The AO3 Purity Test: The Rice Test, Translated for Fandom
Every fandom eventually builds its own version of the purity test, and fanfiction fandom — the world of Archive of Our Own, usually shortened to AO3 — has one of the best-known. The AO3 purity test (often searched for as the AO3 rice purity test) keeps the original test's shape exactly: a long checklist of experiences and a single score out of 100. What changes is the subject. Out go the first dates and drinking games; in come the first fic you ever read, the first one you dared to post, and the tags you swore you would never click.
How the AO3 variant works
The mechanics are inherited untouched from the original Rice Purity Test: start at 100, check every item that applies, lose one point per item. The items themselves map fandom life the way the original maps student life — beginning with the harmless end of the scale (reading your first fic, leaving your first kudos) and descending through writing, posting, commenting and bookmarking into ever more devoted territory: the rare ships, the notorious tags, the 3 a.m. reading sessions, the works you can never let your family find in your history. A score near 100 marks a newcomer; a score in the lower bands marks someone who has been in the fandom trenches for years.
Like the original, it exists to be compared. The score is meaningless as a measurement and perfect as a conversation — a one-number summary of a hobby that otherwise takes a thousand bookmarks to explain.
Take the original test the variant is based on
This site hosts the classic test the AO3 version descends from. If you have only ever taken the fandom edition, the original 100-question Rice Purity Test is worth the few minutes it takes — same scoring, same structure, a century of history behind it, and a result card you can share next to your AO3 score. You can read its full question list first if you want to know what you are signing up for.
AO3 purity test questions
What is the AO3 purity test?
It is a fan-made adaptation of the Rice Purity Test for fanfiction culture — the world of AO3 (Archive of Our Own). Instead of asking about dates, drinking and run-ins with the police, its questions ask about fandom milestones: the first fic you read, the first one you wrote, the tags and tropes you have ventured into, and how deep into fandom life you have gone.
How is the AO3 purity test scored?
Exactly like the original. You start at 100 and lose one point for every item that applies to you, so a lower score means a longer, deeper history in fandom. The joke is the same one the Rice students invented in 1924, translated into kudos, bookmarks and comment sections.
Is the AO3 purity test official?
No. It is a piece of fan culture — created and passed around by fans, in the same folk tradition as the original test. It is not published or endorsed by AO3 or the Organization for Transformative Works, just as this site is not affiliated with Rice University.
Why do people search for an AO3 rice purity test?
Because the original test's format — a long checklist and one brutally simple score — is endlessly adaptable, and fandom loves a self-assessment it can post. The AO3 version lets readers and writers compare fandom experience the way students have compared life experience for a century.