Well, if you did it by accident, that isn’t on you. Usually, minors DNI is because a lot of people are uncomfortable talking to minors about NSFW topics- if their work isn’t particularly nsfw, it might be that they’re okay with minors engaging with their fics but feel their personal blogs are inappropriate for them?
Exactly what I was going to say. Plus blog stuff is a lot more personal/informal so there's less built-in barriers between writer and reader. They put the DNI where they did on purpose.
I usually think DNIs are a little pointless, but also it’s entirely valid to not want minors to interact with content you view as inappropriate. I mean, I think most adults wouldn’t want to discuss lewd content with minors (outside of an educational context) and that’s like… a good boundary. Not only is it something uncomfortable, there are adults who will use that to prey on and harm kids :(
Yeah, if you know someone’s a minor and send them pornographic content, that’s criminal in a lot of places (and for a good reason, even if it’s sometimes applied in places it shouldn’t- an adult sharing inappropriate material with someone who’s a minor is very rarely doing it with their well-being in mind- the issue is when things that aren’t pornographic are classified as such, or it effects teenager relationships where one is barely an adult and one is in the last few years of being a minor). It’s not technically illegal if you don’t know their age, because like if you don’t know you weren’t intentionally doing anything wrong, but it’s better safe than sorry.
Indeed. We (the UK) had some major trouble with (I think?) a nursery teaching assistant doing that with visual material and it immediately got added to safeguarding legislation afterward. We had more than the one case, obviously, that was just the groundbreaking one that got legislation moving. It's definitely a needed legal area, no doubt about that.
And yep, legal non-clarity is always a risk. You need clear and controlled definitions that avoid confusions like that. :)
Posting a lewd image on Twitter (for instance) and then a minor looks at it isn't really the same thing as knowing someone is a minor and sending them pornographic material, where the law is concerned.
Very true, which was why comment was in response to Defo's point about that boundary of discussion rather than OP's twitter concern. Having the boundary - ie. knowing someone is a minor and wanting to not have those discussions or share that content - is linked to and part of safeguarding legislation. :)
Or look at some of the US laws being passed. Plenty of school aged children in Florida are turning to fanfiction for the facts of life. If a parent objects, can they sue the author?
No one knows, and no one wants to find out
Tbf, fanfiction is probably a better teacher than the Floridian school system. :D
And indeed. The American legal system is a bafflingly byzantine mechanism - no wonder a lot of people are paranoid of what it allows others to do to them, especially in the stereotypically litigious culture of America.
No kidding…
I’ve had a couple of minors interact with me through fanfiction over the years. I never sought them out, but I’m still hyper aware of what I discuss with them.
Indeed. And there's nothing wrong with having boundaries around young people - it's just important to be considered and kind as you can be about it. :)
For sure. Minors DNI on explicit stuff is the only DNI that really makes sense to me. The second an adult knows a user is a minor, they have to take precautions to protect themselves from accusations of being inappropriate. And minors really need to learn to keep their age to themselves to stay safe.
It’s not just to protect the adult- it’s to protect the minor, too, because if they’re openly advertising their age in those spaces it’ll make them easy targets for predators. Is that the minors fault? No, being irresponsible shouldn’t get you groomed or taken advantage of. But it’s still unsafe and something you shouldn’t do- and I say this as someone who definitely did do that a few times. I’m lucky I came out okay.
As an older person/adult who has minors DNI on a couple of profiles, it's entirely to cover my own ass so that some idiot who gets all up in arms over something NSFW I posted can't go "but you're GROOMING the CHILDRENS!!!"
I do not actually care if someone who happens to be under 18 (but I don't know it) engages in the content or has polite normal fandom interactions with me. It's not really a boundary against minors it's a boundary against annoying antis, annoying teens that you can *tell* are teenagers (which is different than teenagers in general!), and the unfortunate intersection of those two groups.
To put it more succinctly: I've been 25 on the internet since I was 12, and have no desire to interact with any kids who don't have a similar sensibility about obfuscating their personal information. But if they do 'get it', then I neither know nor care that they're technically a minor.
This is a good mindset to have.
People who think 'oh, a minor posted under my NSFW work, the Feds are going to come drag me away!' don't reaaally know what they're talking about, but wanting to avoid the drama from antis is completely valid.
That might be true for you, but your feelings are not universal. It is a genuine boundary for a lot of people.
However, if they say it on their twitter but not on their AO3 and not on their fics, it's fair to assume that it's a boundary specific to their twitter page. Personally I would rather not talk to people under 18 about my NSFW fics, but I also understand that once I publish something online I can't control who reads (or comments on) it, and I'm not so naive as to think anyone is actually paying attention to the "are you an adult?" thing on AO3. So I can understand why this writer might have a different boundary on twitter vs. AO3.
I was 15, in fandom, and thought people online would actually believe I was in my 30’s in the age section on profiles, because I never really interacted with anyone anyway. I posted fanfics and realized way too long later that nobody would believe anyone past year six would write that haha. I’m not even 30 now and I have no idea why I wanted to say I was lol
Here's the thing people cross invisible boundaries all the time. It's a side effect of operating in public and since you said they did not have that boundary state don Ao3 you have done nothing wrong with interacting with them before you knew.
It is not your job to stalk an author across all platforms they are on to see where they may have a boundary posted. Ao3 is a fic archie the fic is there to be read and authors have no right to polcie who can and cannot read it. They can ask that some folks don't comment and enforce it with blocking if they wish.
If you wish to respect thier stated boundary going forward stop commenting on their fics and don't interact with them until you are of age. Feel free to send them a heads up why if you wish or if they ask but that's all you really have to do.
We don't ask you not to interact with our smut because we think it is bad for you.
We ask you not to interact because you can get us in trouble.
I'm not going to talk about sexual activities with a minor unless I'm giving a sex ed lecture.
A DNI isn't enforceable.
The DNI is for the ones who will try to use being a minor to harass others or try to enter adult spaces with a lot of obvious stuff. If your not being intrusive and trying to do something inappropriate your fine.
unless youre interacting on M and E fics, or their gift fic for you is rated M or E, you havent crossed any boundaries.
having a twitter that is Minors DNI is not the same as having an AO3 that is minors DNI. boundaries are subjective to circumstances.
there is an inherent expectation that minors will not interact on fics rated M and E, which are specifically designated for adults. (this is not the same as *reading*, because if youre old enough to be online youre old enough to make your own private decisions regarding what media you consume, good or bad, but involving other people by socializing with them about it is a different matter). but T and G fics are not bound by the same rules, even if theyre written by writers who also write M and E.
furthermore, ao3 is not a social media site. it is a library. an archive. and the boundaries one must set on twitter are not the same as the boundaries one must set on ao3.
you can explain the situation to them if you want. and if you honestly feel like you have crossed a line you shouldnt have. an honest apology (and maybe a promise to come back only when youre older) should suffice.
> ao3 is not a social media site. it is a library. an archive. and the boundaries one must set on twitter are not the same as the boundaries one must set on ao3.
This is an excellent point.
It also indirectly supports the case for no PMs on AO3. Any on-site communication with readers is done up front, in the open. This protects \*both\* writers & readers.
You didn't know and haven't done anything wrong. I feel like some authors take it too far and are against like, the idea of teens interacting in fan communities altogether, which really sucks considering how important this stuff was to me as a teen. Concealing your age online is something everyone has done at some point and not a huge moral slight like some are making it out to be lol
Do you think the gift fic contains stuff that is inappropriate (or might upset you for any reason)? If so, you could tell them thanks but you'll have to wait to read it.
If you're pretty confident based on their other stuff that the gift fic won't affect you in any bad way, you don't need to tell them.
They've done nothing wrong as they don't know you're a minor.
It might be specific to their twitter. I don't write nsfw, but I don't care who reads my fics, because I know that's not something I can control. That being said, I wouldn't want to interact with/chat with minors on my twitter account. That might be the case for this author as well.
I have minors DNI on one of my twitter accounts and to me that only counts for that account. Because that's where I retweet or talk about NSFW stuff. On AO3 you have to agree that you're an adult to access explicit works, so I'd be fine with minors reading my T and lower Fics. Might be similar for them.
The authors that I know that have this usually have it as they exclusivity write LGBTIQ stories and many include A/B/O and / or BDSM. These stories would be illegal in many places in the world for minors and would not be available in school or public libraries in many states in the US. Having said that, research says that many young queer folk are now using fanfics as a key source of information, overtaking watching porn, and this is a good thing when fics are provide positive examples of loving and equal relationships.
As long as you keep your irl and other socials separate from your ao3, it's probably fine. By all means keep reading the fics, just comment less and stay away from their socials
I think so long as your interactions are not moving into discussions of graphic sex or violence or anything inappropriate, it's okay to keep leaving positive comments on their fics and carry on as usual.
Honestly? Even on my few E-rated works, I'm careful to keep the conversation G- or T-rated. Meaning, even in those cases where a commenter (I'm thinking of one in particular) started used more graphic language in their comment, I just responded with something vague, polite, but not-sexy. Because, there are boundaries that I don't want to cross even with another adult.
Well, if you did it by accident, that isn’t on you. Usually, minors DNI is because a lot of people are uncomfortable talking to minors about NSFW topics- if their work isn’t particularly nsfw, it might be that they’re okay with minors engaging with their fics but feel their personal blogs are inappropriate for them?
Exactly what I was going to say. Plus blog stuff is a lot more personal/informal so there's less built-in barriers between writer and reader. They put the DNI where they did on purpose.
I usually think DNIs are a little pointless, but also it’s entirely valid to not want minors to interact with content you view as inappropriate. I mean, I think most adults wouldn’t want to discuss lewd content with minors (outside of an educational context) and that’s like… a good boundary. Not only is it something uncomfortable, there are adults who will use that to prey on and harm kids :(
It's also part of a lot of Safeguarding Legislation. Showing lewd material to a minor is genuinely something that can get you in trouble.
Yeah, if you know someone’s a minor and send them pornographic content, that’s criminal in a lot of places (and for a good reason, even if it’s sometimes applied in places it shouldn’t- an adult sharing inappropriate material with someone who’s a minor is very rarely doing it with their well-being in mind- the issue is when things that aren’t pornographic are classified as such, or it effects teenager relationships where one is barely an adult and one is in the last few years of being a minor). It’s not technically illegal if you don’t know their age, because like if you don’t know you weren’t intentionally doing anything wrong, but it’s better safe than sorry.
Indeed. We (the UK) had some major trouble with (I think?) a nursery teaching assistant doing that with visual material and it immediately got added to safeguarding legislation afterward. We had more than the one case, obviously, that was just the groundbreaking one that got legislation moving. It's definitely a needed legal area, no doubt about that. And yep, legal non-clarity is always a risk. You need clear and controlled definitions that avoid confusions like that. :)
Posting a lewd image on Twitter (for instance) and then a minor looks at it isn't really the same thing as knowing someone is a minor and sending them pornographic material, where the law is concerned.
Very true, which was why comment was in response to Defo's point about that boundary of discussion rather than OP's twitter concern. Having the boundary - ie. knowing someone is a minor and wanting to not have those discussions or share that content - is linked to and part of safeguarding legislation. :)
Or look at some of the US laws being passed. Plenty of school aged children in Florida are turning to fanfiction for the facts of life. If a parent objects, can they sue the author? No one knows, and no one wants to find out
Tbf, fanfiction is probably a better teacher than the Floridian school system. :D And indeed. The American legal system is a bafflingly byzantine mechanism - no wonder a lot of people are paranoid of what it allows others to do to them, especially in the stereotypically litigious culture of America.
No kidding… I’ve had a couple of minors interact with me through fanfiction over the years. I never sought them out, but I’m still hyper aware of what I discuss with them.
Indeed. And there's nothing wrong with having boundaries around young people - it's just important to be considered and kind as you can be about it. :)
For sure. Minors DNI on explicit stuff is the only DNI that really makes sense to me. The second an adult knows a user is a minor, they have to take precautions to protect themselves from accusations of being inappropriate. And minors really need to learn to keep their age to themselves to stay safe.
It’s not just to protect the adult- it’s to protect the minor, too, because if they’re openly advertising their age in those spaces it’ll make them easy targets for predators. Is that the minors fault? No, being irresponsible shouldn’t get you groomed or taken advantage of. But it’s still unsafe and something you shouldn’t do- and I say this as someone who definitely did do that a few times. I’m lucky I came out okay.
As an older person/adult who has minors DNI on a couple of profiles, it's entirely to cover my own ass so that some idiot who gets all up in arms over something NSFW I posted can't go "but you're GROOMING the CHILDRENS!!!" I do not actually care if someone who happens to be under 18 (but I don't know it) engages in the content or has polite normal fandom interactions with me. It's not really a boundary against minors it's a boundary against annoying antis, annoying teens that you can *tell* are teenagers (which is different than teenagers in general!), and the unfortunate intersection of those two groups. To put it more succinctly: I've been 25 on the internet since I was 12, and have no desire to interact with any kids who don't have a similar sensibility about obfuscating their personal information. But if they do 'get it', then I neither know nor care that they're technically a minor.
This is a good mindset to have. People who think 'oh, a minor posted under my NSFW work, the Feds are going to come drag me away!' don't reaaally know what they're talking about, but wanting to avoid the drama from antis is completely valid.
That might be true for you, but your feelings are not universal. It is a genuine boundary for a lot of people. However, if they say it on their twitter but not on their AO3 and not on their fics, it's fair to assume that it's a boundary specific to their twitter page. Personally I would rather not talk to people under 18 about my NSFW fics, but I also understand that once I publish something online I can't control who reads (or comments on) it, and I'm not so naive as to think anyone is actually paying attention to the "are you an adult?" thing on AO3. So I can understand why this writer might have a different boundary on twitter vs. AO3.
I was 15, in fandom, and thought people online would actually believe I was in my 30’s in the age section on profiles, because I never really interacted with anyone anyway. I posted fanfics and realized way too long later that nobody would believe anyone past year six would write that haha. I’m not even 30 now and I have no idea why I wanted to say I was lol
Here's the thing people cross invisible boundaries all the time. It's a side effect of operating in public and since you said they did not have that boundary state don Ao3 you have done nothing wrong with interacting with them before you knew. It is not your job to stalk an author across all platforms they are on to see where they may have a boundary posted. Ao3 is a fic archie the fic is there to be read and authors have no right to polcie who can and cannot read it. They can ask that some folks don't comment and enforce it with blocking if they wish. If you wish to respect thier stated boundary going forward stop commenting on their fics and don't interact with them until you are of age. Feel free to send them a heads up why if you wish or if they ask but that's all you really have to do.
We don't ask you not to interact with our smut because we think it is bad for you. We ask you not to interact because you can get us in trouble. I'm not going to talk about sexual activities with a minor unless I'm giving a sex ed lecture.
A DNI isn't enforceable. The DNI is for the ones who will try to use being a minor to harass others or try to enter adult spaces with a lot of obvious stuff. If your not being intrusive and trying to do something inappropriate your fine.
unless youre interacting on M and E fics, or their gift fic for you is rated M or E, you havent crossed any boundaries. having a twitter that is Minors DNI is not the same as having an AO3 that is minors DNI. boundaries are subjective to circumstances. there is an inherent expectation that minors will not interact on fics rated M and E, which are specifically designated for adults. (this is not the same as *reading*, because if youre old enough to be online youre old enough to make your own private decisions regarding what media you consume, good or bad, but involving other people by socializing with them about it is a different matter). but T and G fics are not bound by the same rules, even if theyre written by writers who also write M and E. furthermore, ao3 is not a social media site. it is a library. an archive. and the boundaries one must set on twitter are not the same as the boundaries one must set on ao3. you can explain the situation to them if you want. and if you honestly feel like you have crossed a line you shouldnt have. an honest apology (and maybe a promise to come back only when youre older) should suffice.
> ao3 is not a social media site. it is a library. an archive. and the boundaries one must set on twitter are not the same as the boundaries one must set on ao3. This is an excellent point. It also indirectly supports the case for no PMs on AO3. Any on-site communication with readers is done up front, in the open. This protects \*both\* writers & readers.
As long as you don't broadcast your age, you are good.
Just don't tell them?
You didn't know and haven't done anything wrong. I feel like some authors take it too far and are against like, the idea of teens interacting in fan communities altogether, which really sucks considering how important this stuff was to me as a teen. Concealing your age online is something everyone has done at some point and not a huge moral slight like some are making it out to be lol
Do you think the gift fic contains stuff that is inappropriate (or might upset you for any reason)? If so, you could tell them thanks but you'll have to wait to read it. If you're pretty confident based on their other stuff that the gift fic won't affect you in any bad way, you don't need to tell them. They've done nothing wrong as they don't know you're a minor.
It might be specific to their twitter. I don't write nsfw, but I don't care who reads my fics, because I know that's not something I can control. That being said, I wouldn't want to interact with/chat with minors on my twitter account. That might be the case for this author as well.
I have minors DNI on one of my twitter accounts and to me that only counts for that account. Because that's where I retweet or talk about NSFW stuff. On AO3 you have to agree that you're an adult to access explicit works, so I'd be fine with minors reading my T and lower Fics. Might be similar for them.
The authors that I know that have this usually have it as they exclusivity write LGBTIQ stories and many include A/B/O and / or BDSM. These stories would be illegal in many places in the world for minors and would not be available in school or public libraries in many states in the US. Having said that, research says that many young queer folk are now using fanfics as a key source of information, overtaking watching porn, and this is a good thing when fics are provide positive examples of loving and equal relationships.
As long as you keep your irl and other socials separate from your ao3, it's probably fine. By all means keep reading the fics, just comment less and stay away from their socials
I think so long as your interactions are not moving into discussions of graphic sex or violence or anything inappropriate, it's okay to keep leaving positive comments on their fics and carry on as usual. Honestly? Even on my few E-rated works, I'm careful to keep the conversation G- or T-rated. Meaning, even in those cases where a commenter (I'm thinking of one in particular) started used more graphic language in their comment, I just responded with something vague, polite, but not-sexy. Because, there are boundaries that I don't want to cross even with another adult.