The download button exists for a reason.
In the past, fic disappeared because websites disappeared or got taken over or changed their terms of service or any other reason. Sometimes they were deleted without the authors being given any warning at all. In those cases, people having downloaded or printed copies of them was all that saved the fic from being lost entirely.
There are authors who dislike the idea of their fics being downloaded because they want to be able to update/edit the fic and they don’t want someone out there having a copy that they consider to be lower quality.
Downloading can’t be disabled either. AO3 allows downloading to increase accessibility and they apply that standard to every fic in the archive.
Download the fics you love. Download them to read on another device. Download them because you don’t have a lot of data on your phone. Download them because you don’t want to worry about it being deleted in the future.
And feel free to drop the author a comment letting them know you loved it so much you wanted a copy of your very own :) You’re right that they have no way of knowing you’ve done it - unless you tell them yourself.
I once got a comment that a reader was printing my work and reading it on the bus on their way to work/school. I cried. Someone liked my stuff enough to. print. it. If you want to make an author’s day, hell yeah, let them know you downloaded their work. This is not “poor taste”, it’s the greatest compliment.
Источник: www.cronistalascolonias.com.ar
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