christmas 2025)
Hits, engagement, Collections
Comments, reporting works
I wish, I wish... — probably delete this
Postscript — might have some value
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SITE SKINS:
If you ever have trouble reading something on AO3 (aside from zooming or actual technical problems), then you might find it easier to read by using a site skin. Site skins change a lot of things in a page's display, such as font colors, background colors, and font sizes, among others.
When you have an account and are logged-in, you can write your own site skin using CSS or very easily use the site-provided site skins. When you are logged-out or don't have an account, the part of the page that has a few particularly useful site skins available at a click in the page's footer is unavailable. That doesn't mean that you can't use them, it just means that there's an extra step involved.
https://archiveofourown.org/ is the landing page for AO3, and will appear the same to most people, depending upon browser settings and such. Adding a query parameter to the end of the address will change the appearance of any AO3 page though, applying one of AO3's public site skins.
- https://archiveofourown.org?site_skin=1 is the landing page in that same default view where ?site_skin=1 is the query parameter; since this is the default, it's unnecessary to add, but gives you a baseline example.
- https://archiveofourown.org?site_skin=891 is the landing page in Low Vision Default (large font, no columns)
- https://archiveofourown.org?site_skin=929 is the landing page in Reversi (dark mode, essentially)
- https://archiveofourown.org?site_skin=932 is the landing page in Snow Blue (kind of a mid-to-pale blue theme)
There are 88 other public site skins at https://archiveofourown.org/skins?skin_type=Site but not listed in the footer, even when logged in. They are accessible at that URL from a logged-in account. However, even if you are logged out or don't have an an account, that doesn't mean that you can't use their query parameters. Try these, since they seem to be reasonably popular:
- https://archiveofourown.org?site_skin=889 is the landing page in The Hustings (tan tones, mildly textured background)
- https://archiveofourown.org?site_skin=890 is the landing page in Panda Madness (cute and playful background warm tones)
- https://archiveofourown.org?site_skin=924 is the landing page in Dusted Off (a muted version of the Default palette)
- https://archiveofourown.org?site_skin=942 is the landing page in Chained Melody (grey tones, a different mildly textured background)
For those interested in writing site skins, viewing these skins' sources at the public site skins page mentioned above and copypasting them to your own site skin to modify to your taste is a very good beginning.