![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
worldbuildingmod posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
worldbuildingexETA Feb 2019: AO3 Change Log 0.9.232-0.9.235 suggests that the issues referred to in this post should now be fixed; however, since the bug was always intermittent (and very rare), I would continue to recommend caution until some time has passed with no reported issues.
Recently, AO3 exchanges have been hit by a problem where, occasionally, works behave when posted as though they are not part of the exchange. This has become known as the "Reveals Bug", as it results in the work and its creator being visible immediately, and the recipient receiving a notification email. This is an issue that AO3 is aware of, but until it is fixed a workaround is possible - this post explains it.
It seems that the bug can hit whether the work is posted via the "Fulfil" button on your Assignments screen, the "Post to Collection" button on the Collection home page, or simply filling in the collection manually while posting.
The problem can be reversed if the collection is moderated (which WBX 2018 is, for this very reason) by a mod toggling the work's status between unapproved/approved, which seems to make the work pick up the correct settings. The good news is that it's possible for the creator to find out in advance whether a work is affected if they save it as a draft first. If you do this, and the work does not get the "This work is part of an ongoing challenge and will be revealed soon! [...]" message across the top, please do not proceed any further and contact me (via any method of your choice, though email to worldbuildingmod@gmx.com is most likely to be seen quickly), as I can then toggle its status and make the bug go away. I will let you know when I've done this and you can then go on to post.
Below the cut is a step-by-step guide, complete with screenshots, written bymorbane, to whom many, many thanks. (Please note that this solution is not the same as the method used by Yuletide 2017 to deal with the bug, but an improvement on it, not least because when followed it should completely avoid the risk of a non-anonymised notification email going out early to your recip.)
Step-by-step guide bymorbane
1. Creating a draft
You will need to post a new work to a collection - either by posting to fulfil an assignment or by clicking the “Post to Collection” button at the top of the collection, or by clicking to post a new work from anywhere in the Archive. With the first two methods, the collection will automatically be included in your work’s Association details. With the last method, you’ll have to add it manually. In the New Work page, your Associations should look like this:
(NB: not all collection tags autocomplete. It’s okay to enter the collection tag and then press enter, tab, or comma to ensure it shows up with the red “x”. The correct collection tag is the one that forms part of the collection URL - i.e., http://archiveofourown.org/collections/worldbuildingex_2018/profile)
At the bottom of the page, choose Preview rather than Post Work.
When the preview loads, check that all your work details are correct, and then at the bottom of the screen, choose Save without posting.
You have now saved a draft to the collection. Don’t navigate away from this page just yet.
2. Check your draft
At the top of your newly saved work, several messages will appear.
If you see the third message, you are safe to continue posting your draft. Your work is not affected by the bug.
If you click away from this page and don’t see any messages, then you’ll need to start over.
If you see the message about a draft but you don’t see the message about the collection, you have been hit by the bug! Please contact the challenge moderator privately and ask them to fix your work. They can fix it by un-approving and re-approving it through the Manage Items pane. Once they have done that, you can post your draft.
3. Posting your work from a draft
First, click “Edit” on your draft. If you’ve navigated away from your draft, you can find all your drafts from your own AO3 dashboard:
Once you’ve clicked Edit, go to the bottom of your draft and click Post Without Preview.
Once you’ve clicked this, you have successfully posted your work and avoided the bug. You can find your work again, if you want to edit it, through your Works then Works in Collections, or through your Stats page. The bug only strikes when a work is first uploaded, so edit with confidence.
Recently, AO3 exchanges have been hit by a problem where, occasionally, works behave when posted as though they are not part of the exchange. This has become known as the "Reveals Bug", as it results in the work and its creator being visible immediately, and the recipient receiving a notification email. This is an issue that AO3 is aware of, but until it is fixed a workaround is possible - this post explains it.
It seems that the bug can hit whether the work is posted via the "Fulfil" button on your Assignments screen, the "Post to Collection" button on the Collection home page, or simply filling in the collection manually while posting.
The problem can be reversed if the collection is moderated (which WBX 2018 is, for this very reason) by a mod toggling the work's status between unapproved/approved, which seems to make the work pick up the correct settings. The good news is that it's possible for the creator to find out in advance whether a work is affected if they save it as a draft first. If you do this, and the work does not get the "This work is part of an ongoing challenge and will be revealed soon! [...]" message across the top, please do not proceed any further and contact me (via any method of your choice, though email to worldbuildingmod@gmx.com is most likely to be seen quickly), as I can then toggle its status and make the bug go away. I will let you know when I've done this and you can then go on to post.
Below the cut is a step-by-step guide, complete with screenshots, written by
morbane, to whom many, many thanks. (Please note that this solution is not the same as the method used by Yuletide 2017 to deal with the bug, but an improvement on it, not least because when followed it should completely avoid the risk of a non-anonymised notification email going out early to your recip.)Step-by-step guide by
morbane1. Creating a draft
You will need to post a new work to a collection - either by posting to fulfil an assignment or by clicking the “Post to Collection” button at the top of the collection, or by clicking to post a new work from anywhere in the Archive. With the first two methods, the collection will automatically be included in your work’s Association details. With the last method, you’ll have to add it manually. In the New Work page, your Associations should look like this:
(NB: not all collection tags autocomplete. It’s okay to enter the collection tag and then press enter, tab, or comma to ensure it shows up with the red “x”. The correct collection tag is the one that forms part of the collection URL - i.e., http://archiveofourown.org/collections/worldbuildingex_2018/profile)
At the bottom of the page, choose Preview rather than Post Work.
When the preview loads, check that all your work details are correct, and then at the bottom of the screen, choose Save without posting.
You have now saved a draft to the collection. Don’t navigate away from this page just yet.
2. Check your draft
At the top of your newly saved work, several messages will appear.
If you see the third message, you are safe to continue posting your draft. Your work is not affected by the bug.
If you click away from this page and don’t see any messages, then you’ll need to start over.
If you see the message about a draft but you don’t see the message about the collection, you have been hit by the bug! Please contact the challenge moderator privately and ask them to fix your work. They can fix it by un-approving and re-approving it through the Manage Items pane. Once they have done that, you can post your draft.
3. Posting your work from a draft
First, click “Edit” on your draft. If you’ve navigated away from your draft, you can find all your drafts from your own AO3 dashboard:
Once you’ve clicked Edit, go to the bottom of your draft and click Post Without Preview.
Once you’ve clicked this, you have successfully posted your work and avoided the bug. You can find your work again, if you want to edit it, through your Works then Works in Collections, or through your Stats page. The bug only strikes when a work is first uploaded, so edit with confidence.