Don't Like, Don't Read

Don't Like, Don't Read or DL;DR is a phrase used to warn against complaints about an aspect of fic or meta. 
The phrase's meaning has shifted over time, but the common thread is a "live and let live" philosophy of fandom, which places the responsability for avoiding content one doesn't want to see on the side of the fanwork consumer, rather that on the creator's. 
==History==
Originally, DL;DR was used as a disclaimer warning in the header of fiction that portrayed a same sex relationship (usually slash). This sense is older and not widely used in most fandoms anymore, though it survives in some corners.also wattpad has 100% become the new http://ff.net : copy/paste bios, 'don't like don't read', etc. it's incredible. Tweet by @roxychaun, May 4, 2016.me: well there's at least a few good kpop fics out there me: *remembers kpop fans still write "boy x boy don't like don't read" me: nevermi Tweet by @battalioned , Apr 23, 2016.
To the amusement/bemusement of some older fen, the term seems to be in use again as of 2016, either in its original sense or to try and avoid other complaints, such as objections about a fic's cast, ship, tropes or kinks, lack of beta, or about unpopular opinions in blog posts.just saw a fic, in the year 2016, whose summary contained "don't like, don't read" Tweet by @musicspeakstoo, May 4, 2016. In that sense, it is a synonym of Ship and Let Ship.
In this newer sense, the phrase is sometimes used as a widely-held fandom etiquette rule which protects fans against purity culture and the "Fandom Police." See for example the 2016 meta essay The Three Laws of Fandom, of which DL;DR is the first, and the discussion that ensued about whether fics containning incest, underage or other "problematic" tropes, kinks and plotlines should be exempted from DL;DR. 
In more recent discussions relating to racism in fandom, fans of colour especially have highlighted that Don't Like, Don't Read can be weaponized to shut down legitimate criticism of racist tropes or trends.
==Some Examples of Use==
===Slash Warning===
* "[I remember] really aggressive disclaimers on slash fic (GAY STUFF IF YOU DON’T LIKE DON’T READ etc), and a general terror of homophobia. So many people were genuinely frightened of what would happen if their story about Trowa and Quatre kissing got into the “wrong” hands that it seems unimaginable now." a Tumblr comment by alittlethor, January 26, 2015
* "Also pairing wars could be a whole new ball game - if the mod didn’t like your pairing or thought it was Not Safe For Kids because it was gay, they would ban you. That’s what eventually [led] to the Don’t Like Don’t Read disclaimers, and later, endless arguments about warnings. (One thing I will never miss [from the past]: the people who thought queers should warn for all slash content, but noncanon het pairings were aokay.)" a Tumblr comment by , January 25, 2015
* "Man, I just remember songfic and FFNet’s ‘Don’t Like, Don’t Read’ messages. And getting into LJ culture as a bebe!fan just as LJ was dying." a Tumblr comment by gen-is-gone, January 25, 2015
===Other uses===
* "#incoherent rant, #opinion tag, #sorry the guy just drives me crazy, #in the words of an ancient fanfiction proverb, #don't like don't read"On the subject of aou, feminism, and why I’ve got a problem with Joss Whedon. Tumblr post by the-movie-that-was-never-made, June 23, 2015.
* "With a side of Eleanor (don't like, don't read)"Don't Forget (Larry Mpreg) by bae_1D_directioner, WIP posted to Wattpad, updated Jul 16, 2015.
* "Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Fang (BoBoiBoy), BoBoiBoy - Character, alternatif reality, based on ep 23 part 3, Friendship, Angst, kinda OOC, DLDR"duìbùqǐ by Arisa_Morishita, posted to AO3 Apr 22, 2016.
* "No Archive Warnings Apply, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, [...] Infantilism, Non-Sexual Age Play, forced age play, Forced infantilism, Diapers, bottles, More tags added soon, dont like dont read"This is your fate by iLouisLube, posted to AO3 Dec 3, 2015.
* On the Virtual Wrestling board on wrestlingclassics.com (home of WCFL), there was a so-called promoter known as Jason Ray Hough who posted several shows of his TXCW promotion, all of which were riddled with horrible spelling (often mangling words and names and starting every word with a capital letter), grammar and sentence structure, with no properly explained storylines and nothing which properly resembled a wrestling promotion. His concept was mixing the legends of the past with the stars of today, even including wrestlers who are actually dead, as well as using fictitious wrestlers and venues. On January 4, 2011, he announced a TV taping. The negative responses he received led to this response, which summed up much of what was wrong with his work.
==DL;DR vs Silencing Anti-Discrimination==
The limits of DL;DR have been discussed when it comes to criticism of discriminatory or stereotypical portrayals of minorities in fanworks. 
Stitch's Teen Vogue article about the need for criticism in fandom summarizes the issue in this way: 
One example (among many) of such discussion within fandom can be found in the Top!Joe controversy which erupted in The Old Guard fandom in the Fall of 2020. One Tumblr thread is representative of the argument: 
==Meta==
* Freedom, Censorship and Flaming by T'Mar (2000?)
* , by furiosity (June 14, 2006)
* Don’t Like, Don’t Read: A Queer History of Fandom by Kitsune Heart (2016)
* Modern fandom went awry (essay) by enigmaticpink (May 15, 2021)
==Resources==
* Don't Like Don't Read Tv Tropes page
* Don't like don't read Tumblr tag.
* Don't Like Don't Read AO3 tag & its related forms: 320 works as of May 5, 2016.again if you don't like it then don't read, don't like don't read, DL;DR, DLDR, Do NOT damn read it if you don't like it, Do not read if you don't like it, Don't like, don't like don't read simple as that, Don't like it then leave, Don't like it?, don't like it? don't read, don't like then don't read, Don't like then Please don't read, Don't like. Don't read., Don't Like; Don't Read, Don't like|Don't read, Don't read, don't read if that bothers you, Don't read if you are sensitive, Don't read if you don't like, Don't read if you don't like it, Don't Read if you Don't like., Don't read if you're easily offended, don't read it if you don't like it, dont liek dont read, dont like dont read, Dont like dont read...unless you really want to, dont want dont read [...]
* On Fanfiction, Fandom, and Why Criticism Is Healthy by Stitch
==References==