With over 8 million users, Archive of our Own (Ao3) is widely considered one of the greatest fanfiction websites of all time. Ao3 is a fanfiction website with over 8 million users, and is widely considered one of the greatest fanfiction websites of all time. But what makes Ao3—and fanfiction as a whole—so interesting and unique, and what does it say about modern internet culture as a whole?
Fanfiction, also known as fanfic, is something that almost everyone in our school knows of, but very few know the history behind it. Modern era fanfiction can trace its roots to the 20th century, which marked the birth of modern fanfics such as various Star Trek fan magazines. In fact, Star Trek fan magazines—also known as fanzines—and fanfics as a whole, were foundational to the modern fanfiction age, being the origin of several now widespread fanfiction genres and tropes. This coincided with the rise of the internet, and along with it, fanfiction websites. Internet fanfiction started (and still exists) through fan forums based on specific fandoms. However, there was a notable shift in 1998 with one of the earliest fanfiction websites that accepted multiple fandoms, that is, Fanfiction.net. Today, there are a wide variety of ways to read fanfiction online, from Fanfiction.net—which is still running to this day—to forums such as Spacebattles and Sufficient Velocity that emphasize community and user to user interaction—and of course, Ao3, which was created by writers who were banned by Fanfiction.net. However, why were these users banned?
Ever since 2002, Fanfiction.net has banned MA and NC-17 rated material, which is explicit material not suitable for minors. However, for about a decade, this ban was not well enforced, allowing for numerous fanfics that crossed the line into explicit territory on the site. This culminated in “The Purge” in June 2012, when thousands of Fanfiction.net fanfics and accounts were banned as users allegedly broke the rule, plagiarized, or stole copyrighted material. Banned users—frustrated by a lack of notice of the changed policy and a lack of communication about why specific stories were banned (sometimes not even giving a reason)—found other places to host their stories, most notably, by creating Ao3.
Ao3 started from a small community of writers who wanted to create a space where they wouldn’t be banned. Naomi Novik suggested on the fanfiction website LiveJournal, “We need a central archive of our own.” Ao3 was created as an open source website, emphasizing customizability and alterations, (which are still available through the different skins and Tapermonkey browser extensions). In contrast to Fanfiction.net, there have been no ads or corporate ownership. Content is largely transformative and meets the Terms of Service. Although this allows for large amounts of explicit material on the platform, members of Ao3 affirm that it does not impede its quality, but rather allows for limitless freedom of expression and artistry unlike any other literary website on the internet. Ao3 has had a lot of changes over the years, not just to its growing community, but to its renown as well. It won both the 2019 Hugo Award—a highly prestigious science fiction/fantasy award—and Time’s 50 best websites.
What makes Ao3 different from other fanfic websites? First, it has the Open Doors program, in which fanfiction websites at risk of shutting down can migrate their existing fanworks to Ao3. This protects not only the fanworks and fandom themselves, but the history of the works as well. Additionally, Ao3 has a good reputation for searchability. Not only can users create their own “tags,” which are short details of the fanfic, but Ao3 also uses tag wranglers. This is where if you search based off of a specific tag, fanfics with similar tags will also show up, allowing you to see a wider range of fanfics.
Like any other website, Ao3 has had its fair share of troubles. Bots and spam accounts at one point littered the site, leaving advertisements and fake comments. Ao3 combated this with the comment moderation feature, allowing for the prevention of nonusers from commenting on works of a writer’s choice, minimizing the effect of bots and spam accounts on the overall website.
Ao3 is a website that members of the HSMSE community use as well as the general public. Taha Usha (’27), a student with an interest in reading fanfic, is one person who uses the website, saying, “I started reading [fanfiction] because I got exposed to it when I was on social media, so TikTok and Instagram. The people there were reading some really cool fanfiction, and it was on Ao3, so I was like, hey, I might as well [check it out].” Taha further explains why she enjoys using Ao3, saying, “the fandoms I’m in are kind of depressing, so I also want to be happy.” When asked about what is her personal favorite feature or aspect about Ao3, Taha answered by saying, “The search feature, because without it, none of [Ao3] would be possible. And also, the writers too. My gratitude to the writers extends far beyond anything because I love the writers who make the fics, [and] I love the commenters who comment on them. So, the community as well.”
Ao3 shows the importance of what people can accomplish with a shared goal in mind. Teamwork is essential in large-scale projects and can result in significant accomplishments. HSMSE students should remember that when we work together, we can accomplish great things!