Fanfiction.net down — ‘It just broke,’ users complain after fanworks site ‘cannot be reached’ for second day in a row
FANFICTION.NET experienced issues for the second day in a row on Friday.
Hundreds of reports have flooded Downdetector, citing problems with the fanworks website.
Upon trying to reach the website, fans are confronted with a "This site cannot be reached" notification no matter how much it's refreshed.
"Okay it just broke," wrote one user on Downdetector. "I had a moment of hope when it worked for like a few minutes."
"Irritating. I was planning to move a bunch of stuff over to ffdotnet today," wrote another. "Actually made a plan and everything."
FictionPress, the company that operates the website, wrote on X at 5 pm EST on Friday, "FanFiction.net is currently experiencing DNS issues, which are being actively investigated and resolved. However, app access remains unaffected."
The statement added, "We expect resolution within the next 24 hours. As this error is upstream and out of our direct control, the 24 window is our best estimate currently but we hope to have this resolved earlier than that."
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Resolution expected Saturday
FictionPress wrote on X that a resolution is expected by 5:30 pm EST on Saturday.
While the problem is being investigated, fans should still be able to access Fanfiction.net.
Explaining DNS Failure
DNS failure occurs when users are unable to connect to an IP address via a domain name.
The sources of the problem could be issues with the following,
- Router or modem
- Browser
- Computer
- Internet Service Provider
FictonPress said the issue with FanFiction.met is "upstream and out of our direct control" in an X post.
Explaining DNS
FictionPress announced on X that FanFiction.net is experiencing "DNS issues."
DNS stands for Domain Name System which allows users to connect with a website.
The DNS connects a website IP address with the website's domain name and results in a functioning website.
Fans demand fix to email function
Fans are demanding a fix to the email function on Fanfiction.net.
"Please fix the emails while you’re at it!" one user wrote in the comments.
"Agreed! Fix the emails please. I'm ready to pull my current stories to another site that cares about their community," another agreed.
Site still can't be reached
Users of Fanfiction.net still cannot reach the site amid "DNS issues."
Fanfiction.net cannot be reached during the outage Resolution expected within '24 hours'
FictionPress has released an update on X about the status of Fanfiction.net.
Reports still high
Reports are still over 400 since the outage began this morning.
Reports of outages peaked at over 700Credit: Downdetector Biggest fandoms on fansites, part two
An author on popular fanfiction site Archive of Our Own has published the statistics on the biggest fandoms, (relation)ships, and characters on the website in 2023.
Here is a continuation of the list of the 25 biggest fandoms users have written fanfiction about:
- Teen Wolf (124,372 works)
- Sherlock (117,880 works)
- Batman (110,506 works)
- Naruto (107,514 works)
- Minecraft (105,214 works)
- Captain America (97,772 works)
- DCU (86,881 works)
- Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan (81,959 works)
- Stranger Things (81,796 works)
- Dream SMP (80,116 works)
- Voltron: Legendary Defender (78,664 works)
- Star Wars Sequel Trilogy (69,460 works)
- Bungou Stray Dogs (68,049 works)
- Módào Zǔshi - Mòxiāng Tōngxiù (66,557 works)
Biggest fandoms on fansites, part one
An author on popular fanfiction site Archive of Our Own has published the statistics on the biggest fandoms, (relation)ships, and characters on the website in 2023.
Here are the 25 biggest fandoms users have written fanfiction about:
- Marvel Cinematic Universe (497,856 works)
- Harry Potter (442,320 works)
- Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (288,722 works)
- Supernatural (259,121 works)
- Video Blogging RPF (257,587 works)
- Original Work (246,342 works)
- Star Wars - All Media Types (222,805 works)
- The Avengers (Marvel Movies) (214,059 works)
- Bangtan Boys | BTS (198,745 works)
- Genshin Impact (158,484 works)
- Haikyuu!! (151,954 works)
Understanding fanfiction
Fan fiction, often abbreviated as fan fic, fanfic, fic, or FF, is a type of writing created by fans that uses characters, settings, and other elements from existing works of fiction without authorization from the original creators.
These stories can vary in length, from a few sentences to entire novels, and may include the original characters and settings, new ones, or a mix of both.
This form of creative expression is considered fan labor and spans a wide range of media, including novels, movies, comics, TV shows, musical groups, cartoons, anime, manga, and video games.
Despite being unofficial, fan fiction allows fans to explore new possibilities and narratives within their favorite fictional worlds.
FFN is 'still down'
Users are still reporting issues on Downdetector and they're showing no signs of stopping.
"Still down on my end," one person wrote.
"It's still down on me. :(" another commented.
"It's [sic] still down on my end too," a third added.
FFN users are worried
Users of FFN are worried about what is going on with the site. There have been no updates on the situation and whether it is going to be fixed.
Inquiry made
The U.S. Sun has reached out to FFN Support about this matter.
The company has not yet made any statements regarding this widespread outage.
Keep an eye on updates here.
Users are frustrated
Fanfiction readers and writers alike are irritated with being unable to access their works or read their favorite fics.
"It's been down for nearly 18 hours for me," wrote one user on Downdetector. "I know it takes time to get these things up and running again, but it's frustrating that I've been working crazy hours for the past two weeks and now that I have the time to sit down and write again, I can't!"
"This is so frustrating I can't handle it anymore," wrote another.
"I still can’t log in and I had planned to update a lot of my stories," a third commented.
'Don't expect them to say anything'
Users are wondering whether there has been word from FFN about what the outage is due to and when it will be resolved.
So far, there has been no official word from the platform.
"The admin seldom give us information," wrote one user on Downdetector in response to someone asking if any news has been heard. "Been that way for years. Unless it goes on for several hours, don't expect them to say anything."
Reports continue to run rampant
There are still over 590 reports of issues with FFN on Downdetector.
Reports today have teetered between 500 and 600.
Credit: Downdetector Writers try to get readers to flock to another platform
Some FFN users are encouraging their readers to check out their fanworks on other platforms.
Check out other sites to read fanfic on while you wait
While you wait for updates from FFN, here are some other websites to check out if you haven't already:
- Archive of Our Own (AO3)
- Wattpad
- Tumblr
- Quotev
- Webnovel
FFN has a sister site
FanFiction.Net's sister site, FictionPress.com, boasts a collection of over 1 million original stories, poems, and plays.
Unlike FanFiction.Net, FictionPress.com strictly prohibits fan fiction but maintains a comparable format and community guidelines.
The site is noted for its diverse literary offerings, with poetry outnumbering prose contributions.
FFN started as a school project
Xing Li, a software developer from Alhambra, California, founded FanFiction.Net in 1998 as a school project.
Initially created as a non-profit platform, the site aimed to archive fan-created stories spanning characters from literature, films, TV shows, anime, and video games.
Unlike its counterparts, FanFiction.Net allowed stories featuring any characters, not limited to specific fandoms.
Registration initially required users to be over 18, but by 2002, over 118,000 people were registered, prompting the age limit to be lowered to 13.
At that time, a significant portion of registrants—80%—were female, with one-third under the age of 18.
Fears of the site being shut down for good
"Has ffn been shut down for good?" one person questioned on Downdetector.
There has been no word about FFN being closed as of now.
About FanFiction.Net
FanFiction.Net (FF.net or FFN) is a popular automated fan fiction archive site launched in 1998 by software designer Xing Li.
With over 12 million registered users, the site is divided into categories such as Anime/Manga, Books, Cartoons, and more.
Registered users can submit fan fiction, maintain profiles, review stories, and apply for beta reader positions.
The site features centralized communities and forums and allows sign-ups via Google, Facebook, or Twitter accounts. FanFiction.Net also operates a Twitter account, FictionPress, to update users on site changes and improvements.
'Almost an entire day'
Fanfic writers are at a loss as to what's going on with FFN.
They are asking for updates that don't come.
User says email feature is not working
In reply to a 2012 tweet from FanFiction.Net, someone said that the email system is down for the fic website.
No updates from FFN
There has not yet been an update from Fanfiction.net on this matter.
The Fiction Press X account has not been updated since June 13.