Popular and mainstream fanfiction platform Archive of Our Own or often abbreviated as AO3 is presently facing a wave of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
These attacks have forced the official website of AO3 to go completely offline since Monday.
For those unaware, a DDoS attack is a cybercrime in which the attackers overwhelm a server with traffic causing the website to crash or go completely offline.
A group of attackers that go by the name Anonymous Sudan have taken responsibility for the DDoS attacks. Furthermore, the attackers have also demanded a ransom to stop the ongoing attacks.
The Anonymous Sudan group has been active since January 2023 and they even claim responsibility for DDoS attacks against Microsoft and other mainstream tech firms.
Anonymous Sudan group initially stated that the attack would persist for up to 24 hours. However, later they issued a ransom demand for $30k worth of Bitcoin.
Furthermore, if AO3 doesn’t comply with the demands they will keep the website down for weeks.
You can keep track of the status of the website using the following thread,
The Archive is experiencing some issues (as many of you have noticed). We're looking into it, please stand by!
— AO3 Status (@AO3_Status) July 10, 2023
As you can see in the thread, the AO3 team is actively working to get the website up and running once again. AO3 has also confirmed that DDoS attacks don’t compromise private user data.
Consequently, if you were an active user of AO3 there’s no need to change your password or worry about anything else. There are several feature-packed Alternatives For AO3 that you can check out in the meantime.
Best AO3 Alternatives
So here’s a list of some of the Best AO3 Alternatives.Â
1. Wattpad
First on the list of AO3 Alternatives, we have Wattpad. You can join Wattpad either as a reader or as a writer or both.
Wattpad has an active community of millions of users and you will definitely feel welcomed using the website.
2. Fanfiction
Fanfiction is another great Website Like AO3 that allows users to read thousands of books, mangas, comics, cartoons, and much more.
The website is completely free to use and has a very easy-to-navigate UI.
3. Tumblr
Tumblr is one of the oldest fanfiction platforms that function as a perfect alternative to AO3.
This microblogging and social networking website can be used for posting both short-form blog and media-based content.
CONCLUSION
Since this is a developing story we will continue to update the article as soon as more updates are available. So feel free to check out our socials.
