Guide:Hub

Welcome to the Guide hub! if you need help read this.

Guide:Site Rules

Welcome to the FMC Foundation! This is the Guide for Newbies, your introduction to site etiquette and standards. However you may have found your way here, we welcome you as a member and a potential author of SCPs and SCP-related stories and documents. While this document may seem long, everything in this guide is very necessary to getting a handle on how to behave on the site. So please: read, don't skim.

Let's start from the beginning: getting from casual reader to site member.

Hey, that's odd. We went from step 1 to step 3. What's step 2? Wait, here it is:
 * 1. Make an account with Wikia.
 * 3. Even with a Wikia account, you still aren't a member of the FMC Foundation site itself. To join the site itself, you have to go to a Admin or higers page and write your application. not anymore. now you have to go to Guide:Ranks
 * 4. You are Not allowed to be on chat with others if you are under 10,under 10's may still write articles but no going on chat,under 10's going on chat will result in a warning,then a ban


 * 2. Your application will be a short paragraph, not more than 200 characters. However, we get a significant number of applications every day, and we have certain standards for joining. Specifically, you have to read all of the information (including all of the tabs) on this page.

 Some good topics include:  Keep in mind, you're not the only applicant. Don't write a novel in the text box to waste the reviewer's time; just keep it concise and to the point.
 * Why are you interested in joining?
 * Do you have any particular skills that you pride yourself on?
 * What can you offer the wiki to enhance the community?



Site Behavior
The that you should have read by now contains a very clinical list of things you are allowed to do, things you are expected to do, and things you are not allowed to do. However, the SCP Foundation is a writing community, and no list of hard-and-fast rules will explain the nuances of social interaction for you. There are some behaviors that will simply grate on different people's nerves; you can't, as the quote says, please everyone. There are, however, behaviors that annoyeveryone, and these will get you banned. Keep this in mind.

 Sassing the Mods:  Don't. The tab at the top that says "Senior Staff" has a list of people who have some degree of authority on this site; every one of them is at least a trusted user, and has a great deal of experience in writing and interacting with people on the site. You are required to know who these people are! That said:  Staff, Mods, and Admins are allowed to have and express opinions just as writers and site members. You are advised not to behave obnoxiously towards them (or anyone—see the first rule), but you as a member are allowed to debate, disagree, and discuss whatever you like, however you like (as long as you're civil), with Operational Staff, Mods, or Admins in their capacity as members. This changes when the Staff, Mod, and Admin hats come out.

 Staff/Mod/Admin Posts:  This is a member of staff acting in a position of authority. They will be clearly marked as "Staff Post", "Mod Post", or "Admin Post". Those are generally discussions to be read by members, but contributed to by Staff.

 Editing:  The SCP Foundation is a wiki, meaning you are encouraged to write and contribute to the site. Likewise, you are permitted to improve the site by editing existing pages, to an extent.Editing is broken up into different ranks:
 * Moderative Posts: Moderative posts will have a specific title. These titles are used to indicate specific types of posts, and should only be responded to in certain situations. This exact text will be in the post itself:
 * Call for Rewrite: Anyone wanting to volunteer to rewriting a page or discuss the rewriting of a page may respond to this post.
 * Deletion Vote: Anyone wanting to request a stay of deletion or ask for the opportunity to rewrite may respond to this post. Do not 'vote' if you are not staff.
 * Stop Order - Do not respond to this post. If a staff member ends a discussion, it is over. Do not try to get the final word in; just stop.

Also important: Make sure you know what you're doing when you edit. Don't make a sentence worse by a) changing something that is supposed to be whatever it is, like an intentional misspelling, formatting quirk, or an acceptable but alternate spelling of a word (color/colour, analog/analogue, etc.), or b) fixing something that literally isn't wrong in the first place.
 * Minor edits: These include minor grammar, spelling, or punctuation fixes, or adding (correct) tags to a page. The rule is: as long as the change doesn't alter a sentence's meaning, the edit is fine. If you plan to do a lot of minor edits, be sure to let a moderator know, to avoid misunderstandings about the changes.

 Appropriate Content:  We give writers a great deal of latitude with what they want to do ). We're likewise fine with "squick," body horror, etc. However, no sexual or excessively gory content is allowed. Again, if you aren't sure, ask a moderator or admin.
 * Major edits: This includes changing paragraphs, altering pictures, or other concept changes. These types of changes should be run past the original author if possible. If the original author can't be found, ask a moderator or administrator for permission or advice.

 The Password:  When you submit your application to join the site, make sure you include the phrase "FMC." Failure to include this phrase will result in the automatic denial of your application. Do not talk about the existence of this phrase in chat or on the site or to anyone else, or you will be banned. (Note: If you come into #site17 to ask for help, or if you are speaking with a member of staff in private messages, you may discuss the password.) If you attempt to be cute with the password and work it in to your application, it may be missed, so please just append it to the beginning or end of your application.

 In-character Behavior:  Don't. Everything on the site and in the chat is out-of-character, meaning you are to write as if you understand that this is a fiction site and we are writers of fiction.

 Spam:  Don't. Don't bring up your new FMC every two minutes. Similarly, don't post responses to forum posts that are several months old. This likewise will give off the indication that you don't know what you're doing. read as much as you can physically tolerate, and then never do any of that.

<p style="line-height:18.04800033569336px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;"> Self-Upvoting:  Don't. 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.

<p style="line-height:18.04800033569336px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;"> Signatures:  Don't. Signatures are unnecessary and not allowed on the forums.

<p style="line-height:18.04800033569336px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;">

Tips for Members
<p style="line-height:18.04800033569336px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;">While we've covered things you can and can't do, let's spend some time with things you should and shouldn't do.

<p style="line-height:18.04800033569336px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;">We're not asking you to write a report on each article in the comments, but these extra points help improve the nature of the community.
 * Leave constructive comments: This is a big one. Simply telling an author "your idea sucks" or "it's cool" doesn't do much. You can do that, but if your post history is a long line of "I like it!" or "This sucks", everyone's going to get annoyed. Here are some tips you can keep in mind when you leave a comment:
 * What makes it good/bad? (They can't fix what they don't know.)
 * What could they do to either enhance or fix it?
 * Ask questions that can make an author think of alternate ideas or perspectives about the article. Asking questions make them think of an answer, potentially letting them realize another point that can improve the article.
 * Why did/didn't you like it?


 * Don't rush to contribute: This is another big one. Newbies often assume that because they joined a collaborative writing site, they must submit something to look smart or seem like a constructive person. This isn't the case. Generally, quality writing takes time. Trying to submit some thing as fast as you can to seem like you're being a good member of the community will generally lead to sending in a shitty article that is downvoted to oblivion. Ask users in-chat for critiques or feedback, and get more info about the article you're trying to write. As brusque as some chat ops may seem, we are all ultimately there to help you create something new, unique, and interesting. This brings us back to the main point, which is take your time. We're not going anywhere.
 * Experiment with new concepts: While it may seem like the main focus of this site is the FMC articles, there is more for you to contribute. We have sketch artists, storytellers, and graphic artists. People write stories about the Foundation universe, exploring the concepts behind various FMCs. Others help flesh out universe through sketches and posters, even going so far as to design animations. There's just so much you can contribute, other than just an FMC article. Give your idea a shot! We'd love to see it.
 * Read the articles: Before trying to critique SCPs, read through the articles and links to get an understanding of the Foundation universe. Building up a knowledge base helps to give your articles a better chance at being accepted in the site. Too much knowledge is not a thing that exists.
 * Modesty: You don't need to be the most awesome thing in the site, 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.

Tips on Writing

 * Search: 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. Once you join the Chat, you'll have access to dozens of seasoned veterans who can further tell you if your idea has been done or needs work.
 * Announce your FMC in the Announcement thread: When you're finished, put up a post in the FMC announcement thread  under the most recent "New FMC" thread, telling the world it's ready to be viewed and critiqued. How are we supposed to know your article exists if you don't tell anyone? The flipside of that is that you should not make an entirely new thread simply to announce your FMC. It belongs in the designated announcement thread. Theother flipside is that you should not post in an outdated "New FMC" thread.
 * Your first may suck, and that's okay: Statistically speaking, your first FMC will probably fail. It's just a trend that's happened for as long as this community has been in existence. Don't feel bad if/when yours fails, but instead take the feedback and use it to make your next one even better. Don't dwell and complain how we removed it or people downvoted it for being blind to your genius. That sort of behavior is the most idiotic sort of thing anyone in this wiki knows about. You will be awarded no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
 * Don't post works in progress on the forums: This especially includes not creating sandbox pages on the main wiki. 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:

Senior Staff and You
<p style="line-height:18.04800033569336px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Who are the senior staff? We are the people who are assigned responsibilities on the site. It's our job to help keep the site running as smoothly and as well as possible. Most of us are veterans, with experience built up from the time spent here. Here's a small dossier to help show who the senior staff are.

<p style="line-height:18.04800033569336px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Note: You are expected to know who staff are when you encounter them "in the wild", because you have to know when to listen to them. You don't have to memorize or even thoroughly read these bios. But you do have to know which people are staff.

<p style="line-height:18.04800033569336px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;">PS: Yes, these are tongue-in-cheek, but they're still true, so don't be surprised. We warned you.

<p style="line-height:18.04800033569336px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;">O5-1-13:

<p style="line-height:normal;">
 * Lordimertelo2213: Head admin of the site, and a generally awesome guy. This dude set up the site. 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. May not always be around, but is always around in spirit.

<p style="line-height:normal;">Admins:

<p style="line-height:18.04800033569336px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Mods:

<p style="line-height:18.04800033569336px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Operational Staff:

<p style="line-height:18.04800033569336px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Inactive Staff Members

<p style="line-height:18.04800033569336px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;">These staff members have been deemed inactive, due to prolonged absence.


 * Inactive Staff: