Archive of your Own (AO3) is an online platform that allows people to make profiles, create works and other content, give Kudos, post comments, create bookmarks and collections, participate in challenges; import works, and more.
All information, including comments, work, profiles, or content that you post on this platform, will be accessible to the public and openly available for all. So, you have to be careful when sharing your personal information, such as health, racial background, country of origin, sexual identity, or personal relationships.
When Was Archive of Your Own Created?
Archive of Your Own (AO3) is a nonprofit open-source platform. This site was created in 2008 by the organization for transformation works and went into open beta in 2009. The name of this platform was derived from a blog post by the writer Naomi Novik. The expenses of this platform increase day by day, and in 2013, the annual expenses reached up to seventy thousand dollars. Now, they have to take donations to run their platform.
Major Projects of AO3
Fanlore is like a big collection of books or an extensive library where people write and save cool stuff like stories, art, and videos. It is all about remembering the interesting and fun things that fans create for their favorite movies, shows, books, and more.
Legal Advocacy: It works like a team that helps keep fan-made content safe from being used. This site helps users make sure about their privacy so fans can keep sharing and creating their cool stuff without worrying about getting leaked.
Open doors: It helps users stay safe and protected so they can keep doing what they love without worrying about privacy.
Transformative works and culture: It is like a fancy magazine where people can write and save fan content.
How Does it Work?
The organization for Transformative Works is the parent organization of Archive of Our Own (AO3). It is a nonprofit organization established by authors to serve the interests of fans by providing access to and preserving the history of fan works and fan culture in myriad forms.
It was created to work towards a future where all fanworks are recognized as legal and transformative. The main aim of this platform is to support and defend the types of works posted on AO3 and the fans who create them.
This archive is funded entirely by donations to the organization for transformative works. As we all know, every website has running expenses, which they cover in two ways: firstly, they demand money from users in the form of subscription charges, hidden fees, offers different plans, etc.; and secondly, they cover through ad revenue by showing advertisements and earn money by promoting brands and businesses.
But the best thing about this platform is that users don’t have to pay a single charge to use it. Also, there is no need to worry about annoying ads and popups. But if you want to support this work, please make a donation. Your donation will help pay servers, hosting costs, and bandwidth and support other OTW projects such as Open Doors and Fanlore.
Approach on Languages
Users can post in multiple languages other than English. This platform also has the most advanced translation tools that translate any language into your native language. Even users can transfer FAQs into their native language.
To find out if the FAQs are available in your language, just go to the FAQs page and select your native language from the menu at the top of the page. But if your native language does not appear in this menu, then there is no chance to translate at that moment. You can contact the translation committee information page to find out how many languages are available to translate.
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Easy Accessible
The main aim of this platform is to keep the archive compatible with all current releases of commonly used desktop e-readers, browsers, screen readers, and the default browsers of most Android, iOS, and Windows mobile services.
The only downside of this platform is that some archive features will not work properly without JavaScript. If you are having difficulties, you should check whether JavaScript is installed or not. The top priority of Archive of Your Own (AO3) is ensuring that people still have access to essential features without installing JavaScript.
Graphics and skins: There is a large range of publicly available skins, and you can also write your own CSS to change how the archive is displayed to you according to your needs or preferences.
A large range of public skins are available, some of which are given below.
Low Vision Default skin: This skin maximizes space and font size to help those who have low vision. That skin is basically built for old people.
Reverse skin: This skin shows a reverse contrast, which displays a light font on a dark background. It helps users read in darkness or in low light without affecting eyesight. It is very easy to apply to the skin. To select one of these skins, you just navigate to the desired skin and then select the use button to apply the skin.
Is it available as a mobile application?
Archive of Your Own (AO3) does not have a mobile application due to the limited resources available. Instead of creating mobile applications, this platform mainly focused on making their website more accessible and functional across different devices and screen sizes, including mobile phones, tablets, iPads, etc.
That move helps Archive of Your Own (AO3) reach a wider audience without the need for separate applications for multiple platforms. Also, developing and maintaining the application requires a lot of effort, time, expenses, and resources, which the AO3 prefers to allocate to improving the working of the website.
Why do people prefer Archive of Your Own (AO3)?
This platform is known for its level of commitment. It offers a wide range of fanfiction, including content that will not accepted on other platforms, such as LGBTQ content, gore content, etc. Its tagging system allows users to tag their works with multiple descriptors, including genres, themes, pairings, and content warnings, which makes it easier for users to find exactly what they want to watch and read and avoid what they don’t want to see.
Like many other platforms, Archive of Your Own (AO3) gives an ad-free experience. Users can read unlimited material without interruption, giving them a smooth and comfortable reading experience. It gives all its users a very high level of freedom; they can upload, download, and read whatever they want without any restrictions or limitations.
If we talk about accessibility, Archive of Your Own (AO3) never disappoints us; this platform is specifically designed to access a wider range of users. It provides a lot of customization options, like changing font size, color schemes, screen layouts, and font shapes, and even enables different modes like night mode, reading mode, eye saver mode, etc.
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AO3 is secure.
Archive of your Own (AO3) uses HTTP (Hypertext transfer protocol secure) to encrypt data transformation between users and the website. This strong encryption system helps users protect their data from unauthorized third parties. So, there is no need to worry about any data leak or getting hacked.
The best thing about this platform is that it gives users full access to privacy settings, so users can change settings and levels of security according to their needs and setup. They can also choose their working site as public, private, or only accessible for specific users. Also, they can set additional restrictions like who can comment, like, or reply.
The only downside of Archive of Your Own (AO3) is that it does not track users and their work. However, this downside is considered good for users because this platform can’t sell their data to other third parties, and they would not track or record your activity or work.
As we all know, online platforms can’t guarantee perfect security. Still, Archive of Your Own (AO3) tries its best to provide you with a fully secure and safe platform to share, create, and enjoy work without worrying about data leakage. Also, users can enhance their level of security by applying strong passwords and following best practices for online safety.
Conclusion
Archive of Your Own (AO3) is a well-known website for fans who want to enjoy reading and writing fiction. On the other hand, it provides all of its services without charging any hidden fees or subscription charges and doesn’t show annoying ads and popups. This platform is open to everyone and allows everyone to express themselves freely. That’s why people like it. AO3 offers a very helpful system that helps organize stories and fanworks with tags, making it hassle-free for users to find and read their desired content. However, this site is managed by the Organization for Transformative Works, which is dedicated to supporting and helping fan culture. This place is perfect for everyone, whether you are a writer or a reader. You can have fun here, meet other fans, and let your imagination become real.