An unwelcome disruption struck the renowned Archive of Our Own (AO3) on Monday, leaving this esteemed haven of fan-written creations in disarray. The culprit behind this calamity was a malevolent distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that effectively crippled the beloved website. Although AO3’s representatives refrained from providing a definitive timeline for the restoration of normalcy, they assured users that a dedicated team of system administrators was diligently toiling away to establish “countermeasures” against this insidious onslaught. Regrettably, at the time of reporting, AO3 remains offline, leaving its loyal community in a state of uncertainty.
The turbulence began with AO3’s official Twitter account acknowledging technical glitches early on Monday morning. After a span of approximately seven hours, the account solemnly confirmed the cause: a crippling DDoS attack had brought AO3 to its knees. As the digital landscape trembled, AO3 revealed that no individual or collective had stepped forward to claim responsibility for this assault, further intensifying the enigma surrounding the motives. “We have not been contacted by anyone claiming credit for the DDoS as of this time, so there is nothing we can say for certain,” conveyed a representative from the Organization for Transformative Works in an email statement to Polygon. In an effort to keep their devoted readership informed, the organization vowed to share updates through AO3’s Tumblr and Twitter accounts.
AO3, an open-source platform overseen by the non-profit Organization for Transformative Works, has stood tall as a veritable fortress for fan-written masterpieces since its establishment in 2008. Empowering users to contribute and consume a cornucopia of fanfiction, AO3 has emerged as a leading repository in this domain. A staggering array of 11 million works spanning a remarkable 57,840 different fandoms have found solace within AO3’s digital embrace, according to an archived webpage. The platform’s remarkable literary significance was further exemplified when it triumphed in winning the prestigious 2019 Hugo Award for Best Related Work, underscoring its indomitable impact on the world of literature.