Archive of Our Own offline following cyberattack

Archive of Our Own (AO3), one of the world's largest fan fiction libraries, has been offline for over a week following a cyberattack. Since October 29, users attempting to access the site have encountered a maintenance message.

Launched in 2008 by the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW), the platform hosts nearly 18 million works and serves more than 11 million registered users. The site is a significant hub for non-commercial creativity, providing an ad-free and uncensored space for fans to write stories based on existing books, films, and television series. AO3 received a Hugo Award for Best Related Work in 2019.

The outage has caused significant disruption for the community, particularly romance readers who consume content at high volumes. Experts note that the platform serves as a vital training ground for emerging authors, with several commercial bestsellers having originated as fan fiction on the site.