How long will AO3 be down? Is AO3 shutting down? This post answers your questions and suggests ArchiveOfOurOwn alternatives too.
If you are wondering what happened to the ArchiveOfOurOwn website, no, it’s not shutting down. Contrary to the rumors, the popular fan fiction website runs the usual way. Still, it’s good to know about the alternatives for Archive of Our Own.
However, there are times when the fandom website goes through server outages or downtimes like any other website. Each time the website is down, Twitter is flooded by the fans of AO3 expressing their disappointment. Hence, all you can do is wait till the issue is fixed by officials of the Archive of Our Own website.
What happened to archiveofourown.org?
As popular as AO3 is, it faces issues every so often which is quite frustrating when it breaks down in the middle of your read. For example, the last downtime reported on July 10, 2023, was one of the biggest setbacks for the site. Archive of Own suffered a cyberattack with thousands of amateur authors and readers stuck amid their stories.
The popular franchise soon acknowledged the outage on their official Twitter account @AO3_Status confirming that it was a DDoS attack. It’s a malicious cybercrime threatening your internet security. In this, the threat actors flood a server with traffic forcing the servers to collapse. However, the fanfic archive was soon back after the DDOS attack, and users rejoiced as they could log in again to continue with their favorite stories. However, with internet security at constant risk, you should have an alternative for Archive of our own, whenever there is a similar issue again.
Best alternatives for Archive Of Our Own website
While some will advocate for Tumblr in the race for AO3 alternatives, it’s also a social networking site. But, since, it’s also a microblogging website, you can find different fanfictions, fan art, etc. Having said that, we have a list of some of the best alternatives for Archive of Our Own that you may like.
1] FanFiction
If you are looking for a closely similar website to archiveofourown.com, FanFiction is a great alternative. This automated fan fiction archive is the world’s largest and equally popular fanfiction site as Archive of Our Own. A comparatively older platform, Fanfiction.net comes with a bot that makes it easy to search stories, offers a customizable profile for your account, has forums, and is a great site for old fan fics.
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2] Wattpad
Another great alternative for Archive of Our Own, Wattpad is also optimized for mobile devices. A cool Microsoft Store app for your Windows PC, it consists of a larger community than AO3 and Fanfiction combined. With stories receiving 20 million hits, this fanfic site is primarily for teenagers. However, the user base also consists of some younger adults. Having said that, it’s a profit-based website.
3] Deviantart
For those looking for something more than just fanfiction, Deviantart makes for a treat for the online community. So, apart from fanfiction, it offers fan art, fan comics, etc. that features artwork, videography, and also photography of the contributors. The UI is well-designed offering it a fun yet beautiful look. You can even add images to your posts, customize the style, and more.
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4] Quotev
Another great worthy alternative to Archive of Our Own is Quotev. It’s an easy-to-use platform with millions of users regularly contributing to its different sections, which include stories, quizzes, and surveys. These sections are further segregated into different genres, for example, stories are divided into fanfiction, romance, adventure, etc. It also offers a smooth functioning chat system and forum for the community.
5] Webnovel
Very similar to the archiveofourown.com, Webnovel is a great platform for all aspiring novel writers and ardent readers. As one of the most extensive web novel communities in the world, this reading website features an exhaustive collection of novels, comics, and fanfiction. That said, the site features more than 10 million e-books (segregated under 200 categories) and 3 million authors.
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Are AO3 and Archive of Our Own the same?
Yes, AO3 is the abbreviated name of Archive of Our Own and is an open-source fan-fiction library. Launched in 2008 by the Organization for Transformative Works, it’s a not-for-profit website that also encourages other fan works by contributors.
What is the longest AO3 story?
The longest AO3 fic to date is a Terminator fic composed of 6.87 million words. The fiction started on June 9th, 2019, and was last updated on 10th April, 2023. The story is still not completed and is getting regularly updated. It consists of 154 chapters of around 4500 words each. This means it’s about 1.01 chapters per day and 4900 words per day. However, it has received only 176 kudos to date.
