Welcome!

Before anything else! Take a look to the left side of the screen. Note the links marked 'Recent Posts' and 'Recent Changes.' These are the two most useful buttons you will need here on the site. 'Recent posts' will show you everything that has been posted, whether in the forums, or on the discussion pages. Use it! and 'Recent Changes' will show you everything from new pages to what has been edited.

Ah, so you found us. Great! If you're a casual browser and don't plan on joining the site as a member, that's cool; we have hundreds of SCP articles, incident reports, Foundation tales, and unrelated creepypasta pages for you to read, so why are you wasting your time reading this? But, if you're looking to become involved in the wiki community, whether it's because you want to get a closer look at the process, read the discussion pages, or because you want to write your own SCP article, there are a few things you ought to know first. Of course, first you need to join the site if you have not already done so!

Joining the Site

So, apparently there have been some issues regarding the application process. The only place you need to go to join is here. Follow all the steps. Seems rather simple, yes? Well, let's reinforce a couple of points:

• DO NOT ANSWER IN CHARACTER. Your application will be deleted.
• All Questions Must Be Answered: This should be an obvious one, but seriously, answer all the questions. They do serve a purpose. 'I don't know' is not an acceptable answer.
• Consider This A Job Interview: You are trying to impress us. (I use the term us, but really, it's just Bright.) You want to join our site. This application is a forum through which you can sell us why we need you around. That said, when answering the questions, punctuation, capitalization, and the ability to completely explain the idea are recommended.
• The Questions Are Serious: Okay, granted, some of them aren't (and it'll be obvious which ones aren't), BUT the point is, we want a real answer to any questions asked. So, if, for instance, the question is "What is the purpose of [DATA EXPUNGED]?", a good answer would not be "Why, because of [REDACTED]!" We really want to know your answer to these questions, not something cute and snarky/quippy.
• What To Do If I'm Denied: Look at the reason why you were denied. It'll tell you whether you can apply again.
• Whether you are approved or declined, you WILL be notified. If you have not been notified either way, something went wrong in your application process, and you should contact Dr. Bright to find out what it is.

Some "Rules"

We really have surprisingly few hard-and-fast rules that you NEED to adhere to, but the following are certainly amongst them. Please keep the following in mind unless you want to be scolded, yelled at, or possibly banned.

• Be aware of editing "levels": This is very, very important! Minor edits to articles, such as basic spelling or grammar fixes, can be carried out in most cases with little to no involvement from the article's author. Major edits, such as alterations of whole sentences or paragraphs or changing pictures, should ALWAYS be run by the entry owner first. If you are unable to contact the owner, get hold of one of the mods or admins, and ask them— that is why they are there. If you want to edit an entry for structure rather than content, at least ask a mod/admin in chat first to see if they think the change would be acceptable. I know it can seem a tad anal-retentive of us, but this way we can keep the nasty surprise of logging in to find your entry "wrecked" to a bare minimum.

• Ideas for site tools should be run by an admin or a mod before being implemented: Preferably they should only be implemented BY an admin or mod. This is to stop the site from being broken and going all wahoonie shaped. We're still trying to hunt down a few "fixes" implemented by users, so this is important!

• Don't make a member page until you've got at least three well-received SCP articles: And when you do, remember that self-deprecating humor is better received than Mary Sue power fantasies.

• Make sure any content you add is appropriate: Whilst the site as a whole would certainly have to go "unrated", and I'm certainly not going to ask you to keep things "PG" or any such nonsense, please keep things tasteful. If your article mentions sex or violence, don't make it explicit. If in doubt, run it by a staff member, but an easy way to police yourself is to ask yourself: "Does the purpose of this article SEEM to revolve around indulging in sexual or violent fantasies?" If the answer is "yes", then try again, bucko. And pictures should always be kept SFW. Of course, I mean all of this regarding main-site articles, as we do have a place for this sort of thing (you'll have to find it for yourself, though).

• Don't talk "in character": Do not talk "in character" on the forums or the chat. This is a quick way to accumulate hatred and angry glares.

• Don't spam: When you've posted the announcement of your new SCP in the forums, and you've mentioned it in chat… stop there. Do not keep spamming the chat with repeated links to your new article, don't keep telling every new person who comes in about it, just let it be. You've announced it, people will look at it— this just might take time. Spamming will result in kicks/bans from chat.

• Finally, don't be a dick: Wil Wheaton said it, so it must be true.

Joining and Staying in the Community

• Join the chat: Seriously, it's easy! Joining the chat is the #1 way to get involved in the community. A lot of SCP-related conversation takes place there, as well as the majority of the socializing and the discussion. If you have an idea you want to run by an established user, you can do it there. If you need some help setting up a page, do it there. Hell, just go there and say hi first, and people will tend to like you better if and when you write your first article.
  • And read the Chat Guide as well. Wouldn't wanna get banned now, would we?
  • Checking the topic of the chat is good business. If you're using the Mibbit option, and you can't find the topic at first glance, type "/topic".

• Leave constructive comments: We encourage users to vote on articles as they like (and dislike), and leave comments on discussion pages. And leaving comments on articles is a great way to start discussion with other users, and make your name familiar around the site. But please, if you're going to leave a comment, try to say something beyond "liked it, upvoted" or just "downvoted". Ask questions! Whether questions for clarification, or theoretical questions such as "What would happen to this SCP if we did …" etc. Asking questions helps the authors expand the article from angles they might not have previously considered. If you're not going to ask questions, at least leave full comments saying what about an article you like. If you're leaving a negative comment, it's doubly important to state what you didn't like.

• Don't rush to contribute: This is a big one. Just because we are a writing community does not mean you must write. We welcome fans, editors, and insightful commentators as well. Also, the SCP entry format is not always everyone's cup of tea. The detached tone and format can be very hard to do correctly. Luckily, we have a large Library, Creepy Pasta section, and other areas where more emotional and story-length ideas can be played out. Don't feel as if you MUST make all your ideas into SCP entries. The Foundation universe is large, and lots of things may happen in it that never get recorded in full scale SCP entries.

• Read the articles: It's surprising how many people we get that read an SCP or two, and then try to have OPINIONS on new SCPs, or even worse, write their own SCP. Before you go doing either of those things, take the time to REALLY read about the site. Get a feel for the site and the setting. Read about object classes and security levels. Explore the links across the top and down the left side of each page.

• Do not sass the mods: Or the admins, for that matter. Anyone whose name is under Administration or Moderation on this here list is generally an established user with experience writing good articles. If a mod is being deliberately rude or mean, call them on it, by all means, but too often we've got people coming in and mouthing off to established users who are only trying to help, and wind up with kickbans.

• Don't be the Guitar Guy: You know, the guy who shows up at a party with his guitar and starts playing without being prompted, thinking that this will make him appear deep and talented and probably get him laid. He's wrong. Everyone hates that fucking guy and they all wish he'd just shut the fuck up and go home because Jesus H Christ, dude, are you completely oblivious to the fact that a bootleg of the new album by the Faint, which won't be released for six months, is on the stereo, and also that the redhead you've been hitting on all night came with Frank, who makes way more money than you and is an accomplished marine biologist? … Anyway, the point is that you don't need to be the most awesome thing in the room, and trying to be will generally result in the opposite reaction. Just be what you are and let the flow of the environment guide your decisions.

Writing SCPs

So you want to write an SCP, eh? Okay! But first…

• Read The Manual: Or, in our case, the How to Write an SCP Page. The WHOLE thing. And do what it says. This also includes reading this list of SCP ideas that have been done to death and back. One other place you might want to go is the Decommissioned SCPs List. This is a list of SCP articles that were violently rejected by the established user base for various reasons: read them and learn, my young apprentice, about the kinds of articles that are not welcome here.

• There are literally hundreds of articles on this wiki. It is a sure bet that any new ideas you have have either been done before, or something close to it. Use the search function to check and see if we already have your idea here. It's not a bad thing to use an idea that has already been done; you just need to give it a unique spin.

• Announce your SCP in the Announcement thread or I will destroy all that you love and hold dear, even if you leave the wiki. This is a pet peeve of mine, and immediately puts me on a bad footing with a new entry. If I have to hunt through the recent edits to dig out a new SCP, it makes me think you have something to hide, and makes me comb over it with a more harsh eye. If you announce it, it shows a level of confidence and willingness to accept comments. If you make people dig, they are more likely to bury you.

• Do not vote on your own articles: Upvoting your own article is considered bad form and people will likely downvote it for that reason alone. The only valid reason for upvoting your own article is to counter malicious downvoting, and only with the blessing of a staff member.

• YOUR FIRST SCP HAS A BETTER THAN LIKELY CHANCE OF BEING DELETED: We don't pull our punches around here, and we don't sugar coat things. If you have a thin skin or get upset when people tell you how stupid an idea is, this is not the site for you. That said, we really admire people that can either fix their ideas, or know how to drop a dumb idea and keep working on new material. People that butt-hurt and sulk? We don't like them as much.

• Don't post works in progress on the forums: This especially includes not creating sandbox pages. Yes, I know we have a few of these on the site, but they're inactive and no more are being made. They clog up the forums, including the New Posts page, which some of us use to navigate the site quickly. You have two alternatives to on-site sandboxes:
  • You can type it up in pastebin, click Submit, copy the new URL, and paste the link in the chat.
  • Your second option, if you want a dedicated sandbox or if you want to be able to look at your draft using the wikidot format, is to go make a page here. Just create a page for yourself, and share the link.

• Writing Joke SCPs: A good joke SCP should be, first and foremost, funny. Not a reference or a homage to anything, though references can be funny if done right, with a flair of originality. Otherwise, aim for funny, not a reference.

The Senior Staff and You

A Guide on How to Deal

All right, so, I've noticed, a lot of newbies don't really get the Senior Staff. We're the ones who either help run the site, or have been around long enough that we're worth listening to. However, we're also some rather hard people to get along with if you don't know us. So, to help the Newbs, I'm presenting a guide on who we are, and how to handle us. You're welcome.

PS: Yes, there is humor here. However, these are also pretty damn accurate descriptions of us all, so don't be surprised. We warned you.

Admins:

• The Administrator: The man who created the site. Isn't around much, he generally only pops in once every couple of months to make sure we haven't destroyed the place. Don't worry about interacting with him. You won't.
• Gears: Head admin of the site, and a generally awesome guy. As may be evident by the name, Gears is our resident steampunk expert. Has a fairly high tolerance for newbies, and is fairly easy going. Just don't piss him off. The 'True Neutral' of the admin team.
• Kain Pathos Crow: Kain is our lawful good guy on the admin team. He can be hard to get a hold of, but he's a very nice guy; generally kind hearted, and slow to anger. No kind of push over, but he's a lot more even tempered than a lot of us (which admittedly isn't saying much).
• Bright: A self described "crotchety old man" and perv, so beware. He's blunt and crude, but always working for the best. He's in charge of the application process, so if you want to contact someone about that, he's the one to talk to. He's also big into the RP scene, so he can probably answer questions if you're interested in that kind of thing.
• Snorlison: Another one of the nicer guys. Snorli goes back and forth with availability, but if you can catch him, he's easy to talk to and work with. Another of our Chat Admins. Very good with teh creepeh and advanced physics.
• Paradox / Pair Of Ducks: Has been called one of the nice guys. He's also been called unhinged, so take that as you will. Overall, one of the more newbie-friendly guys, and easily found in the chat. Feel free to ask him about SCPs idea, or to edit an article for you. Very active in quality control. Oh, and he's got kind of a quirky sense of humor, especially in chat, so if he's annoying you just tap him lightly on the nose with a newspaper.
• Waxx: Our resident Soviet-ophile, and the newest admin. A great fella, also one of the DMs for the Active Duty game. Don't mention Chechnya. Knows a lot about war, guns, and history, so feel free to ask him about these things. Voted 'Most likely to take a dump on your desk'.
• Sophia Light: Well educated and constructive in her criticisms. Hangs around a lot in chat and Active Duty. Our resident biologist! She can help with sciency things. She's also very active in quality control.
• Dr. Mann: A pretty cool guy, and a great writer. We're expecting great things to come from this kid. He's got a very impressive creative mind, though sometimes it's used for evil. He's also a chat op, and sometimes GM.
• Admins MIA: Fritzwillie, Far2

Mods:

• Fat Ghost: Our laid back friend from the wilds of Canadia. Tends to use the term 'son' a lot, so don't get offended. Our resident Metric God. Use Metric, or he shall smite thee mightily with the Hiker. Very mellow, eh? Also one of our chat admins. He's one of the guys to go to if you want help with an SCP idea; he's both very friendly, and very available in chat.
• Gerald: Smart. Kind of a punk. But we like him. And he's a great editor!
• Mr. Unimport: Has been compared to a younger, more argumentative snorlison. This is a compliment, of course. Very active in quality control.
• The Raven: Can find almost anything given enough time and an internet connection. Knows a good bit about marine biology, and can identify almost anything that lives in water. Not bad with history, either. Handy at editing, writing not so much. Often gets ideas, but more often doesn't write them down. Usually in IRC, even if he's not saying anything, but answers private messages as well.
• Quikngruvn: Though rarely quick or groovin', he has shown himself to have a good eye for SCP articles, and has certainly proved himself a useful addition to the staff. He gets things done.
• Mods MIA: Iceberg, Kraito, Masipag

Senior Staff:

• Clef: Genre-savvy and enigmatic, Clef is our resident bad ass. Rumor has it, Clef has no penis, just another hand, holding a gun. Very active in quality control, Clef may come off brusque, but he only has the good of the site in mind. Don't kiss up to him, or he'll probably shoot you in the face. He recently stepped down from his Admin position, but has since become Chat Owner. A tip: when Serious Clef speaks, you better listen.
• Agent Kramer: Kramer is "a terrifying woman married to one of the most terrifying writers on the site" (and that's from those who love her). Suffice to say, she knows a good SCP when she sees one.
• PoorYoric: Voted second most likely to downvote your article. He has some redeeming features hidden somewhere, we're sure. He runs the SCP fuel photobucket accounts, and is really good at finding SCP images. Also known as a good critic, for some reason.
• Bouncl: That's Imants in chat. He's a nice guy with a good head on his shoulders. Talk to him if Unimport and Yoric scare you. Also a chat mod!
• Fifthman: An alright fellow! He maintains Alanna, so he's very important to us in chat! Oh, and uses the "^_^" smiley a lot.
• Photosynthetic: She's a great girl, and one of our resident scientists! Can you guess what her specialty is? In any case, she's very helpful, and great with science; so if you need to science up an article, she's a great person to ask. She's hard to catch in chat, but she answers her private messages.
• Gnosis: Gnosis is also a chat op! He's a great guy. If you have IRC-related problems, he'd be the one to ask— he knows his stuff. He's also notoriously capable at coding, and is the one responsible for that sweet image effect on SCP-228.
• Rights: Our first female Researcher who dared to admit it. Very motherly, and always willing to lend a hand if she's got the time (y'know, BABY). Rights has a good head on her shoulders for creepy.
• Ekzentric Lohner: Not much is known about her, but she IS really good at both constructive criticism and the creation of tools to actually be used on the wiki.
• Burns: As Waxx is fond of saying, a bear is just a man who made a choice. Well, Burns is a man who made a choice to be an imbecile. Feel free to show your ideas to him. Useful in the ideas department, not so much in the editing.
• Pig_catapult: Pig's been here a while, and generally has a good instinct for whether an idea will go over well. She might not say much most of the time, but she's usually just a ping or private message away, and is almost always ready to give some constructive criticism. She's also a stickler for grammar, spelling, and punctuation, so if you need another set of eyes to help proofread your article, just ask.
• Metaphorphosis: Meta's the token Aussie in the chat and spends a lot of time trying to help/motivate the newbies. Happy to proof read your article and give you pointers and very happy to rewrite something for you. Nice guy, has a tattoo of the SCP non-logo on his back.
• Staff MIA: Kulzn

Chat Mods: That's right, we have a chat! And, with a constant influx of new meat, we've had to post up Chat mods, to keep things flowing smoothly.

• Break: She's a nice gal who has a tendency to pounce on certain people and drag them to her desk. Are you getting the visual imagery of a leopard and its prey? You should be.
• Clockwork Mage: A nice enough fellow, and none too shabby at the writing end.
• Heiden: One of the nice guys. Wow, we're really moving away from the random asshole mods, aren't we?