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The RPC Authority^[1]http://rpcauthority.wikidot.com is a containment fiction community founded in response to the SCP Wiki’s June 2018 controversy. It was originally created by CFOperator, who oversaw the unstable founding of the site which was eventually stabilized by his successors.

The eponymous RPC Authority, more commonly referred to as “The Authority”, is a para-governmental organization that collects and catalogs supernatural objects. It is shown to have limited resources and is portrayed by a single mono-canon guiding its history and present operations.

The RPC community is primarily active on their Discord server. A poll conducted in June 2021 collected 100 responses, which can be aggregated as the relative size of the RPC Authority’s “core” community collective.^[2]https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfEs7cDQ5hVdvv1edaU1BtDc720dOLWbbg1-gxQopd9hjNy2w/viewanalytics

Overview

The RPC Wiki itself is simple to navigate, with many quality of life touches such as an integrated dark/light theme, simple layout, and easy access to sub-blocs on their RPC Archive list. The main sections are the “Archive I” page which has the main listing of RPC format containment fictions, the lore pages, and the forums. There are also the standard navigational tools such as recent changes and such which are standard on WikiDot websites.

Like “SCP”, “RPC” stands for a variety of phrases, including “Research, Protection, Containment” and “Registered Phenomenon Code”. Like other containment fiction, it is written in a pseudoscientific style to add a level of authenticity more evolved than its creepypasta forbears.

Writing Environment

The in-universe timeline of the RPC Authority traces itself to pre-modernity, with the first use of its name appearing in 1815. All history in this universe traces itself through a document known as the Lexicon Authorities, which is the authoritative collection of RPC’s history and organization.

Divisions are the primary way the RPC Authority is organized in-universe, along with other decentralized units such as Regional Commands. This allows different portions of the RPC Authority to have their own distinct characteristics and attributes while still existing in the same continuity.

The RPC Wiki regularly hosts “Events” to drive interest in different parts of its canon. Like most containment fiction websites, it can be found on Wikidot, with its original idea stemming from posts on 4chan.

The approach of having a single unified canon has its upsides and downsides, being equally valid to deciding to have no canon at all. It results in some level of gatekeeping to stick to what has come before, but also allows for writers to have a level of equity in their familiarity with the universe as all involved are working from the same basic set of facts and grounding rules. This is part of why the in-universe depiction of the RPC Authority shows their resources and capabilities as being far more limited than others operating in their in-universe sphere.

Criticism & Controversy

There has been significant criticism of the RPC community for allegations of bigotry and racism, evidenced by the large quantity of slurs present and publicly visible by searching in their community Discord. Members of the RPC Authority have disputed this, saying that many of those are taken out of context or arguing that it is a worthy sacrifice to maintain free speech principles.

Early Days

CFOperator

— Pardon our progress —

Moderation

The RPC Authority is frequently criticized for its conservative moderation regarding language and its lack of censorious behavior on par with the SCP Wiki. Casual racial and phobic slurs are generally allowed in the Discord and on-site.^[3]https://archive.vn/nltTI#selection-4255.0-4257.51^[4]https://archive.vn/HNeHI Notably, SCP Wiki members have regarded the RPC Authority as a haven for right wing political ideologies and ideologues, including “anti-SJW” individuals.^[5]https://archive.vn/fUk0f The lack of censorship on-site is often equated by critics to bigotry.^[6]https://archive.vn/VujEm

In mid 2022, disputes within the RPC staff structure resulted in the fracturing of the upper staff structure. Two prominent users and authors, Coupon and KaiserXI, were either banned or resigned.^[7]https://archive.vn/vpkvW

Content & Writing Standards

The site is frequently cast by members of the SCP as being a cheap imitation with no literary value.^[8]e.g., https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-10689293/the-rpc-authority#post-4189589

Politics

Other critics have berated the current administration of RPC, particularly with respect to the handling and departure of long-time authors and contributors, KaiserXI and Coupon.^[9]https://www.conficmagazine.com/post/the-slow-self-strangulation-of-the-rpc-authority-a-breakdown

— Pardon our progress —

Trivia

Viderics, RPC’s neurotransmitter agonist drug that allows the perception of usually-suppressed anomalies, was presaged in a crude fashion on 4chan’s /x/ in June 2008, during a discussion of what SCP-001 should be. The drug is given the name “Mindfuck”.^[10]https://archive.ph/B1g6I#selection-9236.0-9333.7

RPC’s first RPC-001, RPC-001-1: The Primordial Womb & The Stillborn God, was foreshadowed by the original SCP-024 on EditThis.^[11]https://web.archive.org/web/20080613165522/http://editthis.info/SCP_wiki/SCP-024