PSA: bot comments are taking over ao3

The above examples have been provided with the authors' permission to demonstrate what these look like.

Basic rundown:

• They are all 3 sentences long
• Perfect grammar, capitalization, and punctuation
• Like absolutely flawless English teacher-style writing with only a single exclamation mark, ever
• No mentions whatsoever of character names, settings, situations, or anything that could be tied to the story
• The usernames may be identical to people who exist on ao3, but the name is not clickable, and no profile is associated with it EXCEPT when you directly search for that name. What this means: the comments come from an unregistered (not logged in) reader, bots scrape the site for real usernames, attach that to the comment, and post

Please spread the word about this so authors can filter comments and report them accordingly

There has been some speculation about why this is happening at all, and the best guess is that this is a feature that AI-training story-scraping tools are implementing to try and make their browsing traffic look legitimate

Whales are cool as fuck and im sick of them being out in the ocean where I can’t see them

whales: [exist]

sci-fi authors: clearly they belong in their natural habitat...

The jellyfish will fight them

It's not "everyone" acting like it's normal. The majority of people know something's wrong they just don't have the tools to fix it. Maybe a plurality don't know that the problem is capitalism, they blame it on something else, but they're still aware there's a problem. "Everyone" is just too exhausted from working 4 jobs, 50 hours a week to scream into the void in their spare time.

ALT

guess I gotta pull out this bad boy again huh

Secret garden

Flowers growing out of the pavement.

Hold it hold it hold it

I'm no artist

But please imagine, if you will, Hobie and Pavitr like this

I need more sleepy punks and you know they would

Eepy punk is literally my aesthetic

Saying "voting doesn't matter" might reach your younger peers online but it certainly hasn't reached Clangus Hargbarg who was part of the kkk in 1951 and still sends in his ballot. He hasn't missed a one.

Hey you guys, I know we had the French-Indian war, native battles, slave uprisings, worker strikes, the entire civil rights movement, and A.I.M and a movement for disability and everyone else who wasn't inherently born with rights (??) In the USA... But I guess that was only because we weren't voting hard enough. Like if we had voted harder things wouldn't have come to that.

Us being oppressed is the natural order of things and we gotta vote to stop being oppressed otherwise they don't know we don't like it. They keep forgetting and that's not their fault!

So just beg harder and louder ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ try to get cishet abled white people to not only care about you and see you as a person but to also agree you should have rights and then get them to work towards that by taking action through voting for your rights.

Once a year.

Yeah :3

In summary just rely on a bunch of privileged people and white supremacists to care enough to change things . That's 100% worked out for every marginalized group that's ever relied on systems white men created (only in my dreams but that's neither here or there).

Voting matters, you're so right. My bad. Won't step out of line by saying otherwise again.

I think there’s a middle ground here. I will be abundantly clear: voting is not the way systemic change occurs. Systemic change is built on the blood, sweat, and tears of those who came before us. Disorder is necessary for change in a system that was initially designed to only be accessible to the rich white man.

That being said, still vote. I’d much rather we vote someone like Biden into office than Trump. It’s important to vote people into office who are less likely to literally kill us. People like Marjorie Taylor Green (who is quite literally a white supremacist conspiracy theorist) only achieve power because they have a cult following that will bend over backwards to vote them into office. Obviously, the left doesn’t have that. The further left you lean, the less likely it becomes that there is any candidate on the market who stands for your beliefs. But while voting is not the catalyst for positive change, I refuse to roll over and let them win.

Idk I think if I say "human rights are basic requirement that we should have. we should do something to make that happen since voting hardly works" and the general response is immediate pushback and victim blaming and telling me how unrealistic that is then maybe my rock bottom expectations aren't the problem.

maybe it's the very privileged members of the society we live in who keep telling people like me to shut up and vote because they're more focused on patting themselves on the back for getting a dem in office than they are about making sure that dem actually does anything.

It's been almost 4 years. Where is the pressure on Biden to lean left? Where were the protests when Roe v Wade fell? When he went back on his student loan promise? When he didn't codify Roe v Wade after he promised?

Y'all want us to vote and shut the fuck up and that became abundantly clear when they got their "normal" back with Biden.

Fuck the rest of us, right?

Dont wanna let them win?

Refuse to let them win then. Quit letting them. Quit voting for parties that have poisoned our air, water, earth, and kids on purpose. Don't keep granting them power. Take it from them. How else do you intend to make them lose? Do you really think kissing their feet and just being grateful they aren't worse is how progress happens?

Cuz it sounds like something abuse victims say when they're in survival mode.

Maybe it's time to leave your shitty Uncle Sam's house. You don't get out of survival mode by learning to live with your predators.

You fucking leave.

And if they won't then you make them because you deserve better and your safety is worth fighting for even if you have to take a couple hits to get it at first.

That's the only thing that's ever worked before. Like you said. Voting doesn't bring about systemic change. Action does. Blood, sweat, and tears.

Okay, WOW.

Someday I would love to have the confidence you displayed in this Gish gallop.

1) you’re not being victim-blamed. You’re being told that it’s easier to fight when the people you’re fighting aren’t actively trying to murder most of the country, which is true. Your statements suggest to me you’re Native, and you’re 100% correct that the way Natives get treated is absolutely shameful. But when you’ve got Biden signing a law mandating that all reservations should have access to electricity, and the right trying to make it legal to babysnatch from Natives by overturning the IWCA (which thank G-d they failed at)…like one is taking bare minimum steps toward helping and the other is actively trying to commit genocide. Nobody is saying Biden is doing enough for Natives, and if they are they’re at best misinformed. But while we’re working on the kind of systemic change that voting will not provide, it’s helpful to not be catapulting further into a hellhole. I’d also point out that your examples of places where voting wouldn’t help you are all from times and places where Natives couldn’t vote, so yeah, fighting back was the option you had and that was it. But like, down here in Arizona we elected a Native to our state House in 2020, and it has absolutely changed things for the Navajo and Apache in our state. Getting greater political representation would absolutely help you, even if it can’t fix everything.

2) People are absolutely pushing on Biden to lean left. If you were a member of grassroots political groups, you’d definitely know that. Here’s the thing: if you spend a lot of time on Tumblr, you probably get the idea that almost everyone cares about politics. That isn’t true. For many people on both sides, getting their “I voted” sticker every four years is the extent of their involvement. If you want to see political action, you have to go where it’s happening.

3) I have to believe you’re speaking from a place of anger when you ask “where were the protests when Roe fell.” They were EVERYWHERE. And yes, we’re still trying to fix stuff. Unfortunately it’s way quicker, easier, and more dramatic to fix than to break.

4) literally just yesterday you saw six Republicans destroy the promise Biden made about student loans. And his immediate response was “I have a plan B.” He absolutely did what he promised. It was immediately destroyed by Republicans.

5) Biden did indeed say that Roe should be codified into law (actually he said “women’s reproductive rights,” which covers more than Roe, but Roe is in there so we’ll call this accurate). But you’re incorrect in stating he didn’t try to make this happen. The bill stalled in the Senate due to, you guessed it, the fucking Republicans. You may be wondering why Biden doesn’t just make an executive order, and the answer is that executive orders deal with the function of the federal government. Biden can’t just say “and now abortion is legal everywhere because I said so.” He doesn’t have the power to do that. And this is a feature, not a bug, which is most easily explained by pointing out that Trump actively wanted, and tried to provoke, a nuclear war. If executive orders allowed the president to do anything they wanted, we’d all be living in the Fallout franchise right now. Biden tried. And once again, Republicans made him fail.

6) I don’t want you to shut up. I suspect very few people on the true left (not neoliberals, fuck them, I mean actual progressives) want you to shut up. What we are asking for is that you help us get a government that can move us in the right direction. No, it’s not enough. But having a tailwind helps when you’ve got a race to run. Trump is currently saying if he gets back in office he’ll pass laws making it a death-penalty crime to be “liberal or communist.” Which he defines as “anyone who didn’t vote for him.” You can probably see why not allowing that to come to pass is important.

7) “quit voting” is a sure way to get the party that wants you white or dead in power. And again: there’s one party pushing for better environmentalism, children’s rights, and Native rights, and one that wants everyone concerned with those things to die. They are not the same. No, Biden isn’t perfect. But he isn’t doing basically anything you claim.

You’re angry, scared, and frustrated, and I get it. Trust me, I’m in a similar boat. The right wants me dead too. But what you are calling for will not solve anything. It will make things worse. I would like to help fight for your rights. Please don’t make it harder to do so.

I’m happy to elaborate on any of this. And if you’re in Arizona I’m also happy to direct you toward Native grassroots movements here. If you’re elsewhere, your tribal elders or Friendship Center should be able to provide those resources to you. And you can contact ActBlue from anywhere to hook into those groups, as well. But refusing to vote won’t make the election not happen, it just means the winner will come from a smaller pool of votes. And if the majority of those votes come from Festus who hasn’t missed a vote in 50 years, there is a much, MUCH higher chance you and I will both be dead by 2026.

Hi! Maybe I can help be a middle ground here, white person to (presumed, feel free to correct) white person?

Shut.

Ssshut up.

Listen to what people are telling you. Especially BIPOC voices. Don't respond. Re-read it. Chew on your thoughts before you spit them out.

I can't speak for decolonize-the-left and they're POV, but I feel it may be similar to how I find myself caring less and less about who is in office.

Firstly, because it's not the person that's the problem, it's the office itself. Your mental framing is so small and congested with the circus of politics that you don't realize the entire building is rotting, decayed, and has been running off of stolen time since it's inception

Secondly, it does not matter who wins any elections because the ruling class has always been on the side of the ruling class. See behind the curtains there's Biden telling his owners that "nothing with fundamentally change." Unfortunately, fundamental change is necessary if we're ever going to change the world to be more livable. Just because we can them CEOs now doesn't mean they are any less terrible than nobility of empires past, sucking the world dry until there's a fraction of a fraction of life left for the rest of us. You need to snap out of the illusion and see that no one is coming to save you. All we have is each other, our community, and that means getting over the politics sport and give a shit about the people here and now.

You cannot vote out fascism. Collective action and listening to the people that have lived on this continent for tens of thousands of years is a better way forward than being disappointed year after year while we all burn to a crisp waiting for the next election and just, like, crossing our fingers that this time will be different, you'll see!!

Or, y'know, don't. I'm not your parent.

Okay.

So tell me what you plan to do.

Give me a timetable.

Because it seems to me all these “collective action! Viva La revolution!” types yell a lot about how they’re totally gonna change things, but they can’t even be bothered to have a coherent list of things that need to be done, much less to actually do them.

My random unsubstantiated hypothesis of the day: the popularity of "stim" videos, fidget toys, and other things like that is a warning sign that something's Deeply Wrong with our world.

Don't freak out. I am autistic. These things are not bad. However, can we just...take a second to notice how weird it is that there are entire social media accounts full of 10-second videos of things making crunching noises, people squishing slime in their hands, and objects clacking together, and that enjoying them is mainstream and normal?

It seems that nowadays, almost everyone exhibits sensory-seeking behavior, when just a decade ago, the idea of anyone having "sensory needs" was mostly obscure. It is a mainstream Thing to "crave" certain textures or repetitive sounds.

What's even weirder, is that it's not just that "stim" content is mainstream; the way everything on the internet is filmed seems to look more like "stim" content. TikToks frequently have a sensory-detail-oriented style that is highly unusual in older online content, honing in on the tactile, visual and auditory characteristics of whatever it's showing, whether that's an eye shadow palette or a cabin in a forest.

When an "influencer" markets their makeup brand, they film videos that almost...highlight that it's a physical substance that can be smudged and smeared around. Online models don't just wear clothes they're advertising, they run their hands over them and make the fabric swish and ripple.

I think this can be seen as a symptom of something wrong with the physical world we live in. I think that almost everyone is chronically understimulated.

Spending time alone in the forest has convinced me of this. The sensory world of a forest is not only much richer than any indoor environment, it is abundant with the sorts of sensations that people seem to "crave" chronically, and the more I've noticed and specifically focused on this, the more I've noticed that the "modern" human's surroundings are incredibly flat in what they offer to the senses.

First of all, forests are constantly permeated with a very soft wash of background noise that is now often absent in the indoor world. The sound of wind through trees has a physiological effect you can FEEL. It's always been a Thing that people are relaxed by white noise, which leads to us being put at ease by the ambient hum of air conditioning units, refrigerators and fans. But now, technology has become much more silent, and it's not at all out of place to hypothesize that environments without "ambient" white noise are detrimental to us.

Furthermore, a forest's ambience is full of rhythmic and melodic elements, whereas "indoor" sounds are often harsh, flat and irregular.

Secondly: the crunch. This is actually one of the most notably missing aspects of the indoor sensory world. Humans, when given access to crunchable things, will crunch them. And in a forest, crunchy things are everywhere. Bark, twigs and dry leaves have crisp and brittle qualities that only a few man-made objects have, and they are different with every type of plant and tree.

Most humans aren't in a lot of contact with things that are "destroyable" either, things you can toy with and tear to little bits in your hands. I think virtually everyone has restlessly torn up a scrap of paper or split a blade of grass with their thumbnail; it's a cliche. And since fidget toys in classrooms are becoming a subject of debate, I think it pays to remember that the vast majority of your ancestors learned everything they knew with a thousand "fidget toys" within arm's reach.

And there is of course mud, and clay, and dirt, and wet sand. I'm 100% serious, squishing mud and clay is vital to the human brain. Why do you think Play-Doh is such a staple elementary school toy. Why do you think mud is the universal cliche thing kids play in for fun. It's such a common "stim" category for a reason.

I could go on and on. It's insane how unstimulating most environments humans spend time in are. And this definitely contributes to ecological illiteracy, because people aren't prepared to comprehend how detailed the natural world is. There are dozens of species of fireflies in the United States, and thousands of species of moths. If you don't put herbicides on your lawn, there are likely at least 20 species of plant in a single square meter of it. I've counted at least 15 species of grass alone in my yard.

Would it be overreach to suggest that some vital perceptive abilities are just not fully developing in today's human? Like. I had to TEACH myself to be able, literally able, to perceive details of living things that were below a certain size, even though my eyes could detect those details, because I just wasn't accustomed to paying attention to things that small. I think something...happens when almost all the objects you interact with daily are human-made.

The people that think ADHD is caused by kids' brains being exposed to "too much stuff" by Electronic Devices...do not go outside, because spending a few minutes in a natural environment has more stimuli in it than a few hours of That Damn Phone.

A patch of tree bark the size of my phone's screen has more going on than my phone can display. When you start photographing lots of living organisms, you run into the strange and brain-shifting reality that your electronic device literally cannot create and store images big enough to show everything you, in real life, may notice about that organism.

This is fascinating! I used to be a big consumer of ASMR videos but I've noticed my desire for them decrease immensely since January.

Prior to 2022 I was living in a basement apartment, in a suburb, in a large town. In September I moved to the coast, in January I moved into my current apartment with 4 large windows and less than a mile from the ocean.

In front of my house is a grass patch I've let go and fill up with wild flowers, behind the property I live on it is wooded and generally speaking the weather here is far more tempestuous than it was in my old home.

Wind is a daily reality and creates so much sensation and noise. Not to mention I go to the beach weekly. Rarely for long and in winter it's too cold to leave my car but the roar of the ocean, the smell of it, the sight, these are all stimulating in a way that no slime or fidget spinner could ever even approach.

I think op is on to something here and I'd love to see it studied

Yes.

This is why I walk down to the corner coffee shop every morning, weather permitting and even sometimes if it isn't great.

Yes, Financial And Diet Related Advice Givers, you are correct that I do not NEED a latte every day. However, much like a pet dog, I DO need a walk and things to look at.

And lattes taste good. So fuck you.

I think I’d also want to add in that, in addition to sensory-seeking, another major component of stims is self-soothing behaviour.

A large chunk of “symptoms” for neurodivergent (esp adhd/autistic) people are, very specifically, symptoms of stressed out neurodivergent people: neurotypical people do many of the same things when they’re stressed, but since the environment has been made with them in mind, the idea is that they’re not stressed out by being in it

however, since many people ARE very stressed out because of how inhospitable cities/western civilization/capitalism/etc is, regardless of neurotype, it’d make sense that everyone would do more self-soothing behaviour in general

Reblog the writers’ fortune cookie for luck!

Guys I reblogged this and then wrote an 8000 word story I didn’t even have a solid plan for. Reblog this shit.

With this i shall have the power to write 5 words of a google doc!!!!!

@clover-of-promise Quick! Reblog this for 2T!

D.H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley's Lover

metal ⚔️🦈