(no subject)
Sep. 12th, 2022 21:52![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eldabeThe latest OTW newsletter is out (including some stuff on the Bridgerton Musical, love that they are addressing it) and apparently the AO3 downloading FAQ has been updated. I re-read just to see if they had maybe made it possible to download an entire series in one download yet (nope).
And I was thinking. We talk about AO3 as a haven for writers, and it is and I love it. But I actually think this is one of the one places where it's...not, actually. Being able to download fic is a gift to readers far more than writers, many of whom would probably not allow that feature if it was there choice. It's one of the things hanging on from the old days, I think, where fic could drop off the face of the 'net in a heartbeat, and saving fic was sometimes the only way to keep it safe. Even writers lost their own stuff sometimes!
It's just an interesting contrast, isn't it? It's a moment where, actually, the writer doesn't have total control on Ao3. And honestly, I'm actually fine with it, I like the download option, on balance. Especially as sometimes I miss fics from LJ that I can't find anymore. Or worse! Fics that were hosted on one-off bigbang sites!
And I was thinking. We talk about AO3 as a haven for writers, and it is and I love it. But I actually think this is one of the one places where it's...not, actually. Being able to download fic is a gift to readers far more than writers, many of whom would probably not allow that feature if it was there choice. It's one of the things hanging on from the old days, I think, where fic could drop off the face of the 'net in a heartbeat, and saving fic was sometimes the only way to keep it safe. Even writers lost their own stuff sometimes!
It's just an interesting contrast, isn't it? It's a moment where, actually, the writer doesn't have total control on Ao3. And honestly, I'm actually fine with it, I like the download option, on balance. Especially as sometimes I miss fics from LJ that I can't find anymore. Or worse! Fics that were hosted on one-off bigbang sites!
