Comment on October 2025 Newsletter, Volume 205

  1. MalcontentCatboy Thu 13 Nov 2025 11:28PM UTC

    This kind of thing happens from time to time across the internet. It usually doesn't take any credentials beyond username to request a lost password link, which is the case for AO3. So it doesn't mean your account was necessarily in danger, but it does mean someone was trying to get into your account... and that they weren't very smart.

    If it happens recurrently, you could contact support. But most likely they can't do anything, since your account isn't actually being compromised.
    https://ao3-rd-18.onrender.com/support

    Make sure you have a strong password both here and on your email and you should be OK.

    Comment Actions

    1. knight7272 Thu 13 Nov 2025 11:46PM UTC

      well I already changed it as it was nearly a decade-old password

      I still have the email from A03 but couldn't upload the screenshot of the email

      I suspect the hacker was trying to take over the account to use for crypto farming or those bot things that have been trying to scam people

      Last Edited Thu 13 Nov 2025 11:49PM UTC

      Comment Actions

      1. MalcontentCatboy Thu 13 Nov 2025 11:53PM UTC

        I don't think you should go showing that email to anyone. If the full reset link is visible, anyone with the screenshot could compromise your account. There is no need to, anyway.

        Comment Actions

        1. knight7272 Thu 13 Nov 2025 11:56PM UTC

          okay so i should delete the email that i was sent earlier today

          Comment Actions

        2. knight7272 Fri 14 Nov 2025 06:34AM UTC

          yeah i'll be making PDF backups of my fics in case the account gets compromised in future, so i'll be able to post all my old fics if I ever have to make a new account.

          Although, is it against any rules to repost works from an old account if you have to make a new one cause your old one got compromised?

          Comment Actions

          1. MalcontentCatboy Fri 14 Nov 2025 12:50PM UTC

            I'm not sure, if it came to that situation I would suggest you contact support about the hacked account before doing anything else. But I really don't think you're in any danger. If you have secure passwords on your AO3 account and email account, assuming you are otherwise secure, you should be safe.

            However, I always say backups of your stories are a great thing to have. You never know if hypothetically AO3 could go down or something. In fact, I suggest people save stories from others that they like, in case they are ever taken down or otherwise lost.

            Comment Actions

            1. knight7272 Fri 14 Nov 2025 01:35PM UTC

              Okay

              Comment Actions

          3. OTW_News_Post_Moderation (Official) Sun 16 Nov 2025 08:47PM UTC

            NPM icon - stylized newspaper page

            Hello,

            Generally, an author may repost their own works on AO3 as long as they can prove they are the creator, although they should remove one of the works so there are not duplicate identical works on the archive. If you believe your account has been compromised, please reach out to Policy & Abuse.

            Best,
            Joey
            OTW News Post Moderator

            Comment Actions

            1. knight7272 Sun 16 Nov 2025 09:17PM UTC

              okay

              Comment Actions

            2. knight7272 Sun 16 Nov 2025 10:37PM UTC

              So for these unrequested password change requests, what link should I provide to policy and abuse?

              Yeah I got the thing needed a little mixed up

              Last Edited Sun 16 Nov 2025 10:46PM UTC

              Comment Actions

              1. OTW_News_Post_Moderation (Official) Mon 17 Nov 2025 06:02PM UTC

                NPM icon - stylized newspaper page

                Hello,

                You can link to your AO3 account or simply leave the link as the default (https://archiveofourown.org) if you are reporting from the homepage. Just make sure to include a brief description of your issue or query.

                Best,
                Marty
                OTW News Post Moderator

                Comment Actions

                1. knight7272 Mon 17 Nov 2025 06:07PM UTC

                  okay

                  Comment Actions