im sorry this is absolutely comical this is the type of shit some villain of shadow would say before being brought over to the good side

"light, shining in the darkness...? hah! preposterous"

It literally has a recommendation feature.

The heart icon is a recommendation rather than just a bookmark. It's literally there already. The feature exists.

What they don't - and shouldn't - have is an algorithm that shoves fics you might like into your face. That's not a recommendation, that's an algorithmic advertisement devoid of heart or soul or mind.

If you would like to find recs for fics you might like, go into the comments or bookmarks of a fic you like, click on the usernames of people who have commented or bookmarked it, and look at their bookmarks and recommendations. Chances are good if you both liked this fic, they will have read other things you will like, too. If they've bookmarked/recommended the fic you both liked, chances are good they have bookmarked/recommended other fics you might like.

I'm not saying don't engage with the community. You should definitely do that and people who cross platforms and write detailed recs for fics or make rec lists are part of the lifeblood of fandom. I'm just saying that there are multiple ways to engage with the community, and one of them is using AO3's recommendation feature. Recmark those fics and leave a comment so other readers can find fics they might like. Then go make a post with a link- there's even a button for doing that effortlessly if you just want to generate a simple post with the fic info!

This! You can search for Recs, too! By going to "Search" - "Bookmarks", select the tags you want, and then check the "Type of bookmark: Rec" box.

But also, you can make BOOKMARK COLLECTIONS. You can title your Bookmark Collection "All time Favourite XXX Fic", collect your bookmarks in it and type your detailed rec into the bookmark notes. You can even tag your bookmark however you like - in addition to what the author already tagged the story!

The collection shows up for everyone under "collections" on your profile if you make it public. Everyone can see what your favourite XXX fics are and why. You can make as many different collections as you like.

And not only that, you can now search for Bookmark Collections by tag! By clicking "Browse" - "Collections" and then using the filters, you'll find collections of fic with a trope / pairing you like! And the downtime AO3 has announced for tomorrow? Is largely to improve on this feature!

Note:

- Collect bookmarks, NOT stories. VERY IMPORTANT! That way the author doesn't have to consent, they don't even get notified. You can add notes and tags to your heart's delight. There is no hassle with revealed vs unrevealed collections (although the issue with fic accidentally getting hidden in private collections has largely - if not completely - been resolved).

- Remember the author can see your bookmark notes if they choose to. Bookmark notes aren't the same as comments, they are meant for readers to find or remember fic, but please, please, please don't be an arse. Many writers are so starved for feedback, they check out the bookmark notes on their own stories.

- COMMENT! If you like a story well enough to put it into a rec collection, the least you can do is copy+paste your positive notes into a comment for the author. Better yet, leave a proper comment, spread the love!

you’re laughing. they r preparing him into mochi and your laughing.

watching the realization publicly dawn in real time in the comments is fucking amazing

op's tags:

comments:

I DIDN’T KNOWWWW

I love how this functions as peer review. Modern researchers have still been able to replace past results. These bitches gay.