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Controversy index, or CI, is a unitless value used as a loose mathematical tool to indirectly quantify a containment fiction work’s controversial nature within a voting community, on a scale of 0 (low controversy) to 100 (high controversy).

Formula

CI’s formula is as follows:

Controversy Index is equal to the absolute value of the rating divided by the total number of votes, minus 1. The absolute value of the result is then multiplied by 100.

CI has a direct relationship with article controversy; the higher the value, the more technically controversial the article is. The least technically controversial article imaginable — one that has as many upvotes as votes, or as many downvotes as votes — would have a CI of 0. The most controversial article imaginable— one that always has an equal number of upvotes and downvotes — would have a CI of 100.

CI accounts for the fact that an article can be rated very negatively and be non-controversial. For example, a typical article in deletion with a -11 rating, and 13 total votes would have a relatively low CI of 15. This is because most voters are in consensus about an article’s negative rating, therefore it is not controversial.

Adjusted CI

Adjusted CI, or CI_a, incorporates a ratio of comments:rating, as well as article age, to dramatically separate and differentiate articles with similar CIs.

The most basic form of CI is simple and convenient, but cannot account for controversy over time (article age), or the comment:rating ratio of a given article, both of which can indicate sustained controversy. For example, a new article with a rating of 6 with 12 total votes and 3 comments would receive the same base CI value as a heritage article with a rating of 1500 with 3000 total votes, 1700 comments, and that has been on the SCP Wiki for 15 years. It is clear that the second article is likely more controversial, however, base CI cannot account for this. Also, because articles with no votes have CIs of 100 (maximum controversy), and CI doesn’t incorporate article age on the wiki, any new article that the author does not self-upvote is de facto tied as the most controversial on the Wiki, until the rating changes.

CI can be adjusted to account for article age and comment:rating ratio by “Controversy Surface Area”, or CSA:

where “year” is the number of years a given containment fiction article has been posted, beginning with year 0 at the time of publication. Base CI can be adjusted to incorporate CSA, and to further separate the controversy magnitude of articles with the same or similar base CIs, if needed.

Adding CSA to CI, adjusted CI becomes:

Continuing the above example, the new article with a rating of 6, 12 total votes, and 3 comments would have a CI_a of 25; the heritage article that is 15 years old, with a rating of 1500, 3000 total votes, and 1700 comments would have a CI_a of 906.

Articles featuring relatively higher CIs with relatively lower CI_as indicate a newer controversial article. High CI_as indicate sustained controversy. As opposed to base CI, CI_a will also indicate if the article is currently in the negatives or positives by its sign (+/-).

Star Rating System

Instead of a binary upvote/downvote system, a star rating system can be utilized on WikiDot platforms (e.g. RPC Authority), with 1 star being the lowest and 5 stars being the highest. CI calculation has to be modified for a star rated system.

Because the lowest possible rating for a star-rating article is not 0 stars, but 1 star, the median of the star range is 3 stars, as opposed to 2.5 stars.^[1]Image proof of RPC’s averaging system, the median of which is 3 stars. For example, if 100 individuals voted an article 1 star, and another 100 voted it as 5 stars, the average would be 3 … Continue reading

The modified CI equation for a star-based rating system is:

Controversy Index is equal to the rating divided by five, this subtracted by 0.6, and then divided by 0.4. The quotient is subtracted by 1, and the absolute value is multiplied by 100.

CI_a must also be adjusted, as follows:

CI_a is not as effective for RPC due to relatively lower totals of comments, though would dramatically elevate CI_a value if a controversial article had more comments than votes.

Examples

SCP Wiki

Note: Based on statistics collected on January 10, 2023. CI_a are rounded to the nearest whole number or hundredths place.

• SCP-5031 – 1.14 (CI_a — 0.49)
• SCP-3008 – 2.02 (CI_a — 1.53)
• SCP-2521 – 2.55 (CI_a — 2.38)
• SCP-173 – 10.1 (CI_a — 35)
• SCP-113 – 26.5 (CI_a — 110)
• SCP-7143-J SFW? – 40.2 (CI_a — 296)
• SCP-5004 – 60.85 (CI_a — 115.9)
• Eberstrom’s Proposal-ARC – 70.5 (CI_a — 1,845)
• SCP-5167 – 71.2 (CI_a — 189)
• SCP-579 – 83.06 (CI_a — 1,968)
• SCP-2721 by DolphinSlugchugger & kinchtheknifeblade – 96.76 (CI_a— 29,919)

RPC Authority

Note: Based on statistics collected on January 13, 2023.

Multiple articles on the RPC Authority have CIs of 100. The RPC with a CI of 100 as well as the highest number of votes is RPC-991 by Hydrozen (53 votes).

• RPC-013 by Agent Eldritch – 10 (CI_a – 5.08)
• Uncommon Diseases by High Gamma & ieatcrepes – 10 (CI_a – 10.38)
• RPC-666 by Ascriber – 25 (CI_a– 19.45)
• RPC-121 by mewstro – 90 (CI_a– 113.79)
• RPC-108 by Argie Fag – 95 (CI_a– 128)
• RPC-991 by Hydrozen – 100 (CI_a– 56)

The Backrooms (WikiDot)

Note: Based on statistics collected on January 13, 2023.

• Level 3 by Natedagreat563 – 1.36 (CI_a — 0.96)
• Level 0 by etoisle – 1.03 (CI_a — 3.85)
• Level 999 by Stretchsterz – 71.06 (CI_a — 194.5)
• Level 52 by Stretchsterz – 93.83 (CI_a — -2,964.94)
• The Insulation by T4kenName – 96.23 (CI_a — -1,299)
• Level 37 by Stretchsterz – 99.13 (CI_a — -826)
• Level 4.1 by Stretchsterz – 98.03 (CI_a — 4,313.73)

Liminal Archives

Note: Based on statistics collected on January 13, 2023.

• The Dark Village by Creeperfamily4 — 100
• Parmesan Fields by Egg2 — 92.8
• The Basement by Drainedwell & Generic3 — 47
• The Halls by knafflad — 18.1
• Crimson Fields by knafflad — 11.4
• Dear Humanity by BanachTarskiPdx — 0

Example Calculations

High Controversy: SCP-579

As of January 10, 2023, SCP-579 has a rating of 312, and a total vote count of 1842. Therefore, its CI value is:

or

CI = 83.06

SCP-579 has 462 comments and has existed on the SCP Wiki since 2008 (15 years). Therefore, its adjusted CI value is:

or

CI_a = 1,967.88

Neutral: SCP-001-EL

As of January 10, 2023, SCP-001-EL – AGS’s Proposal has a rating of 12, and a total vote count of 24. Therefore, its CI value is:

or

CI = 50

SCP-001-EL – AGS’s Proposal has 3 comments and has existed on the SCP Wiki since 2022 (1 year). Therefore, its adjusted CI value is:

or

CI_a = 21.43

Low Controversy: In-Deletion, SCP-2521

An in-deletion article has a rating of -13, and a total vote count of 15. Therefore, its CI value is:

or

CI = 13.34

The article has 5 comments and was posted this year (0 years). Therefore, its adjusted CI value is:

or

CI_a = -5.13

As of January 10, 2023, SCP-2521 has a rating of 5425, and a total vote count of 5567. Therefore, its CI value is:

or

CI = 2.55

SCP-2521 has 563 comments and has been on the SCP Wiki since 2015 (8 years). Therefore, its adjusted CI value is:

or

CI_a = 2.38

Limitations

CI/CI_a is indirect and is relative only to a specific voting community. It does not have the ability to gauge controversy outside of the norms and confines of a particular community.

CI/CI_a is not clinically significant in isolation and as a lone figure; it requires critical thinking and coordination with real-world facts and observations in order to be  useful.

CI/CI_a utilizes WikiDot’s ListPages, and so may not represent the most accurate data with regard to article rating, comments, etc. (Discrepancies exist between WikiDot’s data and Scpper’s.)

Trivia

Current 100 CI articles on the SCP Wiki include:

• • • SCP-5747 by Cole 13 (April 2022)
    • SCP-7893 by Salmon_Lover (October 2022)

The highest non-100 CI so far discovered is SCP-2704 by ResearcherPie. With 93 total votes and a rating of +1, its CI is 98.9.^[2]Show ListPages Code [[=]] + ListPages Research [[table style=”border: 1px solid black; width: 100%;”]] [[row style=”background-color: #037AD8;”]] [[cell … Continue reading (CI_a = 4747).

The most popular article with the highest CI is SCP-597 (“[DATA EXPUNGED]”). It is also the oldest article with the highest CI rating.

The article on the SCP Wiki with the highest CI_a, and therefore is the most technically controversial article article on the site, is SCP-2721 by DolphinSlugchugger & kinchtheknifeblade. (CI = 96.76; CI_a = 29,919)

SCP-001 proposals with the highest CIs are: (1) psul’s Proposal with a CI of 50.7 (CI_a = 156.85), (2) McDoctorate’s Proposal with a CI of 45.45 (CI_a = 39.77), (3) Dr Gears’ Proposal, with a CI of 42.1 (CI_a = 115.34).^[3]Show ListPages Code [[=]] + ListPages Research [[table style=”border: 1px solid black; width: 100%;”]] [[row style=”background-color: #037AD8;”]] [[cell … Continue reading

The SCP Joke article/page with the highest CI is SCP-7K-J by Elenee FishTruck with a CI of 95.1 (CI_a = 819.32), which is exactly what SCP-7K-J set out and intended to do; garner an average rating of 0 (thus a CI of 100) over time. SCP-7K-J is followed by I, a polar bear covering my nose in a snowstorm by Kothardarastrix, with a CI of 86.4 (CI_a = 123.4).^[4]Show ListPages Code [[=]] + ListPages Research [[table style=”border: 1px solid black; width: 100%;”]] [[row style=”background-color: #037AD8;”]] [[cell … Continue reading

The most controversial tale on the SCP Wiki is Fried Chicken & Lime Jello, the Dr. Bjornsen story by Dmatix with a CI of 97.56 (CI_a = 7804.8).

The SCP-4000 and SCP-5000 contests featured supplemental awards, one of which is a variation of CI; “Most Divisive” measured the article whose upvote:downvote ratio was closest to 1.^[5]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-6744346/post-4k-contest-supplemental-awards-polls-and-misc-data^[6]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp5000contesthub The SCP-7000 contest had trivia and supplemental awards, but did not include “Most Divisive”.^[7]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp7000contesthub

— Pardon our progress —