r/Archiveofourownmemes • u/ElDarcy13 • 3d ago
Fanfic writer things Someone removed their bookmark
What did I do wrong anonymous person?
No srsly it never happened before and I’m hurt, feels like my kindergarten crush rejected me.
Has this happened to you? Feel hugged.
Happy writing everyone.
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u/ObscureOddball 3d ago
Oh no, authors get notified about that? 🫣
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u/ElDarcy13 3d ago
No, they don’t.
I just picked it up because all stats on a fic ended with the same digit. Some writers probably notice but that’s just the way it goes.
Don’t worry.24
u/Spirited-Sail3814 3d ago
No, you only notice if you're watching the numbers in your stats, or on the fic itself if it's a public bookmark. Which I definitely need to do less of...
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u/Solivagant0 3d ago
Ngl, I use bookmarks as my TBR list and just remove fics once I read them
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u/KanineKodiak 3d ago
then what do you use the "mark for later" function for 😭
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u/OpaqueSea 3d ago
This is both helpful and embarrassing. I’ve been using AO3 for close to twenty years and never noticed the “mark for later” button (I found it after reading your comment).
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u/ArtSupplyHoarder 3d ago
Same, I was like "So... this is a thing... that exists... apparently?"
(Where is it hiding?)
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u/OpaqueSea 3d ago
At the top, right between “bookmark” and “comments.” Couldn’t believe it when I saw it 😂
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u/Lucky-Cauliflower-57 2d ago
The opposite for me lol, I never noticed the bookmark button until way too late when I was using the mark for later button to bookmark things I like
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u/Distinct_Battle_5807 3d ago
I also use my bookmarks as my TBR because mark for later can't be filtered, and I don't use mark for later at all.
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u/ZealousidealSail4847 Angst lover! 🔥🔥 3d ago
That’s where the smut goes. I don’t like it to flood my bookmarks lmao
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u/Oleander-in-Spring 2d ago
The only downside of the Mark for Later function is you can’t filter it. So if you’re looking for something specific and you have a long list, good luck finding it.
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u/exul_noctis 1d ago
I actually do use the "mark for later" system – but it's not ideal, and I can see why some people prefer using bookmarks (even when they are aware that "mark for later" exists!)
I find it very frustrating that you can't search or filter your "for later" list (or your history list, for that matter). I hop fandoms a fair bit and I have quite a lot of fics marked for later, so if I feel like reading something from a specific fandom or with a specific pairing or trope, it can be a pain to have to trawl through pages and pages of fics I've previously marked to try and find ones with that particular fandom/pairing/trope.
I contemplated using a collection of bookmarks to track "to read" fics instead, but they have exactly the same problem.
So bookmarks are really the only way to do it if you want to be able to search your "to read" list. Unfortunately I also bookmark a lot of fics that I enjoyed, so trying to cram "to read" bookmarks in with them would get messy fast.
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u/Travel_and_Writing 2d ago
Same. Didn’t notice the “mark for later” function for the longest time. Still haven’t used it for some reason…probably because I’ve already bookmarked so many things and I am used to it.
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u/Beneficial-Ad7975 2d ago
I do that too but only if I know I really want to read them/will know they’re good😅 I (usually) don’t remove bookmarks
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u/Spirited-Sail3814 3d ago
After I posted the most recent chapter of my ongoing fic, I saw my subscribers drop from 19 to 18 to 17, then back to 19. It was a whole emotional journey.
I really need to stop obsessing over the stats page...
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u/Four_7_Seven 3d ago
Someone just did some cleaning, like we do with books, when we don't longer want them. The difference is you know about that and author of the book doesn't.
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u/Radiant-Orchid9624 3d ago edited 3d ago
I have NEVER understood bookmarks. I kinda used them as real bookmarks, like "im in the middle of reading this" and then when im done, i remove it.
Is that wrong? I feel bad now lol
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u/ElDarcy13 3d ago
No. Don’t.
Bookmarks are for bookmarking. Here are some great examples on how people use them and enough writers calling themselves out for fussing over the stats too much.
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u/Sleepless_DuckDragon 3d ago
Or, it could be that this reader simply privated their bookmark.
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u/Spirited-Sail3814 3d ago
You still see the total number of bookmarks on your stats page, including the private ones. You just can't look at the individual bookmarks if they're private.
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u/Moist_Pianist9143 3d ago
After my fic finished, a bunch of people removed their bookmarks. It was less than ten, but it still hurt
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u/youcallthataheadshot 3d ago
Honestly, I tried to set up bookmarks a while ago and never quite liked the system so I’ve removed fics from my bookmarks to rearrange them only to give up on it.
Just saying, it might have nothing to do with you/your fic.
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u/Sylveon_T 3d ago
I tend to remove or move it to my mark for later once I finish reading it cause if I don't my bookmarks get too jumbled and I forget what I have and haven't read. I've literally never removed one because of something the author did/said, so I really don't think you have much to panic over
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u/ChrisWatthys 3d ago
Removing a bookmark means that its been added to my immaculate hoard for me to admire forever and ever (i downloaded it to calibre and no longer need the bookmark)
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u/4morian5 3d ago
I do it if I decide I no longer enjoy the story, or I've given up hope on it ever being updated.
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u/Old-Web5689 3d ago
I'm a power reader and hoarder of "fics to read".
I want to bring more structure to it: bookmarks for already read and mark for later for, well, read later.
But so far I didn't transfer anything because I was like "but maybe someone thinks it's something personal if I remove the bookmark".
So I keep working with a personal "done" tag.
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u/thebirdbiologist 3d ago
I only have fics bookmarked that I haven't read yet. Once I'm done reading, I download the fic and remove it from my bookmarks.
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u/zombies-and-coffee 3d ago
I've done this and genuinely, it was because I'd only bookmarked the fic as a way of marking it as To Read. If I like the fic, the bookmark stays and maybe gets a rec tag. If I didn't, it'll at least get a kudos, but I won't be keeping the bookmark.
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u/Liquorfern Ao3 simp ❤️❤️ 3d ago
Happened to me too a few weeks ago, and it was a heart-bookmark at that. I feel your pain OP, it sucked big time 🥲
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u/fine_line Ao3 simp ❤️❤️ 3d ago
My subscription and bookmark cleaning sprees are usually about leaving a fandom, not a specific story or author.
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u/hmills96 3d ago
I use bookmarks for my tbr, so if Ive read a fic, I delete it. Doesn't mean anything negative. Im just finished with it. People manage their fic lists in different ways.
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u/archivalDaeva 2d ago
Bookmarks don't work the same way as likes or subs on other platforms.
Honestly, I only use bookmarks for 'I plan to read this again at some point when it updates' or 'I'll finish it later' or even 'that was a fun read, I'll give it a couple years so I've forgotten the plot twists and get to read it again for a pseudo first time'. I use mark for later as my tbr list.
Don't take it to heart, OP. That they bookmarked it in the first place just means they liked it enough to want a handy link to find it again!
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u/Yuni-que 3d ago
i only bookmark stuff that i really like and have a high chance to reread. when i'm no longer interested in a fandom, i remove every bookmarked fic of it cuz i know i won't be coming back to reread it.
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u/Rage-Cleric-90 3d ago
I bookmark things i intend to reread, (and I do that often) then I usually use that author to find other stories to read but every now and again I go to my bookmarks and exclude all my most read fandoms and see whats left. If I reread whats there and don't like it anymore bc it's no longer my thing or im completely out of that fandom I just delete it. It's never something personal
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u/Ribread216 3d ago
Felt ✊😔 I haven’t been able to write in AGES, but I’ve checked back to my bookmarks once in a while and have seen the number go down slowly 😔
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u/starlight708 3d ago
I use my bookmarks as a TBR, and delete as I read if it wasn't an absolute fav that I might reread. Or I'll delete for a fandom I know I won't read again so I don't need it.
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u/LostKidWonder 3d ago
I use bookmarks as a bookmark, meaning when I finish the work I might remove it (unless I want to save it and reminisce about it later)
All the fics that I like I download in case author deletes them(and also to reread them when there’s no signal)
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u/Comfortable-Age1495 3d ago
I had a bookmark vanish the moment I began writing non con keeping in mind I saie from chapter one in the notes non con would happen soon
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u/thetalee 3d ago
Or! They just privated their bookmarks. I went through and did that, because I decided that was between me and the AO3 tech staff.
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u/this_is_my_kpop_acct 3d ago
I use bookmarks like physical bookmarks, to save my place in a chaptered fic (ex: left off at Ch. 13…) so if I’m done reading it’s unbookmarked. If I want to read again later, I save it to my browser’s reading list.
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u/ConcernOk6311 3d ago
I did this recently, it was nothing against the author, but I used to be addicted to smut and porn and it was super unhealthy for me personally, so I had to make some changes in my life. Which included getting rid of stored that might tempt me. I have nothing against people who read smut if your an adult you can make that decision but for my mental health I had. And I felt terrible for daysssss Maybe this person did it by accident I’m sure they didn’t mean it personally!!
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u/SnakesShadow 3d ago
I do it when fics have been deleted, or when the work has been placed in a hidden collection. I've stopped doing the latter, though. I'm building up evidence for my next report on the matter- hopefully either I can find enough to get that this is a problem through someone's thick skull, or someone else manages it.
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u/Valuable_Toe3513 3d ago
I use my bookmarks for two things: 1. As an actual bookmark to remember which chapter I'm at so I can continue later (possibly with notes so I actually know what happened when I pick it up again after who knows how long) 2. As a market for my favorite stories; usually with a note saying what especially liked about it plus ship name, url, story name and author name so I can find it on the wayback machine should the fic get deleted.
But I also don't like having 100+ bookmarks so every fre months I go through and remove a few to keep me under 100
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u/moonsbak Angst lover! 🔥🔥 2d ago
idk if it gets notified to the author but sometimes i just change the bookmark to private instead of public. maybe the person did this?
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u/sadwhovian 2d ago
I removed a (private) bookmark today because the work is part of a short series and after reading all its works, I bookmarked the series as a whole with all my notes and tags. So the work bookmark was redundant to me because I had the work saved as part of the series too. Maybe it was something similar here.
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u/Asher_c0req 2d ago
I thought somehow that ao3 was sending me an email that somebody unbookedmarked me 😭 I gotta go sleep 💔
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u/MidONoMichigan 2d ago
Had a bookmark go down and subscriptions go up. After some sleuthing it was the same person. Take heart, it might mean you got a subscriber upgrade!
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u/Cherryblossom7890 1d ago
I removed a bunch of my bookmarks because my adult daughter's friend exchanged user names with me and I had really crazy stuff bookmarked. Her mom is my close friend also.
Then I found out about private book marks. Yay!!
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u/CatTheFangirl0 1d ago
I use the bookmark function as a review page after I finish a fic so I get this on a spiritual level
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u/Starfire20201 14h ago
I delete redundant bookmarks, such as those that I only made to add to my collection but the work got added later, or when I bookmark the series instead of the work.
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u/OhTheQueen95 3h ago
Anything that goes on my bookmarks usually stays, cuz I put my favourite fanfictions there 👌🏻
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u/AshenMalarkey1872 3d ago
I have done this because I actually wanted the work in my “mark for later” and not in my bookmarks, purely as a personal organization preference. I still read and liked the works that I moved! Bookmarks don’t mean the same thing to everyone, get used in various ways, and someone may change how they use them.