Has AO3 been taken over by AI bots?

[m_findlow]

Question for the group: has AO3 been taken over by AI bots?

I don't get a lot of comments on fics (and that's fine) but suddenly I had eight comments overnight on fics I posted yesterday, from "authors" who don't write in my fandoms or who only started posting a few days ago (though we all.know you can change the date something shows as being posted.)


All the comments are overly generic and syrupy, and don't match the fics they're posted with, making them sound fake:

Your story brought me so much joy and escapism. Thank you for sharing your talent with us. I can't wait to read more of your work!

Wow! Your writing style is absolutely mesmerizing. The way you describe the settings and emotions is so vivid that I felt like I was right there with the characters, experiencing everything alongside them. It's a truly immersive reading experience.

The chemistry between the characters was off the charts! I couldn't get enough of their interactions. You really know how to write compelling relationships.

Wow, just wow! Your ability to evoke strong emotions through your words is unmatched. I laughed, I cried, and I couldn't help but fall in love with the characters all over again. Thank you for sharing this gem with us.

Your world-building skills are exceptional. The intricacies of the fictional universe you created were so well thought out and believable. It felt like I was exploring a new world alongside the characters.

This is hands down one of the best fanfics I've ever read. Your plot twists and character development were absolutely brilliant. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen until I finished reading. Thank you for sharing your talent with us!

This fanfiction is a masterpiece! Your descriptive prose painted vivid imagery, and the dialogue was so authentic that I could practically hear the characters' voices in my head.

What a masterpiece! Your fanfiction touched my heart in so many ways. The depth of the character arcs and the powerful themes explored left a lasting impact on me. Thank you for sharing your talent!
 
Either the accounts are fake, or genuine author accounts are being hacked and used to post fake comments.

It's ruined the sanctity of the last proper refuge for authors.

Anyone else seeing this?

Comments

[badly_knitted]

Yep, I've had a flurry of those over the past couple of days, and none of the comments match the stories. So weird. Not sure what's going on but it's disappointing because they're not genuine comments. You get your hopes up when you see a comment notification, then realise it's another of those.

[m_findlow]

I was trying to look up how to report it but as they're not anonymous you can only report them as abuse spam.
I just hope our accounts aren't being used the same way to post fake comments

[badly_knitted]

Fingers crossed that they're not. If they're AI bots then something needs to be done to block them.

[m_findlow]

Absolutely. The trouble is not so much the fake comments as its the unauthorised use of some innocent author's name to make these comments. Some may not care, but for others that's the reputation in the community.

[badly_knitted]

True. At least it's not hate trolling, maybe someone is trying to be encouraging, but none of the comments I've seen have been nasty, they just have nothing to do with the fics they're posted on. It's the most bizarre situation I've ever come across online *scratches head* I hope the people whose accounts are being used can somehow block whoever's using them.

[badly_knitted]

I looked at some of the recently posted Torchwood fics and a lot of them have the same sort of comments, but I didn't see our account names attached to any of the comments. Does make me wonder who's behind it.

[m_findlow]

No, I suspect if our account names were being used it would be on totally random fandoms with nothing to do with the fandoms we write in. That was the thing that made me really sure the comments I was getting were fakes, because those "real authors" wrote in totally different spaces.

[badly_knitted]

That's a good point. I wouldn't know which fandoms to check though. One who 'commented' on my fics doesn't even write in English. *baffled*

[mxcatmoon]

That is strange, and disturbing. I wonder what's going on. I took a look, and I noticed I couldn't click on the name to go to the account, which I thought meant the person doesn't have one?

When you post, do you allow your fic to be read and commented on by guests or click the boxes for only registered users?

[m_findlow]

Yes, I thought the not being able to click through to the author link was weird too.
I've always left my posts open to anyone to comment or leave kudos.

[mxcatmoon]

I just saw this posted at a journal about the situation:

raine | PSA: bot comments on AO3 (dreamwidth.org)

[m_findlow]

Well, that's handy to know and does answer some of the weirdness we've seen. The trouble is, what are A03 going to do about it? Authors will switch off using the platform if they think they're username might be used fraudulently to leave comments.
Whilst the comments attempt to be nice and encouraging, imagine if they turn out to be nasty and people report those "users" as abusive? What does a bot have to gain from leaving fake nice comments on people's works? Are they hoping folks will stop using it because they can no longer tell real feedback from fake (not that the fake comments weren't quite obviously OTT).
Here's hoping enough people have reported the issue and they'll take some action to filter these out. Not holding much hope though, since they're not great and getting rid of obvious spam either.

[mxcatmoon]

There are a lot of disturbing things going on, and no idea if they will be addressed or not. I've always kept my fic open too, but I've already locked my more recent stuff and considering locking everything to only registered users from now on.

[badly_knitted]

Good to know, but like m_findlow says, what are AO3 doing about it? AI bots were a bad idea to start with. All AI is a bad idea. Soon no one will be able to tell what's coming from a real person and what isn't.

[enchanted_jae]

Huh, I've gotten several (heart heart heart) comments on some old fics, but all from the same user.