Posts on the site are short, user-submitted stories of unfortunate happenings that begin with "Today" and end with "FML".

The site is the English version of the creators' original website in French, Viedemerde.fr, which translates as "shit life".

[6] FMyLife has drawn attention from some social commentators, such as sociologist Pierre Mannoni, who has stated, "Even if it's done with humour, it can be dangerous to describe oneself endlessly as a loser; it can prevent you from succeeding.

In 2009, FML also released an iPhone/iPod Touch application, in which the user can submit their FMLs, rate them, comment on them or just read them.

Chase and Giroux had previously worked together creating web content for Awkward Universe, which FMyLife had been publishing on their site during 2012.