What are the Archive Warnings? Do we have to use them?
Ad Astra has chosen, for legal and other reasons, to follow AO3's example and mandate that users either warn for—or explicitly choose not to warn for—a short list of common warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, and Underage. We understand that creators may wish to not warn for some of these things, or to warn for additional content, and have provided options for them to do so within this framework.
Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings:
Use this if you don't want to warn for anything. You may also choose this option if you don't know what you should warn for; if you don't like warning for certain topics or warnings in general; if you want to avoid some spoilers, but not others; etc.
Graphic Depictions Of Violence:
This is for gory, graphic, explicitly described violence. Exactly where to draw the line is your call.
Major Character Death:
Please use your best judgment about who counts as a major character.
No Archive Warnings Apply:
Use this if the Archive warnings don't apply to your content. (In other words, if it contains no graphic depictions of violence, major character death, rape/non-con, or underage sexual activity.)
Rape/Non-Con:
This is your call. If you think your content may be seen as containing non-consensual sexual activity, but you don't feel like using this warning or you're not sure if you should, you always have the option of using "Choose Not to Use Archive Warnings" instead.
Underage:
This is for descriptions or depictions of sexual activity by characters under the age of eighteen. (This doesn't include dating activity like kissing or vague references with no actual description or depiction.) This warning generally applies to humans; if you are creating a pornographic work about space aliens who only live for a month or thousand-year-old vampires with twelve-year-old bodies, please just use your best judgment. You are always free to specify characters' ages or to use "Choose Not to Use Archive Warnings".
You can also use the "Additional Tags" field to give other or more detailed warnings. Our policies regarding warnings can be found in the Terms of Service and Terms of Service FAQ.
How about relationships?
There are a variety of relationship catagory tags to indicate what kind of romantic and/or sexual relationships are depicted in the work. The available categories are:
F/F
Female/Female relationships. Colloquially known as femslash sometimes.
F/M
Female/Male relationships. Colloquially known as het.
Gen
General: no romantic or sexual relationships, or relationships which aren't the main focus of the work.
M/M
Male/Male relationships. Colloquially known as slash.
Multi
More than one kind of relationship or a relationship with multiple partners.
Other
Relationships not covered by the other categories.
And ratings? What are the ratings on the archive?
Not Rated
This is the default option. For searching, screening, and other Archive functions, this may get treated the same way as mature and explicit-rated content.
General Audiences
The content is unlikely to be disturbing to anyone and is suitable for all ages.
Teen And Up Audiences
The content may be inappropriate for audiences under 13.
Mature
The content contains adult themes (sex, violence, etc) that aren't as graphic as explicit-rated content. IE, heated making out that fades to black.
Explicit
The content contains explicit adult themes, such as detailed sex scenes, graphic violence, etc.
So-- how should we tag for fandoms, characters and pairings?
Well, let me get this out of the way right off: We are not AO3. So, our tag discipline is much higher.
In every case, use the archive's tags if they're available. If you're the first person creating a tag for a canon character, then follow the naming convention already used everywhere else. If you're the first person putting up a pairing tag, don't use the smooshed name. So, you would use James T. Kirk/Spock and not Spirk.
For Fandoms: Pick only the fandom(s) that your story is applicable to. So, say it's a TOS story but has maybe an epilogue in the TNG era. This is not a TNG story; tag it as TOS only and mention the TNG connection by making use of story or chapter notes. If you're writing a crossover, though, between TOS and AOS, you can tag for both. HOWEVER, the crossover needs to be more than incidental; it needs to have some major bearing on the plot. Again, we don't want TOS tagged if -- for example -- it only has a brief prologue of Spock (Prime) pining for Kirk (Prime) in the AOS universe and that being the only TOS connection. (You also would not use a pairing tag for that since the pairing is not actually in the story; more on that down below.)
For Characters: This is also strict. Do not tag a character who is only mentioned, or only has one line or a few, or a limited number of scenes. You should use no more than four character tags at a time in a single fandom, and if you have a much larger cast you feel the need to note, then you use the Ensemble Cast tag appended to each and every fandom. Update 7/7/24: If you've been here at least two months and are clearly comfortable with our tagging rules, you'll be allowed six character tags. (But if you use six character tags for a 1K one shot, obviously we're gonna be having words. XD)
For an example, say you have an awesome TOS Spirk story where McCoy plays a major role and the rest of the cast gets either mentioned or even a few scenes, but aren't any large part of the tale. You should only tag the characters James T. Kirk, Spock, and Leonard "Bones" McCoy. Your discretion as to whether to use the Ensemble Cast - TOS tag, but we would prefer those be saved for true ensemble pieces.
(The only exception to this would be in actual crossovers; you can pick four characters from each fandom. So, say, you're crossing ST:TNG over with Doctor Who, you can name four TNG characters and four DW characters, but after that, use Ensemble Cast tags.)
Another thing to remember is that here, there is a distinction made between the prime versions and the Kelvin-timeline (AOS) versions: The AOS versions have (AOS) behind their names. So, please use those tags when writing in that timeline! This is also not a place where you can say 'can work for TOS or AOS' and therefore tag them both. Please pick one or the other.
For Pairings: The same applies as above. (See the theme yet? XD) Only tag the main pairing(s). So, using the example above, you would definitely tag it James T. Kirk/Spock, and you could also tag it James T. Kirk & Spock & Leonard "Bones" McCoy. But if there's mention of Hikaru Sulu/Pavel Chekov somewhere but only incidentally, you definitely do not tag it. You can mention it in summary, story or chapter notes, though!
WHILE WE'RE AT IT: Character A / Character B is for romantic relationships, while Character A & Character B is for friendships or platonic relationships. A relatively new convention we're accepting is Character A ~ Character B for Queerplatonic Relationships. Please make sure you get these correct!
The main tags -- Fandom, Character, Pairing -- are a search tool first and an advertisement distantly second. So, spamming them will only result in me sending you a polite e-mail asking you to fix them, and if you ignore that e-mail, I reserve the right to do it myself. And if you use, say, smooshed name in a relationship field rather than the archive's canonical tag, I also reserve the right to go and change it. The smooshed name will never be made canonical, so just go with the archive's, okay? We want people to find your works, and the cleaner we keep the place, the easier that is for everyone!
What about freeform tags?
Generally speaking, we don't allow 'chat style' tagging on Ad Astra the same way AO3 or Tumblr would. If you're creating a freeform tag, we expect you to make it about what's actually in the fic and also make it universal; ie, something that the whole archive can use. Examples would include Recreational Drug Use, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the like.
Examples of what not to do: omg, they're so in love or anything along those lines.
We also ask that you capitalize them AP-style; if you don't, I will capitalize them while wrangling them. And if I feel that a freeform tag isn't going to be universal or isn't falling into Ad Astra convention, I'll ask you to change it or I'll do it myself.
When it comes to canon episode titles, the convention is SHORTCODE (ie, TOS, DS9, etc) S00E00 being the season and episode numbers, then colon and the episode name. So, for instance, TOS S01E03: Where No Man Has Gone Before would be the tag for that episode.
If you're absolutely dying to use chat style tags: Include them in the summary the way some people have included them at the ends of their posts on Dreamwidth. Just put a note at the bottom of the summary that says Other Additional Tags: and then write whatever ones you want there, I don't mind.
Does that mean you'll change story tags if we ignore Ad Astra conventions?
Yes. Like I said, we're not AO3. We're providing this beautiful place using OTW's software platform, but we're not them. Your actual works won't ever be touched by an archivist, but we absolutely do reserve the right to edit and fix tags, and when you sign up here, it's with the understanding that ignoring archive rules about tagging will result in us asking you to correct it. And then if you don't, we will correct it ourselves.
Generally speaking, especially with fandom, character and pairing tags, you have to ask: "Will a person looking specifically for a fic starring this fandom/these characters/this pairing be happy to find mine?" And then tag accordingly.
But wait, I noticed that there are authors with their own fandoms! What's up with that? Can I have one?
In a short answer-- yes!
In a longer answer: Ad Astra's always had a really robust community based around original ships and crews, and we're continuing that tradition into the future. So, if you have an original universe and ten stories in it (not meta, actual fics), contact me with the series name, the requested short code (ie, Star Trek: Gibraltar's is GIB) and the names of your main cast (meaning the ones you'll definitely use often), and you'll get your own fandom in the Alternate & Expanded Universes category!
"But Steff," you ask, "can I tag my OCs in the character field? Even in a canon fandom??"
Yes! They won't be searchable in a main canon tag until they're featured in fifteen stories, but once they have those, they can be canonized. If you're writing towards your own fandom in the A&EU mentioned above, then you only need ten in-universe stories (regardless of which main cast is in them).
The big thing there is that we want you to use common sense. If you have one OC in, say, the TNG era-- that would not qualify for your own fandom, but after fifteen stories, your OC can be canonized and filterable. If you have an original ship and crew, though, in the TNG era-- ten stories and they get their own fandom.
Pretty sweet, huh?
Okay, but what about the Mirror Universe character tags? What do you want done with those?
Please use the archive's canonical character tag, but append (Mirror) behind it. So, say you're writing the Mirror!Spock: Tag him as Spock (Mirror) and I'll make it a canonical tag. If you're writing Mirror!Spock but in a mirror based on AOS, tag him Spock (AOS Mirror). I'm only really doing it this way because there are SO MANY mirror characters at this point. We'll add them as we need them.
How about posting our Original Science Fiction? What are the rules there?
So, the decision to add a home for Original Science Fiction authors is because we have the space and archive to do it. But it's sort of its own thing, since it's not related to Trek fandom (and doesn't need to be!) So, here are the rules:
- No posting of any fandom works is allowed in the Original Science Fiction section, or in the Original Science Fiction sub-genres (which are listed as fandoms but aren't quite). Only 100% original stories, characters and universes are allowed there. Not even if you crossover your original works with one of the Trek fandoms; in that case, keep it in the Trek fandom categories. No crossovers to other franchises, either.
- No, you may not sneak your Star Wars, Firefly, or other franchise epic in under the Original Science Fiction category. I know, it's tempting, but no. XD (But if you want to make your own archive for those, I can probably help you some!)
- When you post an original sci-fi story or other work, use the fandom space to tag the sub-genre. IE, Cyberpunk, Western Sci-Fi, Fantasy Sci-Fi, etc. Use the archive fandoms if they're available, make a new one if they're not, but don't go bonkers on the 10001 different cyberpunk derivatives, please.
- Yes, you must still use Archive Warnings or at least choose not to. You can also use the ratings and relationships just the same way.
- Unlike in the Trek spaces, individual series can't request their own fandom. But you can use the series function, and the same rules for canonical character names apply: Once you have fifteen original works with your character, I'll make them canonical and filterable. So yes, do use your OCs in the character field!
- Even though it's not based in a franchise, the legality is sticky enough that we don't want you posting links to your Patreon or Ko-fi or anything else. However, just like on other archives, you can post a link to your social media or personal portfolio, and if they happen to have links to Patreon or Ko-Fi, etc, then you're all good.
- When you post here, you're agreeing that your original work is your own and not posted on anyone else's behalf. We make no claim at all on your original work, we're just offering you a place to host it. You also agree that it's not something you wrung out of an AI generator; please only bring your own efforts to this lovely table of ours.
- The same rules about harassment applies universally across this site. If you post something intended to cause harm to someone else, it will be dealt with.
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Likely I'll add more to the rules or FAQs as needed, but for now, this is a start!