Pseud

A pseud on AO3 is a secondary name attached to an account in addition to its main username. Fanlore notes that, unlike usernames, pseuds do not have to be unique, so several accounts can use the same pseud, and that users may create as many as they like. Writers use pseuds to separate their works by fandom or topic, or to keep bookmarks or a particular kind of work under a different name while keeping everything in one account. The word is a shortening of "pseudonym" and is unrelated to the British slang sense of "pseud" for a pretentious person. The exact date the feature was introduced is not documented here; AO3 opened to the public in 2009.