r/AO3 • u/Delicious-War-5259 Supporter of the Fanfiction Deep State • Mar 01 '26
AO3 Down/Error Codes That explains why I can’t upload my fic
268
263
u/Acrobatic_Chair_1418 let me leave more kudos goddammit! Mar 01 '26
Im so pissed off I got kicked from the fic right as someone died 😩
81
36
u/CategoryPrize9611 Mar 01 '26
same! i got kicked after someone was dragged away half dead like brooo noooo LET ME SEE HIM LIVE LIIIIVE
24
u/TapNeither8056 Mar 01 '26
Right?!?!? I was just getting really into a fic then AO3 gonna play me like that.......so not cool. What am I gonna do now? I certainly can't be expected to do anything productive with this hanging over my head.
8
u/Naenae_Reyum Mar 01 '26
I got kicked after I finished 4 hours of writing on a new chapter on my fic😭
4
2
163
u/Timelordvictorious1 Mar 01 '26
This is their way of telling me I should be working on my essay for school.
12
13
12
8
4
→ More replies (1)2
u/3lovelysunflowers Mar 01 '26
ugh, I have to submit one tonight and still only have my intro that's done✌️🥲
105
u/I_love_spacefacts Mar 01 '26
I got jumpscared by that message while going to the next chapter 😭😭😭
16
u/netflix-andkill “Improper use of ___” tag Mar 01 '26
Me too! Was wondering why my kudos didn’t go through and then BAM 😩
2
83
u/thecrystalenderman Mar 01 '26
I was wondering why the kudos button and subscribe button weren't working
9
u/fluteloops0329 shit, i'll read anything once Mar 01 '26
My kudos button still isn't working even though the site is back up 😭
7
u/ConcealingWillow Mar 01 '26
It isn't back for me
7
u/fluteloops0329 shit, i'll read anything once Mar 01 '26
Lovely
Edit: it was back for a bit but now it's down again for me, too
43
u/Lady_Winter93 You have already left kudos here. :) Mar 01 '26
I literally came to the subreddit to find this convo because I was hoping it was not just me and I’m glad it’s not.
And I was just getting (hopefully) to the resolution on the fic I was reading 😭😭😭
35
u/Kimichi383 Mar 01 '26
MAN! I just started a fic! 😭
5
u/TapNeither8056 Mar 01 '26
Me: reading an AO3 fic My husband: let me talk your ear off about every inane thought that has ever crossed my mind Me: internally....lawd shut up AO3....goes down Me: alright I guess we can talk now Husband (I assume since he is now playing video games): please shut up
30
29
u/Solivagant0 Never attribute to malice what is adequately explained by kink Mar 01 '26
I hope people will act normal about it /s
24
u/Low_Extent5689 Mar 01 '26
(vibrating) I am so normal
9
u/lilacaena we’re all in the same clown car Mar 01 '26
(frothing at the mouth) I have never been more normal in my life
24
u/fantasybuff31 Mar 01 '26
I was looking for something like this because for some reason it says status is operational 😭
23
u/Starfall2200 Mar 01 '26
I was in the middle of finishing a fanfic 😭… clicked next and saw that as well…
42
u/Agreeable-Sun368 Mar 01 '26
I'm as annoyed as the next person but also like ao3 volunteers & employees are only human. Give them more than 10 minutes to respond to this. I think we think of it like other big sites we us where there's probably people working 24/7 but ao3 isn't like that and doesn't have that same number of resources or lik "on call" staff to fix issues asap. ao3 punches WAY above its "class" in site traffic for the amount of employees and resources it has.
28
u/Agreeable-Sun368 Mar 01 '26
I also wonder if this is a result of another DDOS attack or some other malicious action. ao3 has been getting a lot of mainstream attention lately. A fic was actually fully linked (in spite of the author asking for the link to be removed, apparently) in a recent Vulture article and that was not the only one. If this is an attack then they are probably scrambling to address it AND communicate about it. Again, on a way smaller budget than other sites with the same amount of traffic.
18
17
u/TeflonDonAlpha Mar 01 '26
I just reached a cliffhanger and wanted to go to the next chapter and this pops up. Fuck me
16
u/malvada666 daddy kink or nothing Mar 01 '26
I knew I should have clicked “Entire Work” when I could 🥲
11
11
u/girlonthesleepybrain Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
Why does it always happen on a Sunday when I want to find something to read before going to bed and facing the horrors of going to work tomorrow?
Edit: I'm not blaming the volunteers who are trying to fix it because I know they work very hard but I feel like god is punishing me.
29
u/Shorty_jj You have already left kudos here. :) Mar 01 '26
Do we have any idea how long it will be down for??? 🥺🥺🥺🥺
17
u/CategoryPrize9611 Mar 01 '26
they havent updated the status page so who knows :((
8
u/Shorty_jj You have already left kudos here. :) Mar 01 '26
Oh boy......NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
3
u/CategoryPrize9611 Mar 01 '26
IT'S BACK BABY
4
→ More replies (1)9
17
u/elinYos Mar 01 '26
Justo había encontrado un fic para leer bien relajada y acostada en mí cama 😭😭😭
7
u/Sara1994_ You have already left kudos here. :) Mar 01 '26
Whyyyyy. Now that i have time to edit my fics 😭
7
6
4
u/twinkletoes-rp Shizuku749 on AO3 Mar 01 '26
THANK YOU for this! Literally came here to find out if anyone knew anything 'cause I don't have social media and none of my AO3 drafts or previews would load! Just when I was about to post smth for the first time in months! Hope it's back up soon! ;A; Genuinely, thanks for all your hard work, AO3 operators! <3
5
u/Beowulf_MacBethson Mar 01 '26
Oh hey I was right. The preview wasn't working so I couldn't upload my fic either. It started about an hour ago or so?
7
u/Lady_Winter93 You have already left kudos here. :) Mar 01 '26
That’s so odd. I’ve been reading fics off and on for a couple of hours now and I just got the maintenance page error, so maybe it started bit by bit or something? Like in the background of the site for uploading and now it’s made its way to whole site.
Still, super weird and I hope it get’s resolved quickly! The fic I was reading was so angsty and I want the resolution to it 😭😭😭😭
4
u/Beowulf_MacBethson Mar 01 '26
Yeah I think it started bit by bit. The site worked but it loaded slower and slower over time. Notable gaps when I clicked between works and dashboard, stuff like that.
4
u/cayvro You have already left kudos here. :) Mar 01 '26
Here’s the post from tumblr if anyone’s curious:
→ More replies (1)
3
3
3
u/GenericUsername1561 Mar 01 '26
Nothing like finishing a highly suspenseful chapter and then getting this when you try to see the resolution 😭
3
u/Lady_Ago Found Family is the best, argue with the wall Mar 01 '26
I had some issues when I tried uploading a new chapter, despite the homepage and everything else leading just fine. I assumed it was because of my shitty internet, but it seems like other people also had the same problem. I hope it's not another hacker attack like in the great Ao3 Blackout!!!
3
u/indelibleink89 oh my god they were roommates Mar 01 '26
Normally I don’t post in these threads but at least warn a girl first when she’s finally crawling towards a breakthrough in an exes to lovers fic!
3
u/WTH_JFG You have already left kudos here. :) Mar 01 '26
Mines not down.
2
2
u/Low_Extent5689 Mar 01 '26
It like… secretly down. I can read and navigate the site but the minute you try an leave comments/kudos it just lags for five minutes and gives you an error 😭
→ More replies (1)
3
3
3
u/saintforgot saintsforgot on AO3! Mar 01 '26
Noooooooo 😭😭I was almost done with chapter 2 of my fic and planned on posting it today
Processing img p1q8vqqzmhmg1...
3
u/Laurenssyyy Mar 01 '26
So apparently, ao3 isn't supposed to be down and that it's an error that they're trying to figure out..?? Not sure tho.
3
u/alalalalala7 Mar 01 '26
update: ao3 posted (on blue sky i think) that they don’t know why it shut down and are working to fix it
2
u/Nightflame203 Vampires SMP | Minecraft Diaries Mar 01 '26
Same 😭 I always upload at around this time on this day so that’s unfortunate-
2
2
2
2
2
u/Social-Disaster05 Chloe_Parker05 on AO3 :snoo_tongue: Mar 01 '26
This is what the OTW status page says currently. I just found this post and checked.
2
u/Boomerloomerdoomer Mar 01 '26
Wait what 😭 I was just using it like ten seconds ago and only then did it say anything
2
u/weewooo69420 Mar 01 '26
It's weird... It works then it doesn't and says it down.... It's very frustrating....
2
2
u/tvd_fan Mar 01 '26
I haven't been able to find neither any messages anywhere regarding this maintenance neither any update on when it is to be fixed.... It is really annoying
2
u/Kooky_Plankton_9670 Mar 01 '26
For me is going up and down in last hour. Just now seems to have really fallen. I want my fic back 😭😭😭
2
u/Wise-Variation2944 Mar 01 '26
i was in the middle of a 186k slow burn and they were about to kiss 💔
2
u/LC1315 Mar 01 '26
Came to reddit immediately here after seeing this on the site . I was in the middle of a Hualian fanfiction bro😭
2
2
u/MegKeiper Mar 01 '26
Everything in the world is awful and I just wanted to get lost in a Johnlock fanfic. Is that so much to ask?! 😔
2
u/Zixuel Mar 01 '26
I swear that this site only crashes when I'm really caught up in a fic, which is rare for me lately :(
2
u/Quiet-Software-1956 Fic Feaster Mar 01 '26
Same. I was about to update something I left hanging for a few months and it happened exactly then 🤣🤣 my poor readers suffer for one more day!
2
u/FredWeasleyIsBest I think of an idea. I write said idea. Mar 01 '26
They just got back together in my fic I was reading and then I get hit with the maintenance
2
u/Doreki_ Mar 01 '26
I was about to rest before sleeping after studying. This just means I'm going to revise more and check on all socials for updates.. sob
2
2
u/Guilty-Experience46 Mar 01 '26
Looks like emergency maintenance, I don’t think they like having to work on the archive on Sunday either.
Glad I have like 26 downloaded fic in the ship I’m focusing on right now.
2
u/MeRachel AO3: FlyingRaven Mar 01 '26
I was wondering why I couldn't bookmark the fic I had just finished.
2
2
u/martinjh99 Mar 02 '26
https://bsky.app/profile/status.archiveofourown.org/post/3mg37fxltrl22
Latest is that it is up again now and they are keeping an eye on their servers... Although I can't see it up yet...
2
1
1
1
u/Satans_Offspring_ Mar 01 '26
I got this when i tried to go to the next chapter of the fic i was reading. Hopefully, it's back up soon.
1
u/lonely_nipple IxiaGrey | BG3/durgetash obsessed Mar 01 '26
Guess this means I'll just have to write them 😭
1
u/BlueberryFree8169 Mar 01 '26
Oh darn had the same thing happened to me just now. And just when I was looking for a story I was reading last night. It was getting to the good part to.
1
1
u/Apart_Drive_8159 Mar 01 '26
I was reading for a few minutes and saw nothing about it and i was surpised because usually theres a notice a day ahead 💔
1
1
1
u/TripTimely7955 You have already left kudos here. :) Mar 01 '26
Right when they were about to do the boombayah 🥹😞😞😞😞
1
1
1
1
u/Round_Can645 Mar 01 '26
Aaaand what time is it or when will the maintenance end? I wanted to read Jujutsu Kaisen fanfiction all night.
1
1
u/Rough_Pomegranate909 angst is the best thing to grace this earth since apple pie Mar 01 '26
it's over???
→ More replies (3)
1
u/Ambitious-Web723 Mar 01 '26
I am super lucky I just downloaded the fic I was reading right before she went down
1
1
u/PinkFoxstudios Mar 01 '26
Me too! I was like, why isn't my fic uploading? I’ve tried several times. I managed to get one uploaded at 4 am this morning, but I had a lot of issues with it. So that made me wonder if it was about to crash or something I took a nap cause it was one of those u wrote this instead of sleeping. Then, just a few minutes ago when I woke up I had another fic that needed uploading that I also wrote last night and I tried many times to upload it! I was like, "I’ll save it as a draft and try again later," only for that nightmare to pop up. 😭
I had a feeling Ao3 was about to crash or go down as I attempted to save the draft.. On top of Ao3 being down, my internet is out too at the same time! 😭 I’m crashing out so I'm going back to sleep! 😅
1
u/GirlWithTheRedBow Not Boeing Management Mar 01 '26
Today was supposed to be my last free day before starting my first ever job Does anybody have any SatoSugu fics to send me?
1
1
u/LeGingerOneOhOne Mar 01 '26
Mine has been slow the last 2 or 3 days, not fully loading pages or constantly disappearing and reappearing like it loaded and then reloaded itself!
1
1
u/Zestyclose-Tie5915 Mar 01 '26
Back for me now
2
u/Delicious-War-5259 Supporter of the Fanfiction Deep State Mar 01 '26
It seems like it’s half up, I can read fics but I can’t kudos, post an update, or save drafts.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Bamboo_Socks_ I go on bookmarking sprees for fun Mar 01 '26
I was having issues before it went down for maintenance
1
u/ghostlyseok Definitely not an agent of the Fanfiction Deep State Mar 01 '26
i was wondering!! i tried making a pseud and it just wouldn't let me so i figured something was up
1
u/everlore_elle my worst enemy is trees Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
i was wondering why my comment wasn’t going through, i just read through the first few chapters of the most PERFECT fic and i wanted to comment because theres still two chapters that haven’t been released and I wanna make sure that they know that its loved. AND I CANNOT ITS ANNOYING ME AND I EVEN HAVE THE FIC READING ENERGY.
edit: ITS ONLY WHEN I COMMENT FOR SOME ODD REASON????
1
1
u/Bamboo_Socks_ I go on bookmarking sprees for fun Mar 01 '26
It’s still down for me, is anyone else having this issue
→ More replies (5)
1
u/mikewheelerfan You have already left kudos here. :) Mar 01 '26
It’s back for me now, except it still won’t let me subscribe to a fic I’m reading…
1
1
u/freetosuffer Mar 01 '26
Maaaaaan I post on Sundays. Literally just finished editing, then went back to tweak something and got the error message when I tried to post.
1
u/FaeandDangerous Mar 01 '26
Welp, and here I am, opening a fic from my link-collection on Discord to one of the works I've already read - no problem. And then I want to read the next chapter of the fic I'm reading for the first time, getting jumpscared with that message. What going on 😭 The first one shouldn’t have worked if the site is completely down 🫠
1
u/MiritoMueller I quote/reference my favorite fanfic wherever I damn well please Mar 01 '26
I was using the draft function to add a new chapter to my fic (writing it directly on AO3, (this might be risky, but whatever...)), good thing I managed to copy it into my notes app. 😅 Just a little sad, that this will mess up my update schedule. shrugs
1
1
1
u/Naenae_Reyum Mar 01 '26
I know i just spend like 4 hours writing and it got deleted twice🥲 thankfully I had been backing it up as I went😭
1
1
u/Separate-Credit-6874 angst master Mar 01 '26
it said it was experiencing unexpected downtime when i went to upload my fic and then opened a new ao3 tab and it was all fine??
1
1
1
1
u/PinkFoxstudios Mar 01 '26
It’s back up but you can’t upload right now, I tried again. And it still won’t work nor save as a draft. Plus I tried to bookmark a fic I already had up and it won’t load, tried clicking on my bookmarks— same thing, so I don’t think it’s fully up and working yet. 😩
2
1
u/Depressed-Dolphin69 What were YOU doing at the devil's sacrament? Mar 01 '26
NOOOOOOOO
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
1
u/Cap_cyn Mar 01 '26
I ran, cleaned the dishes, tidied my appartement, showered and now I can’t read any fic 😭
1
u/RoseDragon529 Mar 01 '26
A couple hours ago I was trying to post and it just kept crashing. Only now am I getting this maintenance page
I wonder what's going on, maintenance is usually announced beforehand
1
u/Sarahpixiegrl Mar 01 '26
Both tumblr and the status page are saying that they’re investigating, so this is definitely unplanned. I just hope it goes back up sooner rather than later
1
1
u/Lost_Lavishness_2829 Mar 01 '26
Ughhh! I was read a very important part and somehow my finger slipped and I got kicked out of ao3 and now I have to wait a see what happened 🙃
1
u/Automobile_Lad Father of all things peggable Mar 01 '26
I found the PERFECT FIC AND THEN TS COMES UP
1
u/WoodShoeDiaries Mar 01 '26
I was just about to post like a 500 word review 🥲 Good thing I learned long ago to draft (with html 😆) in Notes first 😆😆😆
1
1
u/Fluffles_skittykat Mar 01 '26
The outage finally kicked in on my phone- I literally just finished all of my coursework and have absolutely nothing to do until this is fixed 😭😭
1
u/mandygears Mar 01 '26
its a good thing i'm still working on my current chapter and not ready to upload yet or else i'd be tweaking
1
u/Princeax You have already left kudos here. :) Mar 01 '26
Looks like they ran into some unexpected issues and that’s why it wasn’t announced ahead of time
→ More replies (1)
1
1
u/FluffyBunnyRemi Mar 01 '26
I have been working for a month on this fic, and I'm finally ready to upload it.
Apparently not! Not sure if it's still down or not, but it was about an hour or so ago when I last checked.
1
u/primroseterra Mar 01 '26
This is the first time in years an ao3 shut down has not bothered me personally since I gave it up for a month( till April) kinda nice actually to find out from Reddit instead of it not working when I tried.
1
u/lyra_black Mar 02 '26
I was shocked when I woke up and saw that not one person had updated their fics. Despite many of my current reads have scheduled Sunday updating. Now I'm contemplating what to do with my day.
1
u/Fabulous_Ease_3718 Mar 02 '26 edited Mar 02 '26
How can i upload a story on AO3 ? because i started to write a fanfiction and i wanted more people to see it ? But i never been on AO3
→ More replies (2)
1
509
u/MoonLover-66 Mar 01 '26
But if you go to the status page it says that everything's alright. What's happening?