Fictitious Endeavours

Posted by an

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

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=284823

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 continued to adjust 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:

• All Characters Are Adults
• Anal Hooks
• Anal Prolapse
• Prolapse
• Vaginal Prolapse
• Baby Trapping
• Burping
• Cooking Together
• Coprophagia | Eating Feces
• Feces | Poop
• Cryptic Pregnancy | Character Didn’t Know They Were Pregnant
• Developing Feelings
• Drug-Induced Heat
• Forced Heat
• Induced Heat
• Heat Suppressants
• Scent Blockers
• Implied/Referenced Suicide Attempts
• Inferiority Complex
• Sexual Trauma
• Sports Injuries
• Stubbornness
• TBI | Traumatic Brain Injury

Subtag/Metatag Revisions

Additionally, we continued to adjust 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 – Radio is now a subtag of Radio
• Power Bottom is now a subtag of Bottoming
• Service Top is now a subtag of Topping
• Corsetry has been removed as a subtag from Clothing Kink
• Latino Character has been removed as a subtag from Hispanic Character

In Conclusion

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-may-2026/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=284823

Posted by an

https://www.transformativeworks.org/otw-signal-may-2026/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=284817

Every month in OTW Signal, we take a look at stories that connect to the OTW’s mission and projects, including issues related to legal matters, technology, academia, fannish history and preservation issues of fandom, fan culture, and transformative works.

In the News

The Archive of Our Own (AO3) has officially exited open beta! Following the OTW’s April 2 announcement, numerous outlets recapped the news, highlighting this milestone and its significance.

Archive of Our Own, widely known as AO3, has officially come out of beta after 17 years, closing a long chapter in the history of one of the internet’s most popular fan fiction websites. The platform first launched in open beta in 2009 under the nonprofit Organization for Transformative Works. Back then, it was a much smaller space, with just 347 registered accounts and 6,598 fan-created works. – The Economic Times

In [the] announcement, the team reminisced about its early days and how volunteers had to manually send out invitations to prospective writers. – Engadget

Portalitc/Europa Press, via Notimérica, summarized AO3’s growth since its 2009 launch: “From the 347 accounts they had at the beginning, in February [2026] they reached 10 million registered users and 17 million published fanworks” (translated from Spanish). Mezha noted that “since then, the platform has undergone many changes and received many new features”. Geo News elaborated:

During the beta era, the platform introduced features like a tagging system and downloads in multiple formats, including EPUB, MOBI, PDF, and more. … Moreover, AO3 also improved its privacy setting[s], enabling creators to [limit] access [to their works], and introduced “Orphaning”, which lets authors leave their work online even after deleting their account.

Many articles also outlined what this change means for users—and for the site itself.

Even though the website has only just exited open beta, it has been stable for a long time. Users will not see huge changes, but the team also promised that it will not stop improving the fan fiction portal. It says its contributors and volunteers will continue tweaking the website, and it also continues to welcome anybody who has coding knowledge to contribute their time. – Engadget

AO3 users can see exactly what [issues] coders are [working on] in an open source project on Jira. A list of all the bugs and features being worked on is posted there. – Mezha

NewsBytes observed that “one of the most noticeable changes after AO3’s exit from beta is the removal of the small “beta” label from the AO3 logo at the top of the platform.” An April Fools’ Day prank in which the OTW temporarily replaced the “beta” label with “omega” served as an “endearing goodbye,” wrote Geo News. The Economic Times noted the bittersweet edge of the change: “For many users, the word ‘beta’ had become almost inseparable from AO3’s identity.”

Reflecting on AO3’s journey through beta, The Economic Times continued:

The nonprofit site has grown from a small volunteer-driven archive into one of the internet’s most beloved creative communities. While the “beta” tag is gone, the spirit of constant improvement remains very much intact. … The [OTW’s] announcement emphasized that the change should not be seen as an endpoint. Instead, it reflects confidence in the site’s long-term stability while preserving its commitment to growth. For a platform built by fans for fans, this moment feels less like an ending and more like the beginning of its next era.

Al-Wafd described the milestone as a triumph:

AO3’s exit from beta represents a victory for the cooperatively built and community-controlled internet. It is a reminder that the platforms that users build for themselves can survive and flourish for decades, achieve success beyond their founders’ wildest expectations, and provide a safe haven for human creativity in its most interactive form (translated from Arabic).

To everyone who has been part of this journey—and to those just joining—thank you. Once again, welcome to Post-Beta AO3!

OTW Tips

Earlier this month, the OTW participated in World Password Day by sharing some tips on keeping your AO3 account secure. Here’s a quick recap of best practices to protect yourself on AO3 and others sites:

• Ensure your passwords are strong and unique (your AO3 password can now be up to 72 characters long)
• Regularly check haveibeenpwned.com to see if your passwords or email addresses have appeared in known data breaches
• Avoid reusing the same password for multiple accounts (using a password manager will help you set unique passwords without worrying about forgetting them)

For more information on how to protect your AO3 account and to learn about the new features we’ve introduced to make AO3 accounts more secure, check out our World Password Day post!

We want your suggestions for the next OTW Signal post! If you know of an essay, video, article, podcast, or news story you think we should know about, send us a link. We are looking for content in all languages! Submitting a link doesn’t guarantee that it will be included in an OTW post, and inclusion of a link doesn’t mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

https://www.transformativeworks.org/otw-signal-may-2026/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=284817