Heated Rivalry Fic Authors - Comment Harassment & AI Spambot Impact

Looking to interview Heated Rivalry fic authors Hi, everyone. I am an entertainment/.culture journalist (and longtime fanfic reader/writer) who is working on an article for Fansplaining about the growing pains fanfic culture is currently experiencing. As someone who has been reading a lot of Heated Rivalry fic these past few months (and finding lots of good recs on this sub!), I have watched many authors choose to halt their writing, make their fics private, or remove them altogether due to an uptick in unsolicited criticism and harassment in the Ao3 comments and/or on social media platforms. I don't think this shift is particular to Heated Rivalry fandom, but I think it is particularly visible here due to the massive growth in a relatively short period of time. I am planning to interview some people on the programming/academic side about how the rise in AI spambots might be playing a role in this shift, but I would like to include the voices of fanfic authors who are writing in this environment. What kinds of engagement have you been getting? If you have been writing fic for a long time, have you noticed a shift in comment culture? If you just started writing fic on Ao3, has it been difficult to understand established norms? Do you often have to wonder if the comments are spambot or human? How does engagement differ on Ao3 versus social media, if it does? If you are someone who has decided to stop posting or to make a fic private, what led to that decision? If you are willing to chat with me, please reach out via email at [email redacted]. If you have any clarifying questions for me, you can ask me in the comments below or via email and I would be happy to answer. I am very aware of the history (and present) of media writing about women and queer-led fan culture in dismissive, misogynistic ways, and am not looking to contribute to that kind of coverage. You can check out Fansplaining, including the two articles I have previously written for the site, at this link: https://fansplaining.com/author/kaytiburt/ Thank you for considering!