FAQ: When Will We Find Out about Uploading for Yuletide 2009?

[elynross]

And the answer is...not quite yet. There's still a bit of testing and migrating of tags and other information that has to happen before the AO3 is ready for us

Comments

[entropy_house]

I'm kinda hesitant about this for reasons of exposure. On LJ I feel reasonably invisible, but I have seen names harvested from large fan archives and put up in a place I am REALLY not comfortable with as it exists to publicize & make fanficcers more easily identified. For this reason I had decided not to join AO3.

I would not have signed up for Yuletide if I'd known I was going to be required to post to AO3. It's just too... large and public. I'm timid. I do not have have the nerve to fight copyright battles.

Is there any way I can write my story & have it posted with a sort of... anonymous name without giving OT3 any information that could lead to me being outed?

[bridgetmc]

I don't know if this is allowed for Yuletide, but AO3 in general allows you to flock fics so only those with AO3 accounts can read said fics (as the current fic I'm reading now is currently flocked). And I believe there are plans to give authors the option to minimize searches on Google for specific fic, though that wouldn't be in effect until after Yuletide, or at least it's being considered.

Also, what was mentioned above.

[entropy_house]

I don't think that would be allowed, or fair if it was allowed, for Yuletide. I just need a disconnected new pseud to use. I don't know if the YT mods have any way of allowing that.

[bridgetmc]

(I'm not a mod for Yuletide and I only do support volunteer for AO3, so fair warning)

Since you currently don't have an AO3 account, when the invites come, you can choose a username completely disconnected from whatever psueds you currently go with. And then let the Yuletide mods know that you aren't defaulting and you have a new name since you're not signing up under the name you signed up with. I think that should be okay, but again, not a mod.

[entropy_house]

*nods* I hope I could do it that way, that would be very good for me, if it's ok for the Yuletiders. Thank you for your input.

[miss_prince]

The situation as I understand it:

1. You have signed up for Yuletide under a name you don't want to be seen on a large archive like AO3.
2. When sign-ups are ready to open, all Yuletide participants will be automatically signed up for AO3 under the name they used as a Yuletide sign-up
3. While pseudonyms are possible, they do not conceal the account name.
4. At this time, it is not possible for users to change their own account name.

Seems like the only possible solutions are 1. drop out, which would be a total shame, or 2. find a way (beg the mods until they give in?) to get your account signed up under a different name than you signed up for Yuletide with. It might take some manual work (and re-emailing your writer so they know about the name change, perhaps), but it seems pretty doable to me (who does not actually know or control anything so don't take my word for it).

[entropy_house]

I'm hoping that #2 is not graven in stone- that I get sent a blank invite & allowed to put whatever name I choose on it & then I can tell the Yuletide mods.

If that's not the case, I think I would try asking a proxy uploader to put it up under some new name, which I would then tell the Yuletide mods.

I don't expect the Yuletide mods to actually be able to connect the two, & I'll prob. be banned from future participation as I'll be listed as defaulting, but then, since I don't wanna be on AO3, I doubt I'd try to participate again. I just don't want to let down my recipient.

[miss_prince]

You could always e-mail your recipient the story if things get really crazy.

I feel bad for the folks this is causing distress.

[entropy_house]

I can't even directly contact my recipient- I've got no contact information.

Oh, well... It'll all work out somehow.

But I must admit, I'm having my doubts that AO3 is even going to be ready for Yuletide uploading in time.

[elynross]

One more comment: my assumption is that since the link is being made through the email address, which isn't public on the AO3, it won't matter what username you decide to use, it will still be tied for us to Yuletide, for purposes of checking if you've uploaded a story. So, I hope that what you'll be able to do is get your invite, create your account with whatever username will make you most comfortable, and change the name on your Yuletide stories for previous years, so that neither your pseud nor the qualifying username will be the name you'd rather not have in the AO3.

I say assumption because I generally leave the technical side of things to astolat, who is madly coding right now and hence not as available to explain all the details yet. *g*

[entropy_house]

*fingers crossed* I hope your assumption is correct. I always make life more complicated for myself than it need be. :^)

[elynross]

I am also a champion in that regard! *g* Just try not to stress yourself out too much before we all know the actual details!

[zebra_in_dream]

Although you should remember that the internet never forgets, so somebody searching for your stories might find the old user name or somebody who knows your old user name might find the stories under the new user name and accuse you of plagiarizing.

[entropy_house]

*nods* I'm not expecting invisibility- if you're on the net at all you CAN be found. I just want to have a disconnect so it'd require more effort. My sign-up name is way too easy.

[snowishness]

I don't think #2 can be set in stone, because some of us already have AO3 accounts, and there has to be a way to connect those, right?

[elynross]

It looks like it all hinges on the email addresses, so if you already have an account, using that email, you'll be given notification to "claim" your Yuletide stories. And it seems likely there will be an option for if you used different emails, as well.