Changes

All three of these points must be true of a work to be allowed under the Terms of Service. Later on it also specifies that the fanwork should be "transformative".  

All three of these points must be true of a work to be allowed under the Terms of Service. Later on it also specifies that the fanwork should be "transformative".  

The publication of [[meta]] essays on AO3 was not officially permitted until 2013, when the [[OTW Board of Directors]] announced that they had voted to allow meta on AO3 "after a long period of discussion".<ref name="ao3metadecision">[https://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/290 OTW Board Approves Meta Hosting on the AO3], Archive of Our Own. Published February 15, 2013 (Accessed January 4, 2021).</ref> Prior to this decision, meta and fannish non-fiction existed in a somewhat dubious grey area: it was occasionally posted to the site and did not appear to be explicitly forbidden by AO3's Terms of Service,<ref>As evidenced by [https://hells-half-acre.livejournal.com/315545.html?thread=3780505#t3780505 this discussion] on Livejournal, where [[la_mariane]] states, "Besides, I've seen meta at AO3 before and I'm pretty sure it's allowed by the TOS." and [[Hells' Half Acre]] agrees, "They have a tag for it! And I read their FAQ page and it didn't say anything about disallowing certain kinds of content...so, yeah, people are strange."</ref> but would often attract [[flames]], angry comments and reports.<ref>[https://hells-half-acre.livejournal.com/315545.html My first anon hate!] by Hell's Half Acre via Livejournal. Published June 22, 2012 (Accessed January 4, 2021).</ref> At one point, AO3 appeared to be taking a stance explicitly prohibiting meta, but the decision was almost as quickly reversed.<ref>Hell's Half Acre's post [https://hells-half-acre.livejournal.com/317145.html Meta on AO3: Get it while you can.] describes how AO3's team requested that they remove a piece of meta that had been reported by an upset fan. Hell's Half Acre later updated the post to say that "Five minutes after I deleted the meta, I got an email from AO3 apologizing for telling me to delete the meta and saying that I could keep it up until they make a final decision on the status of meta as a fanwork and whether it should be allowed on the site."</ref>

The publication of [[meta]] essays on AO3 was not officially permitted until 2013, when the [[Organization for Transformative Works/Board of Directors|OTW Board of Directors]] announced that they had voted to allow meta on AO3 "after a long period of discussion".<ref name="ao3metadecision">[https://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/290 OTW Board Approves Meta Hosting on the AO3], Archive of Our Own. Published February 15, 2013 (Accessed January 4, 2021).</ref> Prior to this decision, meta and fannish non-fiction existed in a somewhat dubious grey area: it was occasionally posted to the site and did not appear to be explicitly forbidden by AO3's Terms of Service,<ref>As evidenced by [https://hells-half-acre.livejournal.com/315545.html?thread=3780505#t3780505 this discussion] on Livejournal, where [[la_mariane]] states, "Besides, I've seen meta at AO3 before and I'm pretty sure it's allowed by the TOS." and [[Hells' Half Acre]] agrees, "They have a tag for it! And I read their FAQ page and it didn't say anything about disallowing certain kinds of content...so, yeah, people are strange."</ref> but would often attract [[flames]], angry comments and reports.<ref>[https://hells-half-acre.livejournal.com/315545.html My first anon hate!] by Hell's Half Acre via Livejournal. Published June 22, 2012 (Accessed January 4, 2021).</ref> At one point, AO3 appeared to be taking a stance explicitly prohibiting meta, but the decision was almost as quickly reversed.<ref>Hell's Half Acre's post [https://hells-half-acre.livejournal.com/317145.html Meta on AO3: Get it while you can.] describes how AO3's team requested that they remove a piece of meta that had been reported by an upset fan. Hell's Half Acre later updated the post to say that "Five minutes after I deleted the meta, I got an email from AO3 apologizing for telling me to delete the meta and saying that I could keep it up until they make a final decision on the status of meta as a fanwork and whether it should be allowed on the site."</ref>

In their announcement officially permitting meta, the Board of Directors wrote that,

In their announcement officially permitting meta, the Board of Directors wrote that,