Fictitious Endeavours

Posted by an

https://www.transformativeworks.org/updates-to-no-fandom-additional-tags-january-2026/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=277388

AO3 Tag Wranglers continue to test processes for wrangling canonical additional tags (tags that appear in the auto-complete) which don’t belong to any particular fandom (also known as “No Fandom” tags). This post overviews some of these upcoming changes.

In this round of updates, we began adjusting existing canonical “No Fandom” tags to add or remove new subtag and metatag relationships. We also continued to streamline creating new canonical tags, prioritizing more straightforward updates which would have less discussion compared to renaming current canonical tags or creating new canonical tags which touch on more complex topics. This method also reviews new tags on a regular basis, so check back on AO3 News for periodic “No Fandom” tag announcements.

None of these updates change the tags users have added to works. If a user-created tag is considered to have the same meaning as a new canonical, it will be made a synonym of one of these newly created canonical tags, and works with that user-created tag will appear when the canonical tag is selected.

In short, these changes only affect which tags appear in AO3’s auto-complete and filters. You can and should continue to tag your works however you prefer.

New Canonicals

The following concepts have been made new canonical tags:

• Brother’s Best Friend as Love Interest
• Best Friend’s Brother as Love Interest
• Cuddle Pollen
• Dollification
• Dragon Sex
• Disordered Eating
• Emotional Intimacy
• Emotional Whump
• Erotic Horror
• Eroticism
• Female Characters Masturbating
• Happily Ever After
• Matriarchy
• Mobility Aids
• Female Omegaverse Alpha Characters
• Male Omegaverse Omega Characters
• Political Marriages
• Romantic Tension
• Resolved Romantic Tension
• Reverse Cowgirl Position
• Standing Sex
• Non-Consensual Sedation
• Sedation
• Small Penis Humiliation
• Small Penis Appreciation
• Tongue Fucking
• Wrong Phone Number

Subtag/Metatag Revisions

Additionally, this month we began making adjustments to existing canonical tags to add or remove new subtag and metatag relationships, which help users find related content and filter in/out content as they browse works on AO3.

• Alternate Universe – Time Travel is now a subtag of Time Travel
• Alternate Universe – Zombies is now a subtag of Zombies
• Cross-Posted on deviantArt is now a subtag of Cross-Post
• Back Pain is now a subtag of Pain
• Barely Legal has been removed as a subtag from Underage

In Conclusion

While some of these tags may be tags and concepts you’re intimately familiar with, others may be concepts you’ve never heard of before. Fortunately, our fellow OTW volunteers at Fanlore may be able to help! As you may have seen in the comments sections of previous posts, Fanlore is a fantastic resource for learning more about these common fandom concepts, and about the history and lore of fandom in general. For the curious, here’s a quick look at a few articles about concepts related to this month’s new canonical tags:

• Alpha/Beta/Omega
• Masturbation
• Sex Pollen
• Whump

While we won’t be announcing every change we make to No Fandom canonical tags, you can expect similar updates in the future about tags we believe will most affect users. If you’re interested in the changes we’ll be making, you can continue to check AO3 News or follow us on Bluesky @wranglers.archiveofourown.org or Tumblr @ao3org for future announcements.

You can also read previous updates on “No Fandom” tags as well as other wrangling updates, linked below:

• Past “No Fandom” Additional Tags Updates and 5 Things Said by Wrangling Volunteers
• Past Fandom-Specific and “No Fandom” Tag Wrangling Change Posts

For more information about AO3’s tag system, check out our Tags FAQ.

In addition to providing technical help, AO3 Support also handles requests related to how tags are sorted and connected.​ If you have questions about specific tags, which were first used over a month ago and are unrelated to any of the new canonical tags listed above, please contact Support instead of leaving a comment on this post.

Please keep in mind that discussions about what tags to canonize and what format they should take are ongoing. As a result, not all related concepts will be canonized at the same time. This does not mean that related or similar concepts will not be canonized in the future or that we have chosen to canonize one specific concept in lieu of another, simply that we likely either haven’t gotten to that related concept yet or that it needs further discussion and will take a bit longer for us to canonize it as a result. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Lastly, we’re still working on implementing changes and connecting relevant user-created tags to these new canonicals, so it’ll be some time before these updates are complete. If you have questions about specific tags which should be connected to these new canonicals, please refrain from contacting Support about them until at least three months from now to give us adequate time to do so.

https://www.transformativeworks.org/updates-to-no-fandom-additional-tags-january-2026/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=277388

Posted by Aditi Paul

https://www.transformativeworks.org/ivd-2025-volunteer-qa-communications-spotlight/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=277309

Last November we asked the community to submit questions to our OTW volunteers in celebration of International Volunteer Day. In this series of posts we will spotlight some of our committees’ responses.

The Communications committee (Comms) disseminates information to the general public, media, and fans. We draft and beta news posts and social media posts, and are often the first point of contact for anyone interested in the OTW.

We asked Comms for replies to your questions, and received a lot of feedback! Below you can find a selection of their answers:

Communications Committee Specific Questions

Question: We’re so thankful for how fast you guys always respond when the ao3 website goes down. I was wondering what’s the circus like behind the scenes when it happens? xD Do you usually first notice when we start panicking, or does someone keep an eye on it 24/7, do emails start flying from social team to it, is it usually scary or is it very organised and calm since you’re so experienced, who makes the decision to pull the plug for a few hours if it’s really bad and looks hopeless, stuff like this. Thank you!
Committee answer:
Accessibility, Design, & Technology (AD&T) and Systems (our two main technical committees) have already given their own replies to this, but from Comms’ end, we often are the ones that handle posting and disseminating information for downtimes! We work hand in hand with AD&T and Systems to ensure that we’re distributing the most accurate and concise information to the public, and coordinate with our fellow volunteers to make sure that it’s sent out in time. We do our best to handle the public logistics so that our coders can focus on their own work!

General Questions

How many hours a week do you spend on your OTW volunteer work?

• It truly depends on the week! Typically I would say ~4 hours, for just keeping on top of things and my weekly tasks. It can be upwards of 10 if there’s things outside of the norm or that require a bit of research. (Caitlynne)
• For me, it depends on the time of year most of all! As an Event Coordinator, half of the year I’d say it’s ~2-6 hours a week. The bulk of our anniversaries and holidays converge into fall and winter, during that time it’s more ~6-8 hours. (Elin)

How do you manage your volunteer time, and do you do the same thing every day like with a day job?

• I hop on my computer pretty frequently throughout the week, so I tailor my OTW time to when I’m on my PC. If there’s a day I’m busy and away from my PC, I know I’ll have to “catch up” the next day when I have time, so to speak. (Tiana)
• I try to check our chat tool/the Comms email when I can throughout the day and give a dedicated half hour or so on my laptop in the evenings. It doesn’t always work out, but that’s the goal! (callmeri)

What’s your favorite part about volunteering at the OTW?

• I like that tending the little OTW!Tumblr corner of the landscape helps the whole fandom ecosystem. (Remi)
• The best part of volunteering at the OTW is the people, for sure! The social aspect is easily what motivates me the most to stay. I have made lots of friends and the Communications committee has been a really supportive environment! (stork)

What’s the aspect of volunteer work with the OTW that you most wish more people knew about?

• We are fans just like you! There are so many different cultures and fandoms coming together every day to make the organisation run. (Tal)
• We are really big on emojis! The custom emoji feature on our chat tool is definitely getting a lot of mileage with us XD. Also, you can put OTW work on your resume if you want to. (stork)

What does a typical day as an OTW volunteer looks like for you?

• Check the Tumblr notes and ask box in the morning, before scrolling through my personal dash and then the tags the organisation follows looking for Things To Queue. Mosey through the #ao3 tag on occasion to reply or leave little notes to folks. Every day is similar, but none are The Same. (Remi)
• I often start by checking and responding to messages from other volunteers, and then make a list of current tasks to work on. Sometimes that means brainstorming activities for a special milestone, other times it’s writing posts, or preparing for an event. (Elin)

What is your favorite animal? Alternatively, do you have a favorite breed of cat/dog?

• I love bats and think they’re super cute, but identify with possums on an emotional level. (Caitlynne)
• My favorite animal is a saiga antelope. Fave dog breed: Irish wolfhound. (Communications volunteer)

Do you enjoy reading fanfic? If so, what’s your favorite work on AO3?

• For a dyslexic person I seem to read A LOT of fanfic… I actually tend to read more on AO3 than actual books?? Anyway, my favourite of all time would have to be unholyverse. I don’t think anything can beat that… (Gray)
• I love reading fic so much it’s kind of concerning how many tabs I have open all the time. My favourite fic is locked but another fave is between the sheets by DasWarSchonKaputt. og. goat. mother. (choux)

Do you write any fanfic yourself? What do you enjoy about it?

• I do write. I enjoy the creativity and the ability to explore characters. (Communications volunteer)
• I do! It’s my favorite hobby and one I neglected a bit last year. I hope to get back into the swing of it in 2026. (Tiana)

What fandoms are you (currently) in?

• I’m very active in the Dan and Phil fandom :3 (Gray)
• Mostly MDZS and IWTV for the past few years, but Heated Rivalry took over my brain so it looks like I’m getting on that ride. (callmeri)

Do you feel glad or proud to see fanfiction in your mother tongue?

• I’m also a tag wrangler, so I get to participate in tag translation (every tag wrangled needs to have a documented english translation). There aren’t as many German works, but we have loads of German volunteers – this means there’s often several of us running to translate whenever there’s a German tag. it’s really cool to see very specific cultural references in works! (Tal)
• I read a TON of socmed AUs in Filipino along with the Filipino fics in general! I’m super happy to see fanwork in Filipino and when a creator is Filipino as well! especially when I see actual locations or cultural tidbits getting referenced. (choux)

Thanks so much to every volunteer who took the time to answer!

(For more answers, check out this work on AO3, where we collect additional replies to each question!)

The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, OTW Legal Advocacy, and Transformative Works and Cultures. We are a fan-run, donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.

https://www.transformativeworks.org/ivd-2025-volunteer-qa-communications-spotlight/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=277309

Posted by therealmorticia

https://www.transformativeworks.org/changes-to-fandom-metatag-wrangling-guidelines/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=277276

Background

Over the last year, Tag Wranglers have been actively discussing how to make fandom metatags more useful to users, both to find the content they’re looking for and filter out the content they aren’t. Since our last update, these discussions have now concluded, and we want to provide an update about how our guidelines have changed.

Fandom metatags allow Tag Wranglers to connect groups of related fandoms together so that they can be more easily filtered on as a group. For example, if you’re interested in all works related to Game of Thrones (TV), including the related novels or the 2014 video game, you may be interested in filtering on its metatag: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms. Filtering on the metatag means that you will find all the works tagged with the metatag itself or tagged with any of its individual subtags. In addition to this, having a group of fandoms connected together as a metatag and subtags means that selecting “Exclude crossovers” in the sidebar will not exclude works tagged with more than one subtag, and that selecting “Show only crossovers” will not include works tagged more than one subtags.

Metatags are different from merging (“synning”) tags. When two tags are merged, the filters will treat them as if they are the same tag. When they are moved together under a metatag, each can still be filtered out individually from the metatag.

Guidelines update

Following extensive discussion, we have updated our guidelines related to fandom metatag trees, including when to create a metatag for related fandoms, when to merge closely related fandoms into one fandom tag (such as merging an anime and a manga), and when to split out subtags from a currently merged tag. The below paragraphs detail these updates and link to where you can find more information.

Metatag guidelines

Moving forward, Tag Wranglers may connect related fandoms using a metatag if there are at least two canons already canonized on AO3 that are:

• Closely related adaptations;
• The same story adapted across different media; or
• Canon with official prequels, sequels, or other related adaptations set in a shared universe.

Whether a fandom metatag is created will vary based on the specific fandom. Not all fandoms will require a metatag, even if they fit the above criteria, and some fandoms with complex and sprawling canons may require multiple levels of metatags. Fandoms that do not fit one of the above criteria can be evaluated for a metatag on a case by case basis, focusing on what would be most useful to the majority of its fans. Tag Wranglers are fans of these canons as well and may base their decisions on a variety of factors such as whether the fan base generally considers these separate canons as distinct, or to what extent fans of different adaptations overlap.

Existing metatags, such as Star Wars – All Media Types or Marvel will not be required to match these rules or formats. These formats and guidelines will be applied to newly created fandom tags or existing tags if Tag Wranglers or users request changes.

In addition to determining when a metatag may be created, Tag Wranglers have also identified some circumstances where a metatag would not be beneficial to the majority of fans and therefore these fandoms will be canonized separately, not linked by a metatag. These are generally fandoms that are not closely related, such as:

• Fandoms which are only connected by minor crossover events
• Fandoms which share a performer, director, or creator/creative team but are not related through a shared continuity, shared characters, or other shared elements

You can find the full list of situations where Tag Wranglers decided a metatag would not be beneficial in the Metatag Wrangling Guidelines.

Fandom merging guidelines

Similar to determining which existing tags should have a metatag and don’t currently, existing tags that have multiple adaptations merged together into one fandom tag may instead canonize their adaptations and subtag them to a metatag if they meet the guidelines above for when to create a metatag. These will also be handled on a case by case basis based on what is most appropriate for the fandom.

Finally, Tag Wranglers reviewed their guidelines on when to merge fandom tags for two related adaptations into one shared fandom tag (e.g. fandom tags like Naruto (Anime & Manga)), partially in relation to anime and manga fandoms. Going forward, when requested by users and/or Tag Wranglers, fandom tags for nearly identical adaptations may be merged if it is determined that this will be what is most useful to AO3 users. These requests will always be examined on a case by case basis.

Canonizing adaptations separately will remain the default, as it’s much easier to merge later if appropriate than it is to separate them. This is particularly true in the case of ongoing canons where it’s highly possible that the adaptations may diverge in plot, character development, etc.

Changes in progress

As part of these guideline updates, we’ve already begun processing some commonly requested metatag and fandom changes. The below list represents a small sample of changes that we’ve already made in response to requests from Tag Wranglers and users. This is not a comprehensive list of every change we have made or will make, but these examples show how the above changes may look in practice.

Metatag change examples

• 魔道祖师 – 墨香铜臭 | Modao Zushi – Moxiang Tongxiu & Related Fandoms has been made a canonical metatag, with the following fandoms subtagged:
  • 魔道祖师 | Módào Zǔshī (Audio Drama)
  • 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
  • 魔道祖师 | Módào Zǔshī (Cartoon)
  • 魔道祖师 – 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī – Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
  • 陈情令之生魂 | The Living Dead (2019)
  • 乱魄 | Fatal Journey (2020)
  • 魔道祖师Q | Módào Zǔshī Q (Cartoon)
  • 魔道祖师 | Módào Zǔshī (Webcomic)
• Good Omens – All Media Types has been made a canonical metatag, with the following fandoms subtagged:
  • Good Omens (Graphic Novel)
  • Good Omens (Movie Concept 1992)
  • Good Omens (Radio)
  • Good Omens (TV)
  • Good Omens – Hare/Moody/Larnach
  • Good Omens – Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

Fandom merging examples

• 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Anime) and 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Manga) have been merged into 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Anime & Manga).
• 天官赐福 | Heaven Official’s Blessing (Cartoon), 天官赐福 | Heaven Official’s Blessing (Webcomic), and 天官赐福 – 墨香铜臭 | Tiān Guān Cì Fú – Mòxiāng Tóngxiù have been merged into 天官赐福 – 墨香铜臭 | Tian Guan Ci Fu | Heaven Official’s Blessing – Moxiang Tongxiu.

Other fandoms that have recently been updated to merge separate medias, add a metatag, and/or split out subtags to form a new fandom tree include: How to Train Your Dragon, KonoSuba, A Certain Magical Index, Uma Musume, Nine Worlds Series – Victoria Goddard, Monogatari Series – Nisio Isin, and Solo Leveling.

The above changes are already live on AO3, and others will be made in the coming days as wranglers and users request changes to their fandom’s structure in connection with this change.

Have questions or want to request a metatag change?

You can find these specific guideline updates on our Metatag and Fandom Wrangling Guideline pages. As mentioned above, other fandoms may already be discussing making changes. These discussions will also include requests from users who’ve previously submitted feedback to Support. If you have submitted a request within the past six months asking for a metatag or merger to be considered, there is no need to submit another request at this time as your request is already being reviewed.

For more information about AO3’s tag system generally, check out the Tags FAQ. To learn more about Tag Wrangling, refer to the Tag Wrangler position description or the committee description.

If you have questions about specific tags, want to request a change to your fandom’s metatag, or have other questions about this change, please contact Support instead of leaving a comment on this post. Support handles questions and requests related to how tags are sorted and connected in addition to providing technical support to AO3’s users.​

Do not contact Support if the tags you wish to ask about are less than one month old. Please give Tag Wranglers time to handle new tags and wait to request changes until at least one month after a tag’s first use.

Finally, while we know the majority of users find having a metatag helpful, we are aware that not everyone agrees with this due to the limits it creates on filtering. As such, we wanted to provide some advice on how to filter out works tagged with the metatag, if you wish to. Please select “How to exclude works tagged with a metatag” below to expand the instructions on excluding works tagged with a metatag.

https://www.transformativeworks.org/changes-to-fandom-metatag-wrangling-guidelines/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=277276