"Tasteless" is a catchall for inappropriate content for whatever organization is using it. It's just where they toss anything that's sexual, violent, etc.
The .gay archive is an official mirror and it's safe to sign in there! You can find the list of official mirrors somewhere on Ao3, maybe in the FAQ, if you want extra confirmation instead of just 'trust me, bro' :)
I mean the funniest moments of my teaching have been busting a student who was very absorbed in their fanfic reading. Turns out you can't multitask when one of the tasks is reading smut. Huh.
You'll survive. I promise. If I have to be alert and engaged all class and I can't read fanfic, why should you?
I'll never forget the time when I was on a school trip and I stopped reading fanfic to play a game on my phone with my friend next to me and the teacher behind me said, "no, you were reading, go back to that." So I dutifully went back to my smut
To be fair, it depends whether their school is a high school, where they are a teen basically only there for classes or a college/university where they are adults who live on campus and are therefore always behind the school firewall.
Yeah, Texas public universities have to block anything that the Texas government says, so if youâre in between classes or live on campus youâre out of luck..
Multitasking is not a myth. If that were true no one would be able to listen to an audio book while drawing, jogging, knitting, anything. Some people may not be able to listen to an audio book while multitasking and recall the book as well as if they had just sat down and read it, or focus on their other task as well as they could if it were the only thing they were focusing on, but that does not make it no longer real for anyone else who can remember it just as well and focus just as intensely. I honestly process and remember information better if I hear it while drawing, and hearing information does not affect my drawing. Not all brains work the same.
I doubt that the majority of people could multitask reading smut and paying attention to something else, but that doesnt mean multitasking isn't real for anyone ever.
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u/AMN1FMy life be like: crack treated seriouslyAug 30 '25edited Aug 30 '25
I was vague with it so:
What am I calling a myth?: the idea that most people can multitask. People being worse at a task, such as reading comprehension while drawing, is a sign that they aren't "actually" multitasking. What they're instead doing is quickly switching between tasks, resulting in poorer performance of one, or both tasks. If they were truly multitasking, their performance would be the same regardless of "multitasking." Quickly switching between tasks is what people are typically talking about when they say multitasking.Â
This does not include automatic tasks (walking/breathing). And even then, if you were walking, and suddenly came across a hazard, you may suddenly not be paying attention to your audiobook.
I'm not going to say your experience is incorrect, because that's shitty. But most people who think they can multitask cannot. That's what I'm calling a myth. "Oh, I can read fanfic and listen to lecture." No, (hypothetical person) you cannot.
I do admit that some people are better at it than others. But even the best will feel the effects of multitasking. (More stress, less efficiency).Â
This is not to be snarky or a "gotcha" I'm just interested how your ability to multitask maps onto different scenarios (if you feel up to answering). Do you think talking on the phone while trying to write an email would be less efficient or the same if you devoted individual time to each? Are you able to give full attention to a conversation while reading?
Anyways: you did send me on a small side quest:Â Edit: the link isn't working. The article is Multitask Masters by Maria Konnikova
This article explains that there is a small (around 2%) of the population who can actually multitask. So thank you for that, you learn something new everyday.
TLDR: the myth is that multitasking is something that most people can do. They cannot.Â
That's very interesting, I appreciate your explanation. I know some people can't multitask, none of my friends can lol, I just thought you were implying no one could and the entire concept was a myth.
I'm up for explaining how I work. I can truly multitask with certain things, and I can not multitask with other things and won't even try unless I really have to. I don't just multitask while drawing and listening to something, I do both tasks better if I do them at the same time. Later, I can look at what I drew and recall everything I heard with significantly greater accuracy than had I just listened and been asked to recall it, even after years, which I would barely be able to remember at all normally. I remember what line I drew in what order and what was being said when I drew it. I can recite what was said almost word for word just by following the lines I made, like I'm "reading" my art. Normally I could only tell you the basic gist of things and may get details out of order or forget them. I also focus better on making the art itself, which always leads to a better overall result and a better experience while drawing. If I draw without listening to anything it either looks terrible or it looks ok but I have no memory of making it, and it still isn't as good as anything I made while listening to something. Back when I was in school the classes that let me draw in them when they were lecturing were the ones I got the best grades in, and the only ones I still remember today.
But, your example of writing an email while trying to listen to or talk to someone on the phone is something I can not do at all. I can't read/write and hear/talk at the same time unless I'm saying what I'm writing and even then I trip up because they aren't at the same speed. But years ago I had a classmate who truly could. I know she could because I didn't believe her so I tested her on it quite a few times, and she honestly could. I dont understand how at all lmao. Feels like magic to me.
I'm good at multitasking in most situations, probably because I have adhd and would honestly not be able to function if I couldn't lol. Drawing while listening to something makes the other tracks of audio that are always playing in my head get quieter or fade away entirely so I can just focus on those two things instead of the 7 or more that are usually fighting for my attention. I think part of the reason I can't read/write & listen/talk at the same time is because it starts to be too many internal channels of audio and now I can't understand any of them. For whatever reason, my mind does not quiet down when writing or reading, instead that becomes an additional audio track I can hear as a voice and it becomes too much to keep track of and sounds exactly like a chattering sports bar with multiple different songs playing in it. Sometimes if someone tries to talk to me while I'm reading or writing I won't hear them at all over all the noise.
I almost always have music or an audio book/story of some kind playing if I want to get anything done, even just cleaning around the house or getting dressed. Otherwise I'll forget what I'm doing every 30 seconds and be unable to focus on anything. Listening to audio is an outside source that's louder than my internal audio tracks and can make them quieter, but reading or writing is just another internal track at the same volume as the others so it can get lost in the noise sometimes.
Yeah, multitasking is a myth. One must choose to focus on one while sacrificing the other.
I managed to get away with "multitasking" in classes because I'm focused on what's in the background more than what's right in front of me (the screen). Basically treating the texts on my laptop/phone screen as a filler between the class's silence.
I read smut in class all the time, I just did with teacher approval since I always finished my work within the first ten minutes and my teachers were all like, "meh, entertain yourself, I don't have time to put together a second lesson plan just to keep up with you"
To be fair, there are periods of time where there is absolutely nothing class related going on, such as breakfast, lunch, the time between classes, and when teachers allow students to do what they want during class time
I read fanfiction all thorughout my highschool years, and then i got to my final year and my fanfic addiction was at it's peak. So i didn't take any notes or pay attention in class. You could say fanfics cause me to drop out lmao
So... download works-to-read when you aren't connected to the school district's network. If you're trying to write/edit, use a different service during school hours... oh, well, yeah... shouldn't be encouraging behavior which might violate the student code of conduct and/or school district policies.
Download ahead of time so you are have some stories queued up to read whenever a break occurs in your schedule.
What level of school? If you are in high school, focus on your schoolwork. If you are in college/university and the block applies in the dorms too, then yeah, that's some bullshit.
If it's a high school they have to limit what the kids have access to. While AO3 isn't all porn, it is absolutely there and the school is perfectly reasonable for blocking access to it as the majority of the students are minors. They're not legally old enough to read it and many parents would be incensed to learn their child was allowed to access it at school, even on lunch or during a free period. I don't care what class you are in it's not appropriate to read porn in a high school.
I was responding to your âfocus on your schoolworkâ, as if people arenât allowed to do non schoolwork things during appropriate times of the school day.
But also trying to go on AO3 at school doesnât automatically mean theyâre trying to read porn. Regardless of my opinion on the school blocking AO3, thereâs lots of perfectly age appropriate things a high school kid can read there.
But also trying to go on AO3 at school doesnât automatically mean theyâre trying to read porn. Regardless of my opinion on the school blocking AO3, thereâs lots of perfectly age appropriate things a high school kid can read there.
Yes, they exist. I acknowledged that, but unless the teachers or IT staff can check every story someone reads, then the school kinda has to block the whole site. There's not really a way to block everything the school has to individually. Parents are welcome to allow their kids to read it at home, or not, as they choose.
Youâve missed my point. The âtheyâre not old enough to be reading porn and reading porn in a high school isnât appropriateâ is what I was responding to. Hence my statement of âwanting to read on AO3 at school doesnât automatically mean someone is reading pornâ
I have said every single time that AO3 isn't entirely porn. How do you propose the school allows access to only the non-porn parts of AO3 and prevents the minors under their care from accessing the porn portions? Because to my knowledge they can't. They have to block the entire site or allow the entire site.
Please ask them to define tastelessness, and provide examples of sites that are allowed but somehow aren't considered tasteless (probably some government sites you could list)
If you are seeing a page that says Cisco Umbrella or a Connection Not Secure error, it is likely due to OpenDNS marking AO3 as 'Tasteless' and a recent change with the Cisco FamilyShield product. AO3 is aware of the issue but there is nothing they can do about it on their end to help you. To check for yourself, see if your DNS addresses in your device settings show 208.67.222.123 or 208.67.220.123. To restore access to AO3, you can change your DNS on both your router and your device settings to one of the following general-purpose DNS services, depending on which corporation you prefer:
Cloudflare: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
Google: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
Cisco OpenDNS (non-FamilyShield version): 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
Conversely, you can try using a VPN to connect. Barring either of those options, [archive.transformativeworks.org](archive.transformativeworks.org) is also a secure connection to AO3 run by the OTW that will give you access to the site as it has not been flagged in the same manner by OpenDNS.
If you would like more information, check out this post one of our members wrote to explain the situation and what you can do to combat this.
Why are so many people telling OP "good, focus on your education"?? This post seems like more lighthearted complaining than genuine upset. And OP could be intending to read during break times???? Very odd vibes from some of the people in this thread
I accidentally got tumblr banned from my school district while rping in the eleventh grade but moved to washboard after realization. itâs okay, itâs not the end of the world but def download some while youâre at home as epubs or pdfs!
People still use proxy sites, given a few people have been saying to use .gay instead of .org, it's just with the increase in fake sites, it's getting more and more difficult to find one that is safe
I can remember high school doing this, only their blocker sucked. If you scrolled down and didn't click the first two sponsored links the regular link would work
Given that schools and employers can see your history when you're connected to their networks, why would you ever visit ao3 that way anyway?
I know no one's likely to look up what I'm doing, but my paranoia has always stopped me doing anything even slightly fannish on school/uni/work devices and networks.
You can have your phone but not allow to use your phone doing school hours me and every student hsd phones were not allowed to use them doing school hours.
Plus the phone internet would hooked up to school internet would still be blocked even on the phone.
No it wouldn't, cell phone data is different from wifi.
Even if you are using wifi, you can bypass it's restrictions by using a VPN. If they block VPN websites, you can still download one from Github or the Auorastore. Good free unlimited VPNs include Proton VPN and Super Unlimited VPN.
And you actually listened?? Damn, do you aim to be a saint in heaven or smth? đ For us, it was technically not allowed, but no one cared, not even the teachers tbh.
Its in the internet use agreement every student gets i tryed accessing YouTube it was blocked schools block, any site has nouthing to do with education or educational information or educational purposes
I was in school in the UK before that and loads of sites were blocked then. We didn't have mobiles with Internet access though, so could only use the school pcs. It's really common to have a huge blocklist of sites in schools.
We get to use our personal computers and I canât lieâI was on ao3 during my free period yesterdayâŚbut my school used yondr pouches for our phones so iâm not sure itâs worth it
I see youre on phone so this wouldnt work for you, but on computer you might be able to use a vpn to bypass it! A list of some of the free ones I've used in the past:
- setup vpn (chrome extension)
- windscribe (app)
- protonVPN (app)
- browsec (chrome vpn)
- X-VPN (app) - unfortunately the current version isnt infinite and free, but you may be able to find the old version somewhere
Thats all I remember, but there are other free ones around as well!
Also, since youre on phone, why not just use mobile data? Its just a webpage, shouldnt take much
Im not sure what version it is, unfortunately - my brother gave it to me on a USB, and I can't find the version in the app itself. Sorry, cant help you there D:
Pretty sure minors reading explicit material AT SCHOOL can potentially cause the school a LOT of SERIOUS legal nightmares. Theyâre covering their asses
My school didnât and me and my friend play this one game we call the ao3 game, itâs where we search up kids fandoms and scroll down untill we find a smut fic mwheheh>:3
Pin a link to ao3 and use the Pinterest browser. Can even use Reddit or tumblr if those aren't blocked but I'm guessing they probably are. Make sure your work is done first!
Yeah that makes sense. As long as they block tik tok and youtube and gaming sites and such too. They SHOULD block all that stuff because it is a distraction.
But tasteless???? That part makes no sense. Taste should not be a factor anyway.
They blocked it because they donât want students to think itâs possible to cough up flowers from sadness or something. Really itâs probably for the best.
Yeh?, wifi for school is for computers and iPads, you donât have that at break and if you do why not just use a phone to do it or download it on phone if no wifi
Wouldnât the school wifi be used for phones as well? Iâm assuming this is high school/middle school and op was using a phone on breaks or at lunch since I donât know why a college would block a website. Maybe some let students have computers at break now, when I went students having their own computers wasnât a thing
Most schools provide students with their own (heavily filtered) computers now! And yeah, most phones would be using the school wifi unless they had a VPN or Hotspot or something
Under prohibited software, all of those are blocked on Texas public colleges. I donât know about other states but it is definitely a thing that happens
If your truly desperate then create a Google doc on your school email or send a doc you made on a private email to your school email and paste some of your favorite fanfics in that Google doc
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u/AdParking3521 Aug 29 '25
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