Third privacy option: WorldAnvil users only | World Anvil

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Third privacy option: WorldAnvil users only

New Feature Addition · Access management (subscribers/authors) · Created by Cyborg Starfish
accepted
privacy crawlers

What functionality is missing? What is unsatisfying with the current situation?

First, some background.

This request was inspired by another request that was declined a few months ago. That request was to opt out WorldAnvil users from predatory ChatGPT crawling. The reason why it was declined was the fact that there are many different opinions about the use of AI and WorldAnvil didn't want to make a sweeping decision. Instead, they decided to wait until OpenAI rolled out a feature that allowed users to opt out on an individual basis.
But in not making a decision on this front, WorldAnvil actually did make a decision. OpenAI bot crawing is opt-in by default, and I doubt that they will ever allow us to opt out on an individual level, unless they are legally forced to. We are resources to them, not people.
The workaround Dimitris proposed was to put our work on private, and allow only subscribers to see the content. However, this puts people with a lower tier subscribtion at a disatvantage. Personally, I'm not financially stable enough to upgrade to a higher tier, and I assume I'm not the only one. So right now, if we want to reliably protect our work, we have to hamstring our ability to reach an audience, or pay money to reach a broader one. I can't say that's really fair for people who aren't financially stable enough to upgrade.

How does this feature request address the current situation?

I'm reminded of the debacle of another bot crawler strip mining AO3 without anyone's knowledge or consent. When this news came to light, many AO3 users put their work on private, which in AO3 terms, means that you have to be logged in in order to see the work. I think such a privacy state should exist for WorldAnvil content as well.
For context, here is a link to AO3's statement on their situation. https://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/25888. Of course, restricting access for everyone but active users will not block all scrapers, but it can help against the bigger ones.
Right now, privacy on WorldAnvil is an all-or-nothing situation. If it's public, it's open for the entire internet, including predatory crawlers, if it's private, it's completely hidden for everyone except assigned subscriber groups. A third privacy option alongside those first two could be helpful for people who want to protect their work from more prolific crawlers, but don't have the money to upgrade to a tier that allows them to have a large amount of subscribers.

What are other uses for this feature request?

It could also be useful for people who aren't necessarily worried about crawlers, but just want to share their work with the WorldAnvil community and not the entire internet.

Follow up


I would like to echo Blossom Tree Art's remark that it should be opt-in. Yes, it should be. After all, it's a third option alongside the two that are already there.
I'm not sure why this is still open, it's already been twenty days. Still, thanks to all of you for your support, it really means a lot.
Don't get me wrong, I haven't given up on this. Quite the opposite in fact.

The Team's Response

Hi! Thanks for your suggestion—a third visibility option for logged-in users only will be implemented. It will not be an immediate changes because it affects multiple systems on World Anvil, but we've heard you and it's now on our to-do list. Note that, as visibility settings are a Guild feature, only Guild members will be able to use this.   To address your follow-up: "I'm not sure why this is still open, it's already been twenty days."
Please note that we have a ton of stuff on our plate and we're a very small team, so our response can sometimes be delayed. We discuss and address all feature suggestions.
Current score

106/300 Votes · +24211 points

Votes Cast

  • +300

    by Coloratuba
    on 2024-03-19 18:23
  • +300

    by momococa
    on 2024-03-19 09:45
  • +300

    by Ebsfive
    on 2024-03-18 15:31
  • -300

    by mikawa
    on 2024-03-18 05:13
  • +300

    by donpedicinijr
    on 2024-03-18 01:14
  • +100

    by Alexej_Axis
    on 2024-03-17 07:43
  • +300

    by ForagedBones
    on 2024-03-16 16:51
  • -300

    by SoulLink
    on 2024-03-16 08:10
  • +300

    by Ynkawen
    on 2024-03-16 01:43
  • +300

    by Syogren
    on 2024-03-15 17:55
  • +1

    by ExcelsiorV2
    on 2024-03-14 13:26
  • +300

    by aryst0krat
    on 2024-03-14 08:31
  • +300

    by gcjones216
    on 2024-03-14 00:11
  • +300

    by AvalonArcana
    on 2024-03-12 21:03
  • +300

    by A Filthy Bananafolk
    on 2024-03-12 17:46
  • +100

    by Thadium
    on 2024-03-12 02:19
  • +300

    by HouseMech
    on 2024-03-12 01:21
  • +100

    by malinsquest
    on 2024-03-11 13:19
  • +300

    by ptsdguts
    on 2024-03-11 11:34
  • +300

    by BasicDragon
    on 2024-03-11 06:43
  • +100

    by A Thundering Hobbit
    on 2024-03-11 05:38
  • +300

    by leftofarcadia
    on 2024-03-10 10:49
  • +300

    by Mahdi Avendesora
    on 2024-03-10 10:41
  • +300

    by WorldbuildingJet
    on 2024-03-10 05:15
  • +300

    by lkmorris
    on 2024-03-09 13:51
  • +300

    by Those2Nerds
    on 2024-03-09 13:41
  • +300

    by ZenithFireHaert
    on 2024-03-09 07:23
  • +300

    by A Goodhearted Velociraptor
    on 2024-03-09 06:30
    It should 100% be opt in, and their current stance on AI has me debating on how to poison a text based dataset. Maybe some kind of text encoding?
  • +300

    by Hanhula
    on 2024-03-09 06:28
    Yeah, please. This is my favourite solution on AO3 and I'd like it to be here, too.
  • +1

    by Milobunbun
    on 2024-03-08 03:50
    I actually find it really concerning that worldanvil is not more keen to protect its users from having their work stolen. I did private my work but that also means my work cannot participate in the community aspect anymore. If I had more coins I would spend more here.
  • +100

    by celex
    on 2024-03-07 22:05
  • +300

    by miraiya
    on 2024-03-07 18:54
  • +100

    by DoStuffZ
    on 2024-03-07 15:07
  • +300

    by GM S'drolion
    on 2024-03-07 15:05
  • +1

    by Observer of the Stars
    on 2024-03-07 02:02
  • +300

    by Lenosallose
    on 2024-03-06 19:20
  • +300

    by Gunner1994
    on 2024-03-06 15:46
  • +300

    by A Adorable Velociraptor
    on 2024-03-06 14:22
  • +1

    by romainhdl
    on 2024-03-06 13:13
    This is an excellent idea for privacy’s sake, a way to send viewable link would also be appreciated (akin to google doc feature)
  • +300

    by Catoblepon
    on 2024-03-06 11:55
  • +300

    by Akh
    on 2024-03-06 11:13
  • +300

    by Fearandramen
    on 2024-03-05 18:01
  • +300

    by BetweenTime
    on 2024-03-05 04:02
  • +100

    by Xaenis
    on 2024-03-05 03:00
  • +300

    by Grogus The Mad
    on 2024-03-05 01:47
  • +300

    by Bluboram
    on 2024-03-04 21:18
  • +100

    by JetpackMonkey
    on 2024-03-04 15:44
  • +300

    by Almenu
    on 2024-03-04 15:35
  • +300

    by Rhioppe
    on 2024-03-04 07:40
  • +300

    by Kranjax
    on 2024-03-03 07:20
  • +1

    by SebGreg732
    on 2024-03-03 00:44
  • +300

    by GrayWarden
    on 2024-03-02 22:14
  • +1

    by imly2k
    on 2024-03-02 12:50
  • +300

    by DaisyChick
    on 2024-03-01 23:16
  • +300

    by A Adorable Goblin
    on 2024-03-01 21:31
  • +300

    by Amancham
    on 2024-03-01 11:27
    More privacy options gets a big yes! For various reasons, I support this.
  • +300

    by Krispy Demon
    on 2024-03-01 06:22
  • +300

    by Goose80
    on 2024-03-01 01:03
  • +100

    by AsterVela
    on 2024-02-29 23:02
  • +100

    by [email protected]
    on 2024-02-29 20:38
  • +300

    by IdleMonochrome
    on 2024-02-29 17:32
  • +100

    by Michael Chandra
    on 2024-02-29 16:48
    I'd like both a way to tag my world as 'don't crawl if AI please', and a way to go 'okay for this entire world, you must be logged in to read'. I can do it per article probably with a userstate-container, but that is limited in who can use it.
  • +1

    by Masha Medov
    on 2024-02-29 09:59
  • +1

    by shay the fae
    on 2024-02-29 02:28
  • +300

    by A Frightened Goblin
    on 2024-02-28 21:29
    I strongly support more privacy options.
  • +300

    by A Lusty Kitten
    on 2024-02-28 18:25
  • +300

    by Hogshead
    on 2024-02-28 16:45
  • +1

    by Blossom Tree Art
    on 2024-02-28 12:44
    I disagree with the reasoning about AI bots, but see no problem with the suggestion of limiting articles to only being viewed by World Anvil users. Feels like that should definitely be opt-in however, and not the default.
  • +300

    by Jacob-W
    on 2024-02-28 08:37
  • +300

    by Gregorian
    on 2024-02-27 23:50
  • +300

    by Decaf Gaming
    on 2024-02-27 22:48
  • +300

    by Sozo
    on 2024-02-27 22:00
  • +300

    by A Glamorous T-Rex
    on 2024-02-27 08:02
  • +300

    by amelianite
    on 2024-02-27 04:39
  • +300

    by PrincessESH
    on 2024-02-26 22:27
    Yes. Yes. Yes. I was devastated when WA decided to just turn a blind eye to AI crawling. I really don't like the "all-or-nothing" stance that they've taken. The worry that an AI will snatch my work looms in my mind every time I publish an article. I dislike how WA's lack of privacy functions make me feel so powerless to protect my own content. Thank you for being bold in speaking.
  • +300

    by PhntmDrgn
    on 2024-02-26 20:38
  • +100

    by Adcheryl
    on 2024-02-26 10:07
  • +300

    by Ricowitz
    on 2024-02-26 07:30
  • +300

    by HunterChristmas1247
    on 2024-02-26 04:30
  • +100

    by graiffe
    on 2024-02-25 21:11
    I agree with all of this, and more privacy options is great for those who are starting out and don't feel comfortable with the entire internet watching them.
  • +300

    by Kittymonster
    on 2024-02-25 12:44
  • +300

    by Pete Nelson
    on 2024-02-25 08:48
  • +300

    by devinsxdesigns
    on 2024-02-25 02:25
    While I think the opening of this request was unnecessarily hostile, I do think the suggested feature has many uses. I agree with a below commenter on the usefulness of a feature like this to proceed to lock down accounts to those who are declared or verified 18+ and logged in, which would be nice.
  • +300

    by DramaticDragons
    on 2024-02-24 17:40
  • +300

    by Rayna Fairbell
    on 2024-02-24 16:40
  • +300

    by AlexHarlequin
    on 2024-02-24 16:25
  • +300

    by Chrispy_0
    on 2024-02-24 16:05
    If your work is good enough to copy or steal, then the people running these AI skimmers will find a way (by simply creating a WA account), making this feature pointless.   That said, I fully support the suggestion of restricting access on a per article or per world basis to WA users only, but for other reasons.
  • +300

    by Mochimanoban
    on 2024-02-24 15:29
  • +300

    by tjtrewin
    on 2024-02-24 15:13
  • +100

    by A Wild Mimic
    on 2024-02-24 13:01
  • +300

    by praefectus
    on 2024-02-24 11:29
  • +300

    by spooktacular
    on 2024-02-24 05:34
  • +300

    by Sirjwinsalot
    on 2024-02-24 01:43
  • +300

    by A Mischievous Ooze
    on 2024-02-24 01:34
  • +300

    by MKHETH II
    on 2024-02-24 00:35
  • +300

    by PrincessHoneytea
    on 2024-02-23 23:34
  • +100

    by Ratha
    on 2024-02-23 20:04
  • +100

    by Haleo
    on 2024-02-23 20:01
  • +1

    by BCGR_Wurth
    on 2024-02-23 19:56
  • +300

    by JoellaKay
    on 2024-02-23 16:41
  • +300

    by Tillerz
    on 2024-02-23 16:35
    I support this request. It can also help people to deflect aggression from artists who actively hate all kind of AI art. People can just set their world "private to WA users" and then the "public" is locked out.
  • +300

    by zpires
    on 2024-02-23 15:57
  • +300

    by kaixabu
    on 2024-02-23 14:56
    I was about to add in an 18+ feature similar to this.. so maybe combine "Authenticated" and "Authenticated 18+". Either way I will wait to submit mine based on how this one goes.
  • +1

    by JackLink916
    on 2024-02-23 12:13
  • +300

    by DiscardedStatue
    on 2024-02-23 11:19
  • +100

    by WeStanNikolai
    on 2024-02-23 11:14
  • +300

    by Cyborg Starfish
    on 2024-02-23 11:02