Archive of Our Own (AO3) has successfully restored its online presence after experiencing an outage caused by distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Recognized as a prominent fanfiction repository, AO3 boasts an extensive range of fiction categories and fandoms. The site encountered difficulties on Monday, prompting AO3’s dedicated staff to diligently work towards restoring its functionality.
Throughout the ordeal, AO3 kept its loyal fanbase and readership informed through its official Tumblr and Twitter accounts. While users can once again indulge in the captivating world of fanfic, AO3 cautions that some stability concerns may persist in the coming days as they continue to address any remaining issues.
In a recent update posted on both Twitter and Tumblr, AO3 stated, “We may need to do some work to optimize our shiny new Cloudflare setup — we’ll keep you updated on any issues or downtime.”
AO3 is an esteemed open-source website housing millions of fan creations across a staggering 57,000 fandoms. Its literary prowess was celebrated with the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Related Work.
The urgency to restore the site exhibited by AO3 staff has prompted some grateful readers to show their support by making donations or expressing words of appreciation through social media (such as this tweet).
Unfortunately, amidst this display of generosity, there are individuals taking advantage of the situation. A tweet from AO3’s official account cautioned users, saying: “Heads up! Someone using the name AO3__Status (note the second underscore) is impersonating this account and attempting to scam AO3 users out of money.”
Heads up! Someone using the name AO3_Status_ (note the second underscore) is impersonating this account and attempting to scam AO3 users out of money. Please block and report this account. (And please note that the real donation form is currently down due to a DDoS.)
— AO3 Status (@AO3_Status) July 11, 2023
AO3 will continue to provide timely updates on the status of the site, although the possibility of future disruptions remains. Fans can now resume their indulgence in compelling fanfiction or even contribute their own creations. However, caution is advised when contemplating donations.
