Shout-out To Ao3 For Not Only Being Transparent In The Work They're Doing To Try To Get The Site Running,

Shout-out to Ao3 for not only being transparent in the work they're doing to try to get the site running, but for IMMEDIATELY calling out any islamophobia. They're doing fucking WORK rn, all on a volunteer basis, and while most of the comments I've seen are far and away supportive I just know whoever is in charge of their socials is watching the comments section unfold with a migraine.

Anyway this is all to say I love Ao3 and the people working on it rn are dealing with absolute chaos, so the next time someone throws out a line about "why do they need a fundraiser every year" please remember today.

July 10, 2023 - AO3 is down. Supernatural trends.

Earlier today AO3 started experiencing issues which are said to be a result of a DDOS attack (essentially meaning that the sever is being flooded with traffic to disrupt it) [x]. The site has been down for a few hours so far which is causing panic, understandably so.

Good news is that data has not been compromised, bad news is that hurt/comfort readers will have to wait longer for the comfort part. Apart from the standard panic and distress which happens anytime AO3 is down, the side-effects now apparently include Supernatural trending.

This is most likely due to several Destiel News™ memes being shared along with the trending AO3 tag (currently trending at 1), but I'd like to think that posting about Supernatural is just another symptom of the collective temporary insanity caused by AO3 withdrawal.

jokes aside y’all should be donating MONEY to ao3 if you want it to keep hosting lgbtq+ and nsfw content

I’m pledging 50$ — who else is in?

I am begging everyone on tumblr reading this right now. PLEASE wait a few hours before refreshing your tabs. Ao3 was not down because of maintenence, but a ddos attack and right now the last thing they need is thousands of people refreshing all their tabs.

As a fic author who rarely gets notes, commenting and sending kudos can wait. Reading can wait. Please, for the next few hours, just do something else until we are certain ao3 is no longer under attack.

The staff at ao3 need rest. Please.

Just sos you knows, AO3 is down under a DDOS attack right now. They’ve been coming back in little blips and then disappearing again. It’s been several hours. (For reference, it’s currently 3 p.m. eastern, July 10, 2023.)

https://twitter.com/AO3_Status/status/1678468065070030856

The culprit (as with a few other DDOS attacks recently) is Anonymous Sudan, a group that is likely Russian, not Sudanese. The ‘reason’ they gave–that AO3 is “full of disgusting smuts and other LGBTQ+ and NSFW things,” is thin and probably not completely legit, though still legitimately concerning.

The AS claim: https://twitter.com/FalconFeedsio/status/1678397195039526912

Reporting on AS: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-28/anonymous-sudan-does-group-behind-microsoft-cyberattack-have-ties-to-russia (you can use archive.ph to get this one, 12ft doesn’t seem to work)

As noted here, https://twitter.com/honeyskeleton/status/1678449598703050769:

DDOS protection is expensive especially for a high traffic site like ao3. And it’s uniquely vulnerable as an independent site without ads or other corporate support. SPECIFICALLY targeted bc of its queer works and yet ppl will still complain every time they ask for donations lmao 

So, again, when AO3 comes back online, please don’t go hard with refreshing all your tabs. Please do remember to download fics you love early and often as  you continue in your whole ~reading journey~. And please do support AO3 through a dono or becoming a donating member, if it is possible for you to do so.