AO3 gives us a mute button!

[elwinfortuna]

I was overjoyed to see news from AO3 a few days ago that a mute button would be coming soon, making it so you could never ever ever have to see a particular user's fics again.

I got the button today, and I am so glad to be able to use it, finally.

There was an incident a couple years back where someone was putting explicit details of torture into their story summary, and every time I scrolled past it, I couldn't help but see it. It disturbed me so much that I couldn't even look at the Silmarillion tag for a while.

Needless to say, I have now muted that author, plus a few others whose works I never want to see. I love this new tool so much; I can finally curate my space on Ao3 appropriately.

Comments

[corvidology]

I can see where it would be a great thing for a lot of people.

I just went to look and I'm really glad it's tucked away on the writer's profile else I know me, I'd be muting people accidentally without meaning to do it!

It's the same reason I have hover text turned on on people's icons.

[galadhir]

Ah, thanks for this comment! I also went to look and couldn't see it anywhere, and headed back here to say 'where is it?' But you've saved me from that :)

[corvidology]

You're welcome!

[bunn]

Ooh it's finally arrived! Excellent news.

[independence1776]

Oh, yay! I knew it was coming, but I didn't know it had been rolled out.

...Someone was doing what? As someone who writes that kind of material, I know damn well better than to do that. Holy cow, people.

[elwinfortuna]

It's one of the reasons why I'm not keen on using a quote from the story as the summary; it's way too easy to end up with triggering or disturbing material in a place where it's not warned for and can't be avoided easily.

That said, this person was the source of a bunch of bad behaviour in general, this was probably the least of their offenses.

[grundyscribbling]

someone was putting explicit details of torture into their story summary
...wait, what? Doesn't that entirely defeat the point of warnings and tags?

[elwinfortuna]

Entirely.

At the time I considered various options, including raising a complaint to AO3, but the material quoted didn't come under any of the archive warnings. It probably got closest to Graphic Depictions of Violence, but even then it wasn't that violent, it was more psychological than physical. The author was also someone who I didn't want to speak to about it; I was sure they would have responded badly if I'd asked them to change the summary (and based on their reaction to someone else giving them the mildest criticism, I was right about that). So at the time there was literally nothing I could do but stay away from the whole tag for a few weeks until the story was completed and it had dropped sufficiently far down the tag that I wouldn't run into it while looking for new fic.

Fortunately, the story is gone from AO3 now.

[grundyscribbling]

😩
Glad the story is gone, glad you don't have to deal with that person, and double plus glad there's mute now.

[alexcat]

I'm wondering, though, if this is an attempt to satisfy the censorship crowd...

[elwinfortuna]

From what I can see, it's something that's been asked for by people on all sides of the debate. It allows people to avoid seeing material they don't want to see while not taking it away from anyone else, so it's not censorship as such. If the block and mute features are combined, it means that somebody can almost entirely avoid someone else's presence on the site entirely, which is sometimes necessary.

Something that has been asked for by the pro-censorship crowd is a way of blocking someone else from viewing their fics, but I think AO3 won't be granting that request.

[chestnut_pod]

It is wonderful news! It's been such along time coming, and I can't help but feel that it heralds a brighter period for fandom overall!

[spiced_wine]

I’m very glad for the mute button myself. I only noticed it last night and did mute a few. I’m not going to use it as I use the block function which is mostly sock puppets 🙄 (so I have hundreds of socks blocked) and not for people I know in fandom, but some like the y/n stories I just have no interest in.

It does feel like curating our space on AO3 yes :)

[elwinfortuna]

Yes, it serves a different purpose. I can see using both functions on the same person if there's someone you want to avoid entirely.

I'll mostly be using the mute function for people whose stories I do not ever want to see but who I'm not generally worried about harassment from, whereas I'll use the block function for anybody I'm worried might harass me, and both if I don't want see their works AND I'm concerned they might harass me: only the worst of the worst!

[spiced_wine]

Yes, I’m using block purely against possible harassment, and there always seem to be more socks springing from that particular pile of garbage 😩

[elayna]

It’s funny, I’ve only wished for that ability with one author who was always starting so many WIPS and then finally I realized to search by completed fics only and I never saw them again. Now I wonder if they ever did finish *any* fic!

[sauronnaise]

I don't use ao3 as much nowadays, but it's a good thing to know there's a mute option (there are some fics with a tag list longer than my DNA that keep appearing when I search for specific things, and I'm an impatient man who's tired of scrolling down quicker than light speed).

[makamu]

I saw the announcement a while back, and while I am unlikely to use it often (I use ao3 savior because things I don't want to see are about content more often than people), I hope this will make things easier for people.

[chantress]

And there was much rejoicing! \o/

(I'll admit I'm a little exasperated/amused by the "You have muted some users" message showing up everywhere, though. AO3, meekly wringing its hands: "My liege, there may yet be tales writ by base villains which my tally does not encompass." And I nod benevolently and say "Yes, yes, my good steward, so I was informed but a moment before; all is as I have decreed.")

[narya_flame]

Huzzah!!

[enkalenk]

It's such a great tool and when combined with the block function, it greatly reduces running into garbage like that or interacting with people who aren't great (of course not zero but oh the MDZS tag is so much nicer now that I don't have to see people who aren't great for me to see around)