AO3 was attacked

[@ColeyDoesThings]

How did you fare during the great AO3 shutdown of 2023?😵 ALSO, I mentioned the name of the attacking group for educational purposes, but while talking about this situation online try not to mention or share their name if you can help it; cyber terrorist groups like this want to gain notoriety to add to their reputation. By spreading their organization's call card around it feeds the fire. Gotta pull a Voldemort on them; I just refer to them as ASS👌

[@holderofgold6764]

i didnt even know it happened lol, hyperfixated ona fic on another site, that was a million words

[@alicedodobirb2808]

This happened right when I was trying to make fanfics again :'(

[@dontask9728]

I went to post an update for my fic right in the middle of AOpocalypse. Needless to say I was very disturbed lol

[@justapotato1176]

tiktok went crazy

[@archie9014]

I was very brave 🙏

[@LiveLaughLocklyle]

This would all be extremely funny if it weren’t absolutely horrifying.

[@YEETx]

It *is* funny

[@osheridan]

Both tbh

[@livith9]

Why not both?

[@kirbysthiccthighs]

it’s both tbh LMAO we are officially this wars strongest internet soldiers

[@unigamerderp7430]

The word you'd be looking for is "terrifying" 😂

[@satuflower]

the fact that fanfic writers from each corner of the fandomverse put aside their differences to cope with the great Ao3 shutdown restores my faith in humanity

[@chiripaxa]

Uniting against a common enemy, it brings tears to my eyes...

[@thornewells2318]

The AO3 Community always restores my faith in humanity. While simultaneously showing me just how weird people can be.

[@angelicaph483]

The power of Fanfiction baby!

[@mitacestalia7532]

the enemy of my enemy is my friend

[@Moonmoon-ws6jo]

The sheer dedication the ao3 community has is astounding and i am all here for it.

[@QuincyKGrace]

If the collective fandom of ao3 end up bringing down a cyber terrorism group because they’re getting in the way of their fics, I will literally die laughing

[@summerpog3870]

same, that would be the highlight of my life.

[@aichitoshiki1321]

That would be the most iconic historical moment in history 😂

[@phoebelyn.13]

The fact they were trying to “protect the kids” while throwing the kids in a spiral 😭

[@THATBrokeAroSpecWallet]

Ikr

[@Flashy-fantasy]

It’s the fact that they said they was gonna stop “protecting the kids” for bitcoin

[@THATBrokeAroSpecWallet]

@@Flashy-fantasy bitcoin???

[@StarSkies-]

"we care so much about the kids!!! but we care more about that coin"

[@mememom9293]

As a mom of 4 I feel personally attacked 😂

[@GiornoLovesDeathGrips]

Claim your 'I survived the great ao3 attack of 2023' badge here!

[@HamHamIsDeadInside]

CLAIMED I WAS TRYING TO READ FANFICS AT 3AM AND I HAD TO SURVIVE👹👹👹

[@azr3ii]

✋✋

[@sweetiespice1956]

🤘

[@4str0ph0b14]

👍

[@caelwyver]

I’ll be telling my grandchildren about the great collapse of ao3.

[@Lost-Kid]

i find it funny that we can survive a 3 year long deadly pandemic without going outside but break under pressure and get overwhelmed within 28 hours when we can't access our fan creations honestly *same*

[@AC_memes]

I need my sub reader x hot man fanfics ok

[@moony2703]

Key missing point here is that Fandom was _how_ some people survived said pandemic, or at least helped them cope better. XD So yeah, taking someone's therapy method away having a bigger impact makes sense to me. Also ironically reminding me about how my country was like 'everything but essentials is closed! Except the alcohol the alcohol stays because we aren't crazy enough to go there (also we Are Not Dealing with withdrawals and potential additional medical pressures on top of everything else because Hell No) Aka by AO3 going down someone just tried to take away the Good Stuff and people reacted accordingly.

[@moadot720]

​@@moony2703EVERYONE survived COVID. People DID die when COVID was at its peak in 2020, but not BECAUSE of COVID. A disease that makes people want to anger the fashion police by wearing UGLY masks can NOT kill people. And this disease DEFINITELY doesn't warrant *keeping people from what they want and closing stores!*

[@catblue4690]

It’s the acting like “WD MUST PROTECT THE CHILDREN!!!” But entirely willing to leave said children that are apparently in so much danger for a few thousand dollars, for me.

[@ImNotEpix]

exactly, imagine allowing children "die" for 30 thousand dollars... in BITCOIN, yeah i doubt the priorities of these people

[@rivendells_shona]

I was looking for this comment. That was my thought as well.

[@Milk-ck1wv]

makes me laugh honestly

[@thatonearoace]

As a fanfic writer this was terrifying because I almost ended up ACTUALLY FINISHING MY WIPS! Luckily it was fixed before I resorted to that though

[@sectorzisnumbuhone]

😂

[@Tubbee_]

FELT

[@LycanMOON]

Same I actually got some chapters done It felt so weird

[@AutumnWoodham]

The horror.

[@osheridan]

I need some pearls to clutch.

[@chari6010]

The fact that other companies suffered from weeks of this but Ao3 was back up within 28 hours was very funny to me. Do not mess with the mostly insane community that thrives off of fanfiction, we bite Edit: wtf y’all I checked this two days ago and found 680 something I’ve never had this many likes before ahhhhhhhhhh- Edit 2: FUYFUYGUYGCFGSFEZHUIBUIHUI I HIT 1K? I HIT 1K-

[@warriormaiden9829]

Be nice to authors, or we will write you into oblivion! 😂

[@angelicaph483]

They might have the shittest luck and curse, but damn they're all freaking madlads 😤

[@breannagregerson8802]

Fanfics are our addiction. Never cut the supply, we'll go feral. Glad I had rps and Tumblr during this lol

[@snowtiger_021]

The saying goes: "The pen is mightier then the sword" Now fear us

[@jujuoof174]

Congrats lol!!

[@lizz-the-dragon2727]

Fighting degeneracy? More like contributing to it. Seriously they spent all their time skills to attack a fanfiction site????

[@faenene]

Ikr coding and hacking is pretty cool but using those skills on….. a fanfiction site? That’s kinda funny

[@zhcultivator]

exactly, loser behaviour from the hackers

[@Pagemaster22193]

Some people have no life

[@atlasavian4377]

Fr discord mod behaviour

[@suspiciouswolf933]

Fr that is classic discord mod Should we be trying to find this groups server to dump all the smuttiest fics we can find in it paragraph by paragraph

[@berlinasasinger1844]

Someone needs to make a T-shirt about this event saying: "I survived the DDoS attacks on Ao3, and all I got was this T-Shirt"

[@CouldntThinkOfaGoodUsername]

I've actually seen a few people doing that, thinking of buying on for myself 💀

[@Caterfree10]

I’d die if AO3 had one for the next donation drive tbh lol. Would happily add a flat donation to my usual monthly one to get one.

[@kirbysthiccthighs]

I LITERALLY BOUGHT ONE THAT SAYS I SURVIVED THE GREAT AO3 ATTACK OF 2023

[@lizanna6390]

​@@kirbysthiccthighslink please?

[@cabmag620]

​@@kirbysthiccthighsyeah link please 🥺

[@TigerWolfDemon]

As an old Tumblr rat I can assure you nothing is scarier than fandoms and truly attacking AO3 is a hornet's nest in beehive clothing. The only thing they could have done to make it worse is to attack swiftie or kpop stans directly as even gods know where not to tred

[@thecaprikid1329]

Tumblr rat 😂

[@faenene]

Tumblr rats unite lol

[@OneSpicyLoaf]

Mind if i become a tumblr rat?

[@yumyellow9620]

the hackers: BECAUSE GAY FANFICS KILLED MY GRANDMA, OKAY?!?!

[@menheraphim]

NAURR 😭😭

[@Pancakeboii]

LMAOOOO

[@sincerelynotme3522]

Why is there a lot of gay fanfics on AO3?

[@Sarah.Merton]

LMAO

[@Alex_schalkwijk]

Lmfao

[@notokay9459]

what AO3 said about the group: "We'd also like to take a moment to reiterate that cybersecurity experts believe the group claiming responsibility for the ongoing DDoS attack is lying about their affiliation and reasons for attacking websites. We strongly encourage you to be skeptical of any statements from this group." *AO3 staff believe that the group is lying about their affiliations, because first Sudan is in a fucking war now, why the fuck would they care about ao3.And it's like so random.. also they attacked other sites and apps apart from ao3 so their reason being anti-LGBt is likely false.* the most likely theory is that they're 4-channers trolling.

[@coalopalatticus6964]

I'm not saying we should return the favor, but...

[@socialistrepublicofvietnam1500]

As she said, the pro-Russia claims seem to be right Russia has been trying to cooperate with the Middle East, notably Saudi Arabia, to withhold oil from the market, causing the oil price to skyrocket, which will allow both to make more money by selling that withheld oil so Russia can fund the war in Ukraine and revitalize its foreign currency reserves The fact they attacked fanfiction rather than 4chan or something is probably because of just pure bigotry

[@awanderingp3rson]

they're russians trying to make people be racist

[@uristmcdwarfington8863]

I've also seen claims that there are strong links between the group and russian orgs part of their espionage machine trying to stir up anti-muslim divisions in the west, but this was claimed on r/NCD so take it with a very non-credible grain of salt

[@adrienstarfaer]

​@@coalopalatticus6964I'm saying we should take the moral high road. Don't retaliate when you don't know for certain who did it. It'd probably be better to just donate to the archive and hope this shit doesn't happen again.

[@triangleghost_]

The fact that they used the term "lgbtq+" and "smuts" could imply that the call was coming from inside the house and frankly I find that terrifying Edit: ok this actually blew up so I wanna clarify, it's specifically the term "smuts" that sets alarm bells off. Smut is a very common thing in the fanfic community but why wouldn't they use the term p0rn or p0rnography? Also, what scares me about it coming from inside is that someone in the fanfic community would willing get rid of their community's outlet. And also the fact they took the time to spell out the entire acronym? That's just odd idk.

[@Eurasian_]

not ur pfp being Aoyama paired w/ this comment 💀

[@AuroraSilverFox]

Or it was AI written 😅 AI writing since it scraped AO3 can make outgroups seem in. Eg) the Omegaverse example

[@triangleghost_]

@@Eurasian_ asfwkeje yea ik but I haven't gotten to the traitor arc yet so like let me pretend for a little

[@lolcandyyy]

@@AuroraSilverFox interesting theory! 🤔

[@PaintSplashProductions]

Yeah actual bigots would probably use the f slur or something especially if they’re from a country where lgbtq+ people are killed and discriminated against

[@joeljohansson3615]

Can we just appreciate the volunteers that worked so hard to help the site. They're the real heroes. Someone needs to make a fic for them. Where they're the heroes we all celebrate.

[@miraculous_lady_noir2179]

You know what? I'm gonna write that now.

[@osheridan]

AO3 team members & volunteers seem so nice

[@Featheryfaith7]

@@miraculous_lady_noir2179 Me too. I will probably put them in my fanfiction somewhere as reference.

[@justarandomweeb8953]

Drop the fic names I need it

[@suspiciouswolf933]

I might never upload it but Come on Hero au Ao3 staff and volunteers Saving the world from an evil hacking organisation that’s part of a bigger world wide problem and the heroes winning Throw in a bit of drama Sexual tension with an enemies to lovers situation Put in a cute animal like a dog or cat and make them the best character And at the end the people of Ao3 city (that’s a big city….) are saved and we all celebrate our heroes

[@someoneawesome8717]

My partner was one of the people who worked on repairing Ao3 and let me tell you, most of the people who work on it also love to read fanfics so it is just as important for the site workers as it is the users because they are one in the same

[@thealmightybipper3381]

Tell your partner thank you for me!! They're a blessed person!

[@someoneawesome8717]

​@@thealmightybipper3381there are many benefits to working in cyber security, one of which being able to get things done quickly

[@PaintSplashProductions]

Give your partner the biggest hug ever from all fanfic enjoyers 🫂

[@ssr8555]

Was going to say. Do not mess with people who are actually passionate about the things they do. These are VOLUNTEERS working on the website, they’re not doing anything for money. Just because they love it just as much as us.

[@TheDomina]

Thank them for us!!!

[@CaffieneKitty]

I really like how Coley has grown to inhabit this role as a sort of Fandom News source. Reliable, balanced, and necessary reporting. Well done!

[@vixntrickzz]

I find it so funny that their supposed motives are "getting rid of degeneracy" but the result of their hacking was even MORE degeneracy because of the sheer amount of anonsudan x AO3 memefics

[@mysticani1691]

People making fan fictions about this incident does give me faith in humanity. 😆

[@M-m585]

The human version of anonsudan would be a russian person wearing a black face speaking a terrible sudanese arabic in a failing attempt to to pretend they are sudanese So what would a human ao3 look like?

[@AshleesBathroom]

​@@M-m585a gay teenager is my only guess.

[@Qabim]

​@@M-m585I ship it

[@allthatjazz5445]

@@M-m585 human ao3 would be an attractive chad with more than 10000+ followers

[@maxwellgrimsley]

The fact that they were so concerned about lgbtq stories being dangerous and wrong and didn’t even mention the dead dove do not eat stories that are on that site speaks volumes. 💀

[@conspiracypanda1200]

People who tag with DDDNE are kind as they know their content could be disturbing. I'm more concerned about people who don't know how to tag correctly so they can't be filtered out! Example: Imagine being me, perusing T rated fics only to encounter untagged baby death! Via killer robots! After tearing apart the helpless and screaming Mother first! Yikes! Don't you think that should be an M at least!?

[@lbelypokelbely1137]

@@conspiracypanda1200that’s oddly specific, you okay bro?

[@maxwellgrimsley]

@@conspiracypanda1200 dang 😭 fair point

[@mayojuno]

also like, DDDNE is often associated with disturbing content, but it doesn't necessarily equate to disturbing content. DDDNE's meaning is just "look at the other tags. whatever i've tagged, i'm not joking." DDDNE acts as an amplifier to a work's tags, even for works that are lighthearted or fluffier, but it's just that DDDNE is mostly used on fics with disturbing tags because those are the ones where authors really need to make sure readers know what they're getting into.

[@unitlonda4925]

​@@mayojunoYeah, it's mostly used on works with triggering content, at least from what I've seen. The worst thing I've seen though is authors that think using the dead dove tag is enough as is and there are no other content warnings or tags required 😭

[@yeonu4887]

The fact that the best course of action when AO3 goes down is to collectively panic on Tumblr until our super lovely GOAT and CHAD volunteers rescue the day.

[@Thepeanutcollector]

Like I salute those volunteers they worked as hard as marines

[@GrindyVine]

​@@Thepeanutcollectorhey, even the two most rival fandom and ship wars would band together to get their sites back

[@Beccx_a_ryan]

The mention of AO3 becoming more mainstream and well-known puts a literal lump in my throat because the more eyes there are on the website, the more people are going to come for it. It's great that more people are discovering and participating in fic but in the same breath it's scary to see it exit fandom spaces. A lot of fandom members (specifically in RPF Fandom which I personally participate in, in fanfic contexts) take to the Instagram comments and Twitter threads on the actors and real people's profiles talking about the fics (normally smut) they're going to write I deeply want to scream at them to get back inside the house because 1. its disrespectful to bring that so close to the real people involved, and 2. if the wrong people catch on, then negative attention will certainly follow and more people will lobby for AO3 to be taken down as some horrid site rather than seeing the creativity it fosters. Basically take this as a PSA to keep fictional fandom content in fandom-dedicated spaces, especially when fictional representations of real humans are involved.

[@ByOwlLight]

They targeted AO3 because it isn't a big corporation with a lot of robust security in place or the money to go after them. In other words, they picked on the smallest kid on the playground cuz that's the only one they're capable of bullying. It's kind of hilarious they're bragging about it like it is some grand accomplishment, like a dude acting all tough about going to jail for parking tickets.

[@analyticaltomato]

And they shouldn’t even be bragging that much considering that the user made site with volunteers that weren’t paid to deal with this crap STILL managed to kick them out in a little more than a day. Like, kudos to the volunteers for working hard of course, but if you can’t even manage to take a site like AO3 down, what makes you think things like REDDIT will be easier?

[@calliope2881]

It's like bullying the smallest kid on the playground and then the child pulls out a confetti loaded cannon. They lost against a nonprofit fanfiction website. In one day.

[@HinataElyonToph]

More than likely it was just people from 4chan deciding to do a bit of trolling

[@iGotBulletproof-Insomnia]

It's rude that you're bringing Rickey into this. Let him be London's #1 most wanted in peace, okay?

[@fartblaster420]

and the smallest kid at the playground just has a shit ton of ants in their pockets at their disposal

[@thenagito]

Their villain origin story: One day, they were reading Kaeluc fanfics, when their sister came in and said "No! They're brothers! Bad!" And from that day forth they swore revenge against the site that permanently embarrassed them

[@entirely34]

their fault for not hiding it well I would throw my phone to the other side of the room when someone enters while I'm reading ao3

[@SeaBunni0]

OMG NOT KAELUC PLEASE THAT SHIP IS ACTUAL ASS-

[@thenagito]

@@SeaBunni0 The reason I chose that ship is because it's particularly open to misinterpretation while not being outright universally condemnable. It's not like some of the plain incest or pedophilic ships. Thus, he could've feasibly been a good person at one point, so this is his villainous start

[@pizzalisp5427]

I want to like your comment twice

[@JustAFantasy2015]

ya’ll can’t leave this goddamn website alone? Last year was bad enough and we are halfway through this year, DONT MESS IT UP BY TAKING THE WEBSITE DOWN Edit: wtf, how did this get 1k?

[@googleyoflolz9930]

Pls dont take it down 😭

[@GemmaGamer-hr5kf]

The first thing I said when I saw the notification pop up was: “Alright, what the fuck happened?” I WAS NOT EXPECTING A DDOS ATTACK BY TERRORISTS.

[@Elizamieefennec_0980]

Same😂😢

[@nicoleb695]

Terrorists fixated on ruining LGBTQIA+ content. How pathetically cowardly

[@justarandomweeb8953]

Same i was just expecting a maintenance until 2 hours turned into 24 hours

[@i.mguana3699]

Same???? Like, bruh??? On a volunteer non profit fanfic website????

[@Melanie-jy2nw]

It was a horrible two days 😢

[@gingertea3778]

Funny thing is I didn’t realise it was shut down because at the time I was in the ‘stopped reading fanfics for months after finishing the most toe curling, gut wrenching, and teeth grating fanfic ever to exist’ phase💀 I only realised it had shut down after it came back up because someone mentioned it had gone back up and I was confused what that meant and they told me it had been under attack😭😭😭 But like AO3 team/volunteers ate and left absolutely ZERO crumbs

[@lunamikami3835]

For everyone who survived it: You got my heart ❤

[@osheridan]

No offense but can you take it back, it's bloody

[@Rosedoesart]

@@osheridan LMAO

[@lunamikami3835]

@@osheridan Oh, I'm sorry, let me clean it, before giving it to you

[@FormalFilmsProductions]

It wasn't easy, but i made it through

[@STAR_WALTZ]

thank you,it was hell..😔😔

[@roseyghost]

My experience with the AO3 attack was actually kind of funny because I didn’t even know it happened until afterwards. I had a few tabs already opened on Google so I could read fanfics offline since the pages were already loaded and I was just reading from those for the entirety of the attack. And then I saw people on tumblr talking about how they were barely getting through the pain of AO3 being down and I was like “huh what” so I basically was the only AO3 user I know who was just okay the whole time

[@Ali-xo2de]

Honestly same, I was reading a fic that was pre loaded on my chrome app in my cellphone. I have around 98 tabs, most of them fanfics and so I didn't notice this was happening until I tried to read another chapter of a fic I was reading and it didn't load.

[@Ali-xo2de]

That and I had like 6 fics downloaded on my kindle

[@warriormaiden9829]

@@Ali-xo2de 🤣🤣🤣

[@mischiefgrimoire8550]

😂 Same here! Didn't even know the site was down until i saw this vid in my recommend. I was binge watching Monkie kid during that time so i was clueless at the time XD

[@savvy3tv632]

Same. I was at a summer program, so I didn’t really notice. Until I went to bed and pulled out my phone for my daily dose of fanfics. Then I freaked out. I’m so glad I was busy because I would have lost my mind. Lol.

[@khadijahdanielian3918]

As a muslim who’s also part of the lgbtqia+ community who’s not only a big Fanfic reader but also write fanfic…screw those hackers. But I’m happy that ao3 made the statement they did. This whole thing was bonkers, but I’m glad it got resolved. Major kudos to the hardworking workers who got this resolved behind the scenes in ao3. Y’all are awesome.

[@meh4294]

Hi ,another Muslim here ,I agree with you , the subject of the terrorist using Islam to hide their facade is nothing new ,it happened with ISIS ,and it can happen with any organization, what I want to say is that those ppl using Islam in such a disgusting way are not and will not be a part of the Muslim and Islam community and that ppl from either side (religious/non religious)should not condone to discourse and start fighting bc of ppl that frame either side as evil ,Islam is about respect and not abt doing hatecrimes against any group of ppl

[@kuetiau]

yooooo im a queer muslim too :D

[@ayae12]

​@@kuetiausame here

[@gannawalidibrahim2664]

guys..no offence but theres no such thing as lgbtq muslims your breaking one of the biggest rules in islam..

[@osheridan]

​@@gannawalidibrahim2664 Babe have you *read* the Quran, or any ancient religious text? Believing in Allah and the basic Islamic values is cool, but if you do everything they say you will be in jail.

[@rainisnice9831]

as a muslim and a native arabic speaker what really blew their cover was using the word "lgbtq+" cus any normal arabic speaking homophobe would just throw a bunch of insults or atleast use the word "مثليون" instead and while it honestly pains me to see my own people framed for this homophobic attack atleast everything is back in order now and i can go back to writing my little gay escapist fanfic in peace

[@bunniib0n]

omg same???

[@S0m3B0z0OnTheInternet]

Thank you, we need more Muslims or just people who grew up in Islamic families to clarify that: WE DO NOT CLAIM THESE RABID FOLK

[@lithigos]

I heard in another video about similar attacks by Anonymous Sudan that the group is not actually affiliated with Sudan.

[@安然-x9t]

@@lithigos as someone from Sudan, we are literally in actual war 💀

[@KyrenaH]

​@@安然-x9t Yeah, they have more important things to worry about than fanfics.

[@bruhmcbro2704]

I love how you explained the concept of a DDOS attack in fanfic terms.

[@akumacv2075]

DDOS Coffee Shop AU with Aliens. Perfection.

[@saros_system]

​@@akumacv2075Indeed!

[@zynx4302]

"I survived the ao3 attack of 2023"

[@zynx4302]

@Moonmademedoit twas traumatic

[@osheridan]

I was luckily asleep

[@cosmicsymbols4225]

Hey everyone, if you have the spare change, consider donating to AO3 this year. All of the volunteers did so much hard work dealing with this bs and they deserve a little assistance in keeping the site running for us

[@riggs20]

We’re here to protect the children! Unless you can spare $30,000, in which case we no longer care about the children.

[@EXORClSTS]

Money speaks louder then children.. -the hackers and odalia blight

[@dragonowl77]

@@EXORClSTS This is most definitly a controversial take, but I include some politicians in that statement

[@EXORClSTS]

@@dragonowl77 so true

[@AC_memes]

Children are temporary money is forever -my friend John

[@aley_e]

It impresses me how united humans can be as a society and irritates when they harm the masses simply because they can :/

[@Squoowp]

Honestly I would love a how to survive a parody-ish survival guide video for when fan fiction sites are down

[@catbatrat1760]

No joke, that sounds like a genuinely good idea.

[@astrophynix179]

Honestly, I'd gladly watch that- mix humor, fanfic slang and overly dramatic measures in, it'd be perfect xD

[@broblerone413]

YES and in the style of VHS training tapes

[@69Cockette]

I was absolutely infuriated when I saw the message. Disgusting? The only disgusting one here is the hacker trying to take away one of my only comforts. AO3 is like a family where everyone can truly express even the wildest and darkest parts of themselves without being shamed for it. Those 28 hrs were probably the longest of my life like imagine having ur best friend disappear for an entire day or having your family taken away from you? Or imagine ur therapist just ghosting u? And I know AO3 is not a good replacement for therapy but u get me

[@stayalways1925]

i gotchu bro, we all gotchu, we stand together as one

[@octaviawinter9768]

I’m sudanese and I’m certain they aren’t. At least several hundred sudanese people have died(within the borders, my uncle died outside of them because they bombed the hospitals so he had no access to medicine) and millions have fleed. I’m deeply offended and angered by them throwing Sudan under the bus for this. Hemedti and Burhan are too busy killing civilians and each other to do this. Internet is on and off and we don’t have the know how or the motivation to do this.

[@pegmay7209]

Therapy is expensive. I’ve written a few stories on AO3. This was personal for me.

[@leiliabug5240]

INDEED. I see some fics' tags and I'm like "hm. No thank you" and don't! Read! The! Fic! Shaming people is NOT NICE

[@Milk-ck1wv]

"Your corrupting the kids and are sinful and disgusting! Your pedophilic for writing stories(?)!!!" They say this as they attack people and kids for wanting to read stories and call innocent individuals as well as minors predators and aren't actually caring for real kids or attacking real predators.

[@rmismine]

I don’t condone the attack on the website and I was dying right along with everyone else waiting for it to come back, but there is a lot of disgusting, pedophilic content on the site.

[@whizkeysh0t]

​@@rmismine and rape fetish, and racism fetish, and... but they DO have a 'everything goes' typa policy since it's supposed to be ARCHIVES.

[@whizkeysh0t]

@coopid content warning. fair enough, i just wish I didn't have to enter for the first time and get flashed with a fanfic that literally used all the horrible things women went thru as if it was porn. Maybe the front page could filter out some things out, yknow?

[@monisnotapsychopath8160]

@@rmismineit is true that there is a lot of gross unhinged shit on the site, but because of the nature of the site, being an archive, I think it’s better to not try to censor everything. Plus it’s just fictional stories, not pictures or actual porn of whatever. And it’s pretty much impossible to accidentally or be forced to read something you don’t want to, as you have to search for works, and they also almost always tag those kinds of things, have trigger warnings, etc. Overall, the attack was totally unfounded, and nobody was being saved by attacking A03.

[@thisisfine5746]

Not to mention if they really did think that was the case and truly cared about it they never would have held a ransom.

[@Sarah.Merton]

I only survived by watching other people suffer on tumblr lol

[@hermitsunite953]

Same

[@ayae12]

Same

[@combedcloud]

I survived cause i was watching other people suffer on TikTok, and cause I had downloaded a lot of fanfics beforehand

[@thecreationqueen3344]

I was thriving in the chat of Downdetector and one of the Discord communities, we were all suffering lmao

[@njivwathomassilavwe2056]

Tumblr users unite

[@marinarothemund9414]

I had full on withdrawal symptomes. It got so bad that I shamefully went back to wattpad where I searched and searched until I found a fic that I read on Ao3 that the author cross posts to wattpad. You have no idea how much I needed that fic. Thank every Ao3 author who cross posts to wattpad cause you were my lifesaver for a day!

[@jazzyj3059]

I read my manga, light novels, and classic literature while AO3 was down. I did update a story before this happened and realized I was getting no reviews...this was why 😅😭.

[@Nrandom2215]

As an OTW volunteer, while I wasn’t on the team getting AO3 back up it’s been so wholesome and wonderful to see the sheer amount of support we’ve received through all of this ❤❤

[@CelestialBug]

You and all of the other OTW volunteers are awesome!! I can probably speak for the whole community when I say we appreciate all of the work you do, whether you personally helped to get AO3 back up and running or not

[@yukis2508]

Lots of love and respect for OTW volunteers. You guys are the real heroes❤❤

[@geeking424]

Thank you

[@littlejourneyseverywhere]

BLESS YOU SWEET FRIEND! And thank you for your service!

[@vstormfelt5329]

o7

[@Average-honkai-player]

I remember how fanfiction shaped my childhood. When I was 8 I started reading espeon x Umbreon fanfics on quotev. Then I switched to x reader fics, I read my first smut, or ‘lemon’ on Wattpad when I was 11. Now I usually use Ao3 and tumblr. Shoutout to fanfiction for raising me when my parents didn’t 😭🙏

[@miat1329]

lmao omg fucking quotev I have not heard of that one in forever 🥲🤣

[@ReiAnikaAyanami]

holy shit, quotev. i feel old now

[@berryveiss810]

Why do we have the same fanfic life path? Except I began with Gohan x Videl fanfiction 🙃✋ Dragon Ball wasn't giving man

[@one-onessadhalf3393]

Lol I read my first Wattpad lemon at 14, and I’m not currently involved in a lot of fic reading anywhere right now (but that will change with time)

[@juliemesser2053]

Raised you do you realize fanfiction is fake or fiction,right? Hun you're going to have a hard life. I'm so sorry that parents didn't raise you,it's sad to hear that some parents mistreat their kids.😢

[@mollyapteros]

My dad used to work in govt cybersecurity and the vast majority of attacks they dealt with came from Eastern Europe. They liked to target hospitals because they're full of data and taking those places down causes a lot of chaos. The theory about the AO3 attack being a group trying to foment unrest seems totally possible.

[@Honk19]

AO3 is actually blocked in my country, aka Russia mainly for the fact that it has a lot of LGBTQ+ fics. It's rumored that Ficbook(Russian AO3) was responsible for making the site blocked in Russia, though we have no proof. I have to use a VPN if I want to access the site. Thank God that AO3 is back online!

[@crystalclear7512]

Does Ficbook allow/have LGBTQ+ fics?

[@incryowl]

@@crystalclear7512 yes, actually! In fact, most of the fics on that site are lgbtq 👍 I'm one of the writers there (and on AO3) and it's kind of funny to see all of this unravel around me. Especially when people jump to conclusion that "evil russians are at it again!!!" because I immediately get reminded of my best friend, an IT-specialist, who hacks sometimes for fun. So the info about Ficbook being involved in this is far-fetched but interesting if you think about the competition between the sites.

[@Honk19]

@@crystalclear7512 It does, but they changed icons.

[@Featheryfaith7]

That's what I thought. Russia is known for banning Konosuba. Thank you for coming forward. ☦

[@crystalclear7512]

@@incryowl So they couldn't have banned AO3 for bigotry reasons alone if Ficbook still exists and not only allows LGBTQ+ content, but consists mainly of it. The main reason was probably competition (even if ficbook itself wasn't involved in the ban) and the fact that AO3 is an American site.

[@SylvesterLazarus]

Reminder to everyone: Download everything you enjoy and want to keep, especially stuff from inactive accounts or orphaned fanfics because some hackers would delete AO3 for fun, not even for 30K, not even for $3, just to see the work of others destroyed.

[@Milk-ck1wv]

Another theory is that this attack is also related to helping the KOSA bill pass or give more reasons to why it should literally pass even though its against the 1st amendment right and take down queer work and more off of the internet for "children's safety".

[@johntheherbalistg8756]

What is the KOSA bill? Do I need to write my representative?

[@evelunareta7944]

​@@johntheherbalistg8756The KOSA bill (per my knowledge until now) will basically allow the internet to be controlled by your political figures (i don't remember if it was the state or local figures). It will forever change the internet as we know it and will put many restrictions to it. So yeah, I'd reccomend you pass the voice and call up your representatives to argue against this bill taking place

[@loreyxillumina]

Internet will never be "child friendly " because even if you remove porn out of the picture, there will be some gruesome stuff that will traumatize a child like the cat blending video trending few days ago. Horror stuff is there too with many arg channels and etc. There's so many things that can threaten a child's innocence and a better approach will be to not let a child into the internet. It's the parent's fault that the child lost their innocence. //// Attacking Ao3 instead of porn sites is hilarious and never thought I would see this day come. I really wanted to read platonic fluff between friends because I was feeling lonely on that day but damn them for taking Ao3 away from me. Fortunately I found couple long fics on wattpad.

[@johntheherbalistg8756]

@@evelunareta7944 Omg, we're trying to go all EU on the internet. Definitely gonna make a call to verify my rep's position on this one, at least. Ty for information 👋✌️

[@tikimillie]

Oh for fucks sake, we better prepar for a fanfic black market then

[@angelicya890]

The chaos of that day was shocking. I was refreshing ao3 page at least 20 times because I was bored and I wanted to finish the fiction I began to read 15 minutes before the attack

[@golwenlothlindel]

It was indeed shocking. Please don't ever refresh a webpage more than 3 times. If it doesn't work by that point either it's your network, or the website is being attacked. If you keep refreshing the page, you'll just make the problem worse.

[@CookiehsAndDreams]

As a religious person, I'm appalled at these people's disgusting behavior, but also offer a huge thanks to those who saw past their stupid and deceitful bait. God bless, y'all ✌

[@sarahouillette1357]

God bless you too!

[@ToxicCatt-y7c]

So are these people just attacking companies based on their beliefs?

[@ahniandfriends123]

​@OfficialToxicCat I mean, religion has been used to justify destroying merchandise (i.e. burning toys, books and music records in a bonfire) and do bombings on public buildings that have businesses inside them (a certain skyscraper complex anyone?)

[@jaanaiwilson7535]

​@@ToxicCatt-y7cThe guys who actually attacked tried to make it look like it was done by Islam for religious reasons. But it was real just them.(I don't remember the group name)

[@ToxicCatt-y7c]

@@jaanaiwilson7535 interesting..

[@Child.DazaiOsamu]

17:16 i survived simply because i was one of the people who migrated to DownDetector to see whether it was working or not, i’ve got to admit it was rather fun as after a day or two we formed an entire fandom (with its own ao3 fics now that its up again!!), micro-celebrities (namely Ur Mom, rory, Ella, Vivinono, Raine, ImNotOkay, CypressTree and obviously ArachnidsGrip and many others!), played games together, had a roblox wedding then a divorce (then they got married again??), started a war or two, formed actual friendships etc so it was kinda fun

[@kassiaactuallydraws9361]

I can't believe I missed all of this it sounds so fun ToT

[@MondkeksLP]

That sounds so awesome. I love this side of the internet.😭

[@Doubl3_Black]

I love how there was semi-memes and then just. VRISKA.

[@melzyie]

you're the person that i always see in gcrv comments🤯🤯

[@FlurryPie0]

This is the KZbin equivalent of learning that the craziest stuff happened at school while you were gone

[@jazzyj3059]

And what's funny is that the whole of AO3 isn't completely full of what they were talking about. There's literally stories about religion, fluff, found family etc. It's ridiculous though, I just read and write, that's it. 🤦🏾

[@forgotmyname4807]

Exactly these people just needed to learn how to use that damn filter, it would fix everything, you don't want it "exclude" but alas these newbies didn't bother with that sorts 🥸

[@auliamate]

I read mostly fluff so IDK what they mean, just because there’s more risqué stuff on AO3 doesn’t mean that people who read it are degenerates, or all AO3 users read it. Honestly they’re probably but 4chan users and Twitter refugees

[@rockmangurlx4973]

It’s basically a vast selection of various genres and niches.

[@Professor_Brie]

Well if the religious motivations were really just a coverup and they were trying to stir up Islamophobia, then it wouldn’t matter if there was wholesome content on AO3, so long as there was some stuff on there they could use as an excuse

[@aino-kaisav5504]

And most of all: It's fiction, non-commercial fiction! It doesn't affect real life unless we make it affect real life!

[@cassshirley7161]

Until the shut down I hadn't even tried downloading fics. And then the shut down...I learned real quick when it came back. And I am so thankful for AO3 volunteers.

[@Anindeterminateamountofbees]

How do u download fics on mobile? I can’t figure it out for the life of me, so I’ve just been copy pasting into a google doc lol

[@acemstudio]

I had to use the wayback machine, tumblr, and internet archive for an entire day. I REFUSED to go to Wattpad.

[@sillystockings]

i'm a bit late but you can find fan work on internet archive?

[@Dandelionsinthesky]

The AO3 Volunteers are absolute angels😢💞💞💞I admire them so much,bless their hearts❤

[@-nutella]

I’M SO PROUD OF MY DOWNDETECTOR FAMILY!!! SOME OF Y’ALL MADE IT IN THE VIDEO!!!

[@mary-annabederman7874]

Dear survivors of the great DDoS attack, I send my support. I've been planning to ger into AO3 and would love some new comrades during this time of recovery.

[@Yourfandomsgirl]

Dear person Hello and I can say that on some level I did survive the DDOS Attack, it's funny how I found out that there was a problem with A03 through Coleys comment section because people were flipping out and saying that the store was down. Of course I went to check on the sit myself and it was indeed down luckily I was able to spend most of my time on TikTok and character Ai to take my mind off the situation but I was just hoping the entire time the site would come back. When I woke up the second day I logged onto Down detector where I found similar A03 lovers active and still reporting that the site was down. I spent a few good moments leaving comments and chatting it up with people before I decided to shut my phone off and go do chores (wash the dishes) it was while I was doing so that I saw the first A03 Notification come in and then another. At first I thought it was a jinx I clicked on the link and the page come up but I didn't interact with it in fear that the site would crash again but it didn't I said all that to say that I survived but it took a whole bunch of willpower on my part A03 is a lovely website to use if Your into all things fandom your apart of a Family now welcome and enjoy your stay 💕

[@tigrePrankster]

The fact that any of these theories are possible (though the probability varies) is both hilarious and scary. Hilarious because just how pathetic can you be to attack a FANFIC website to potentially further your goals, and scary because someone was stupid enough to do it knowing someone else may be stupid enough to take them seriously... I'm tired of living in "interesting times" man

[@felcatty]

Never mess with the passion of a community, only makes us more dedicated to what we love. Shoutouts to all the volunteers and everyone who came to together

[@MacKenzieAkari]

THE AO3 DDOS ATTACK ACTUALLY FUCKED MY DAILY SCHEDULE UP AND I WAS DISTRAUGHT. I did meet a bunch of people on the down detector though! We made friends there and shared names of fics with each other. It was hilarious.

[@-nutella]

i think I recognise you! downdetector was so fun, core memory fr 💪

[@MacKenzieAkari]

@@-nutella LETS GOOOOO I went by TheBetaCeu there, but I used the same picture lmao

[@ullamolina2007]

AO3 is officially blocked in Russia, though. In the eyes of the government it disappeared when they blocked it. But what I really find likely is that someone wanted money. They asked for money, after all. Anyone willing to stop what they’re doing for money in actuality never had any other reasons at all.

[@teal2111]

That day was a day that made it more apparent that a lot of people love their fanfics. I saw the community shouting thanks and sending their support to the ao3 volunteers. Like, the volunteers.. they do it because they want to and have a reason for it. Sending support and thanks to ao3 volunteers.

[@_subaro]

The attack was literally at the wrong moment because I had taken a short little break (a few days) from AO3 and then found the PERFECT fanfic, but then the site went down and I was devastated 😭

[@PeoplecallmeLucifer]

10:25 "WE DO IT FOR THE MORALITY ..... but if you pay uuuus ?!?!" ... Good fucking job on the morality

[@ch3rr1p1r4t3]

It's funny that they think that deleting a fanfiction website will suddenly elimimate the existence of lgbtq people and sex actually. like, holy shit. and you're right, srs.

[@blockgirlygamer7714]

@@ch3rr1p1r4t3LMAOAOA

[@skyrius5568]

To be fair, they probably didn't do it for the morality. If it is pro-Russian hackers masquerading as Sudanese ones as a smokescreen, there was no morality involved.

[@sabrina0791]

during the great ao3 drought, i too ventured back over to wattpad ... and you have to pay now???! did everyone else know this except me? so many blessings and kudos to the ao3 volunteers because while the hackers worked hard to destroy our peace, they ao3 community worked harder to restore it 🙏

[@i.nv.u]

im pretty sure wattpad had the pay-in feature (i think it was like coins?) for the works that were promoted by wattpad ever since 2019 (when i stopped using it) 😭. p sure a majority of the stories are still free but a lot of the well written original work is under a paywall

[@sabrina0791]

@@i.nv.u not to age myself but i was on wattpad in early 00's like 08 or 09 and finally jumped shipped once i discovered ao3 in 2012 😂 this month was the first time i was back. i had to do i bunch of stuff just to remember my login 😅

[@auliamate]

I experienced very little issues on AO3, and I’ve had like, 15 AO3 tabs with various fanfics open for two weeks on my iPad. Ironically I had just recently made my account too. So when I hear of this, I’m just like “do I have plot armour” because this was CERTAINLY a canon event. Edit: forgot to add this, can we get a round of applause for the volunteers who were the frontline in this dastardly conflict. They died so our crackships and smut may live on!

[@elianaslivia4405]

The one time when my hundreds (literally, about 1000+) tabs of fanfic come in handy Bless our volunteers! They deserve the world!

[@brinettevalorie4554]

I have hundreds of tabs full of fics too! But it was so horrible. My phone wouldn't load any of them and if they were loaded before had, my phone would refresh for NO REASON. It was like watching a bouncy castle deflate. 😢

[@midnightwalkers8077]

I was so lucky to have missed it that day I was busy with work so I couldn’t read anything if I wanted too. NGL Idk what I would’ve done if I couldn’t have read my hanzo fics man.

[@WithersStan]

Someone on Reddit posted a link to their Google drive fanfic folder, which had like 600 files from different fandoms. That link spread through like 5 other threads within minutes, it was amazing

[@XxSarahMCXx]

They really added an emoji at the end of their 'Protect the children' essay. I, a Ao3 writer who was supposed to update that day to my fanfiction of 134k words and 100k kudos I was dying and even went back to Wattpad to carry on my story. It was a wild 28 hours.

[@woohoo3786]

Could i have a link or name?

[@IneffableChild]

What's the fics name, and what fandom??? I'm curious hehe

[@diamondsandhearts3085]

My god, I knew ao3 volunteers were working incredibly hard on fixing the site, and I still applaud them nonetheless, but I didn't know that they had constantly been giving updates on the situation, trying to get everything back in order. We salute you ao3 volunteers. I may not have money, but if you have the financial stability to donate, even if it's a dollar, it would still be really nice :DDDD You guys did amazing work ao3 volunteers :DDDD

[@dudewhatthewhat8983]

If this really is about Russian alliances with Muslim countries, I have two reactions: 1) oh god, are they actually preparing for a world war?!?! Should I prepare a bunker?! 2) imagen if AO3 ended up playing a part in world war 3, and future kids had to learn about “the war on fanfic” in school.

[@TheVictorious98]

Amazing how skilled and hard working the volunteers are and how amazing the AO3 community is as a whole. Kudos to everyone 🎉👏👏👏

[@ahagotcha]

Ao3 volunteers are angels. Seriously they are doing this all volunteering work with their day job. They are freaking badass

[@TheCoffeeCrow]

I wasn't even using ao3 the day of the attack because I was busy and none of my fics updated so- why would I? And suddenly everyone freaking out and I'm like, "eh wazzat?- what's going on" So luckily I wasn't as effected as others were but I offer my condolences to my fellow addicts who were affected.

[@melloschocolatecake]

Same. I've been so busy writing my own stuff for ao3 that I haven't been on there for a couple weeks beyond answering some questions from readers. Hearing this freaked me out. I can't imagine how people living the moment were feeling

[@Panzystubbedtheirtoe]

Same i wasnt using it that day thank god idk what tf i was doing to get my addicted ass offa ao3 but on the brightside it was the same day as the attack so who cares

[@blockgirlygamer7714]

UR SO LUCKY I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING CHAPTER 😭😭

[@theguiltysecondaccount2100]

Same, Funnily enough I was on a tour with my school in Europe and I didn’t have service anyway, so I downloaded fica before the trip to read while we traveled. I’m happy I didn’t have to suffer through this traumatizing event, sorry that people starved for a day 😔

[@OnlineUserTwo]

Thanks to everyone who worked on fighting the attack, y’all did amazing and I’m so proud

[@duw4ng]

I was so scared during the attack tbh. I download fics I like because sometimes the author decides to delete their fics or nuke their account, and after this attack, I started downloading a lot more fanfics. Like, double the amount. 😅

[@BlindStarLily]

How do you download them? :0 I know about the download button, but I’ve used it before and not actually gotten the file. I have a few works I wanna download for any future attacks and when I’m just not able to get on the Wi-Fi

[@Yearlybreeze]

​@@BlindStarLilyIf you can't download it, you could try manually copy and pasting it onto a Google Doc (or another place where you can read it privately), it's what I did before I realized that Ao3 isn't gonna try and hack my phone if I tried to download anything ^^ 😁

[@thecreationqueen3344]

Same. I'm still downloading as many fics as I can as PDFs, I am not going to be deprived of fics ever again.

[@sarahkwashnak3935]

I do the exact same thing (downloading in case the work is removed - I've had too many situations in which I haven't), and I was lucky enough that I had a few tabs open with fanfics that I could read (provided I didn't refresh the page or click on anything). And it doesn't help that Twitter wasn't working for me, so that was a very worrying day.

[@DrVella]

Hackers: We'll keep this site down for weeks! AO3: Yeah we fixed it in a day Hackers: y-you wha?

[@KyrenaH]

Then they tried to claim that they got information from the hack. Even though that's not how DDoS attacks work.

[@caracaracat2958]

It’s awful that hackers and terrorists are trying to hurt fandom communities by spreading false hate, but I strongly hope and believe the AO3 snd other fanfiction groups will come out of this stronger! Remember, spread love, not hate

[@octaviawinter9768]

I’m sudanese and I’m certain they aren’t. At least several hundred sudanese people have died(within the borders, my uncle died outside of them because they bombed the hospitals so he had no access to medicine) and millions have fleed. I’m deeply offended and angered by them throwing Sudan under the bus for this. Hemedti and Burhan are too busy killing civilians and each other to do this. Internet is on and off and we don’t have the know how or the motivation to do this.

[@sunlightlotus]

Thank you to all the hard working volunteers at AO3 for going through the most stressful time on our behalf! If you ever see this we appreciate you so much, I was on a break from AO3 when this happened but I’m so grateful nonetheless 💙💙💙 And thank you Coley for preserving this crucial moment of fandom history 💙💙💙

[@jinjasdiorlocket]

as an ao3 author myself(i write an original work called Dancing In The Devils Auditorium if anyone wants to check it out) found it quite scary at first, than it came back up and i was like "phew!" and than when i heard about the main rumor on tiktok my feelings fluxuated between finding it funny and horrifying. especially since the whole attack was because of the LGBTQ+ content on the site. Dancing In The Devils Auditorium is a middle grade coming of age love story about a cishet chirstian boy who goes through puberty and finds himself in a secret relationship with a jewish intersex trans girl, and since the trans community is under a pretty strong attack rn i kinda started to fear how my story would be affected by it. however it is still not well known in the ao3 community so i kinda doubt it would be affected and/or affect another situation like this.

[@BJGvideos]

Sounds like all the more reason to post it, to show the haters how little regard you have for them.

[@fugopilled]

ur work sounds awesome ill take a look!!

[@jinjasdiorlocket]

aww tysm! feel free to leave a comment too if you want. constructive criticism is also accepted!@@fugopilled

[@StrangerInStrangeLands]

Hi! So I wanted to update on the DownDetector fandom shown quickly in this video! We’re still alive and I’m actually talking to them while writing this! We moved onto a different website now, and share fanfics we’ve read/ written! We’re in the process of a writing challenge and have written fanfics with each other and about each other and have even become close friends. This is an amazing video and very informative, the AO3 volunteers are absolutely amazing and this was a very weird experience honestly :) #downdetectorfandom

[@kieranismyfav]

I wasn’t on during the attack, blissfully unaware while on vacation and actually touching… grass. But still, to those who had to go through this I salute you, y’all were going through the most rough 28 hrs ever. And thank you so much to the volunteers! 💞

[@ObeyLucifer]

I was also unaware. I don't remember where I was or what I was doing though. I was on there a few days (?) or weeks (?) ago and I did get an error message for one single tab I had open. But I don't remember what exact day it was, Idk time isn't real 🤷‍♀️

[@-MariotAndVoid-]

I’m pretty sure I was apart of the group that were trying to read when it happened- because I remember being super confused getting a “error cannot connect to servers try again later” message and thinking my internet was fucking up lol- I just found out about all this now bc I only use KZbin and discord 😵‍💫

[@cyantiger0440]

THANK. GOD. That I was taking a break from AO3 when this happened and was on a fanart admiring kick on Twitter. To everyone who was deprived of their serotonin and was losing their mind over this I hope you’re doing better now and are reading comfort fics to recover from this trauma.

[@thecreationqueen3344]

I am still reading ALL of the comfort fics lol

[@mistermiss9093]

you dont mess with our access to fics. i really like how it brought loads of people together

[@aisadal2521]

I'm happy to hear you cover the AO3 attack, Coley, since it needs as much coverage as possible!

[@stitchthelilo]

i wasnt using ao3 during this attack, but hearing what the attack actually is scary, i was so confused what this was about until watching this video. im so sorry to everyone who had to cope during this

[@zerosalacup7657]

First of all can we all just give Coley a round of applause for posting an amazing and detailed video on the events that happened for the AO3 shutdown👏 it must have taken a lot of time to gather this much information so thank you coley👏❤ During the time AO3 was shutdown on my alt accounts I was one of the people sharing my google docs filled with downloads from AO3 for various fandoms to appease the masses, cause let me tell you everyone on TikTok and twitter were literally dying😂😭 I had to at least help them out. Although in the beginning I was one of the people who kinda… spiraled out of control😂 I was posting tweets on how I was sitting in the corner of my closet, eating a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream, crying that AO3 was shutdown and we’re getting attacked😂😭( unfortunately this was true,lowest point of my life followed by me touching grass for the first time) Anyway because of the attacks, I recommend everyone to start downloading your fav fics. I understand thst AO3 have upgraded their system, but who’s to say another attack won’t happen again, and it might take even longer for it to recover. I believe in the AO3 volunteers but I know some things take time. So, let this be a reminder to start downloading the fics😂❤ also, due to the efforts of the volunteers let’s try to do our part and donate to the site. Doesn’t have to be a lot, and if your unable to (which is understandable we’re all broke😂) try to spread the word around to your friends or family who love this site. Every donation and support counts. Giving love to all the AO3 volunteers, authors, and readers. Manifesting you all great happiness❤

[@iRinnda]

A random group attacking people's sweet escapism? Ooooohohohooo no you won't! We will write a fanfic out of this! Presented under tags: [Enemies to lovers] [Angst] [Brat taming] [Internet coffee shop AU] [Hurts so right]

[@mememom9293]

Stop😂

[@mitacestalia7532]

SOMEONE PLEASE WRITE THIS 😂

[@tobito2013]

internet coffee shop au 😂

[@conspiracypanda1200]

"BRAT TAMING" LMAO

[@imaginieiota6298]

Please leave a link if this really gets written😂😂😂

[@machinareficul8247]

I remember I was in the middle of a Gepard and Sampo fanfic when I got the error pages. I had a mini panik attack (so did many people) and tried to find out what was going on. This stuff is scarry man. Over fanfiction of all things... I hope things like this don't happen again but only time will tell. Mad respect to everyone who worked on resolving the issue especially in such a short ammount of time.❤

[@moonboo504]

I feel like not being able to survive one day without fanfiction is a new kind of chronically online

[@IApologiseForQuitting.213]

Shut up you don’t know what we’ve been through

[@sleepybatteriezzz]

This shutdown was so freaking hard and made me realize just how much of my daily entertainment comes from reading fanfiction. All of a sudden I had nothing to do and the fic I was reading was a slowburn romance and I'd FINALLY gotten to the part where they kissed. Then boom. Couldn't go to the next chapter. What did I do in response? I went down an entirely new rabbit hole and got trapped in a different fandom I've been hearing a lot about over the past couple of months. One which I also couldn't look up fanfics for! Grrrr!! Vicious cycle! If anyone cares to know, that fandom was Heaven Official's Blessing via donghua. As a result I bought the first two volumes of the novel and listened to a reaction/read-along on youtube. All within the span of a couple of days!!?! And now I'm completely hooked and can't focus on any of my other favorite fandoms. 😭 Might I also mention that reading the novels is the first time I've picked up and read an actual book in YEARS? Sometimes having an entire library consisting of stories featuring your favorite fandoms that fits neatly in your pocket isn't a good thing. Still reading fanfics tho. I definitely need help. 🏳️

[@ilistentoallkindsofmusic]

as much as i was incredibly horrified due to this incident, i was more disappointed with the community suddenly being islamphobic and xenophobic all bc of fanfictions. its not cool.

[@steampunk-llama]

This ^ I found the concept of ao3 making people go bonkers really funny when it happened, but the fact it barely took HOURS to have awful posts blaming the Middle East pop up on my tumblr dash genuinely shocked me. Thankfully there was immediate pushback but damn

[@ilistentoallkindsofmusic]

​@@steampunk-llama ao3 themselves had to step up 💀 they even dragged some wattpad writers, i saw a post on twitter that said "wattpad is where authors say that english isnt their first language, and actually write like english isnt their first language" like.......thats such a strange thing to say 😕 cant believe some ppl would be so xenophobic just because of some fanfictions. idgaf how much of a masterpiece that fanfic yall r reading, such loser behavior honestly.

[@steampunk-llama]

@@ilistentoallkindsofmusic LITERALLY, esp given some of the people posting stuff like that are well into their 20s and 30s? It’d still be rude if it were a teen posting it but at least they have the excuse of still growing and learning, a grown adult acting like that is genuinely just embarrassing

[@rebeccahicks2392]

Yeah, and even in other comments underneatht the video there was someone saying they're an LGBTQ+ Muslim and getting attacked for it.

[@BJGvideos]

​@@steampunk-llamaWait why would they blame the middle east when Sudan is in Africa?

[@sorbbae620]

"we will not allow a03 to corrupt our children, this website must be destroyed" "or just give us bitcoin and we will stop" not sure thats how morality works but okay :D

[@saros_system]

You have a point.

[@nint357]

I had a single solitary batfam chapter fic open, and even then it was the one chapter (~4000 words). I hadn't refreshed anything and so I had to ration the chapter like sugar in the great depression, but we got through it together. It was me, Dick Grayson's ass, Tim Drake's insomnia and Jason Todd's angst issues against the world💪

[@chespin9078]

You are so strong. Keep fighting bestie

[@CelestialsStorm]

I was reading a found-family timetravel fix-it fic when the archive went down. It had the tag “happy ending” which, considering the source media did NOT have a happy ending, I was crying and screaming because I was almost done. They almost had their happy ending

[@shanajeangedeon9060]

Ooooohhh, that sounds interesting! Which fanbase and fic was it? (I feel like I know it, but I'm probably wrong)

[@bonnietelocole6777]

Clicked on this thinking it was within-the-month recent, saw when it was uploaded, flashbacked to the situation with both horror and relief about it.

[@persialionheart]

My only saving grace was that I usually write using wattpad because I like how easy it is (and then I transfer it to ao3) otherwise I would have cried.

[@Featheryfaith7]

Same. But I use other sources to help write my stuff.

[@snainingallday]

am I like… the only person who was totally unaware of the shutdown until this video came out? July 10-11 were the first two days of summer camp volunteering I was doing this year, so I was entirely too busy wrangling with forth and fifth graders to notice but congratulations on making it through everyone! you deserve a virtual cookie 🍪

[@raventlynn]

No, this is the first time I'm hearing of this too. This is just like the time I slept through a whole tornado that destroyed a good chunk of my town. When I woke up the next day, those pieces were demolished,but my general area was untouched. Anyway, this is horrible that site was almost taken down and I'm glad it wasn't!

[@midnightwalkers8077]

@@raventlynnthat’s terrible man how that area recovers glad your alright dude.

[@BooThyGhost]

I was a Wattpad user and I decided to update my fic that day. It was strangely nostalgic in the same way an old school's playground being absolutely redone and redecorated to the point you can barely recognize is nostalgic.

[@BooThyGhost]

*My Old Wattpad Fic. It had been 7 years.

[@melit.]

Even with how horrifying this all was, I’m an thank full to all the extremely hard working volunteers and I appreciate how the community around ao3. Someone created a few Google classrooms for everyone to share their downloads with each other. And the one I was in blossomed into a whole discord server. The tenacity of the community is off the charts. Also people started a meme ship between “ao3 author/DDoS hacker” despite the bleak and scary situation it got a laugh out of me. Fanfic fans and their love for enemies to lovers.