I've also at times thought that FFN's drop-downs rather than freeform tags were more, er, stupidity-proof. Sad that users need that sometimes. I like that AO3 has a bit more faith in users' intelligence, even if we as a group sometimes disappoint in that regard.
I do find FFN more frustrating to navigate, though. Only allowing two characters really does bother me a lot, because a lot of my stories focus on three, either as a poly relationship or just as ensemble/friendship. How do you categorize a gen Team TARDIS fic when your Team TARDIS of choice has more than two people in it? How do you categorize a fic that's about how a phenomenon affected different members of the cast, and has a different character focus in each section? Sets of three characters are exceedingly common in many fandoms as inseparable units. If I list only two, it deliberately shafts the third as unimportant, and implies a pairing I may not have been writing about.
It also, somewhat ironically given FFN's delicate sensibilities, implies that all fanfiction is about romance. I like that AO3 has a field for that; shipping is important to fandom! But not all fic is shipping fic. FFN's "choose two and only two characters that readers are going to assume will bone in this fic" structure is atrociously limiting.
And while I do strongly wish AO3 would let me blacklist fandoms (if I never saw another BBC Sherlock fic again it would be too soon) I do actually like that crossovers are mixed in with the fandoms they're part of. I don't want to have to specifically set out looking for crossovers to see them. Sometimes you discover something cool! Plus the only two fandoms per crossover rule makes no sense. And then there's the sticky situations where the canons are already related: Buffy and Angel, Hercules and Xena, Doctor Who and all its complications, Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. If I write a fic about how different Avatars dealt with similar problems, that includes both Aang and Korra, that's sort of a crossover now, even though it never left the same universe. On AO3 it's visible in both fandom fields, and would probably be of interest to fans of both. On FFN I either have to pick one or have it hidden away under crossovers where no one will ever click on it.
And oh my god, as someone who likes writing and reading for small fandoms of obscure books and movies, AO3 is a godsend. Despair is having to search the "Misc Movies/Books" section for that one fic about that character that keeps you up at night.
I also like to search by content sometimes. There are days when you just want wingfic and you don't care what fandom gives it to you. It isn't perfect on AO3 (being able to see a list of canonical content tags and perhaps select all that apply would be helpful! I know my mind goes blank as to what's in my own damn fic when I'm on the upload page a lot) but FFN doesn't have it at all, so AO3 wins there by default. Searching by summaries just isn't the same.
Your elitism regarding the quality of stories also troubles me. I consider piles of badfic to be a sign of a healthy archive. AO3 was never intended to be an elitist group or have minimum standards of quality. It was meant to be inclusive and welcome all fanwork, and hopefully become a massive archive. You need badfic to be massive. If you want curated content, some archives do play that game. I know Teaspoon (a Doctor Who archive) moderates fics and does have minimum standards of quality. But I like it when no one is locked out. I don't mind the thirteen-year-olds just learning to bang out sentences. I even find some of their fics enjoyable, if for nothing but raw enthusiasm. Inclusion makes an archive feel more like a community, where people of varying skill levels are all learning and growing together, than some kind of snobby, exclusive club where everyone worries about not being good enough.
Really, I think AO3's biggest flaw right now is the whole invite situation, though I know that's a necessity just because the infrastructure can't handle unmoderated growth.
There are a couple userscripts for blacklisting stuff (including fandom tags) here http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/153118 and http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/153120. The saved filters one and a global filter of '-"BBC Sherlock"' might work for you.
Comment on OTW Board response to concerns about the meta decision
Aiffe Fri 01 Mar 2013 04:58PM UTC
Last Edited Fri 01 Mar 2013 05:00PM UTC
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tuff_ghost Fri 01 Mar 2013 06:19PM UTC
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