“The entries that were moved to the EditThis wiki were the original works of the users on /x/ and /b/. With the creation of the SCP Series wiki, the community began to post fewer and fewer threads on 4chan, instead writing directly to the wiki. As such, /x/ and /b/ ceased to be the primary medium of these works, with the threads slowly fading away. This active January was also when we got a few of our oldest and earliest shapers of the community, such as DrGears, A Fat Ghost, Kain Pathos Crow, FritzWillie, and Bijhan. With these writers, we also got some of the oldest and most loved (or hated) entries to the SCP Series.” — History of the Universe, Part 1^[1]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/history-of-the-universe-part-one

The SCP EditThis Wiki was the first organized repository of SCP articles, formed on January 19, 2008.^[2]http://web.archive.org/web/20080607071023/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Main_Page It was primarily active from its inception until September 2008. Activity after July primarily shifted to the WikiDot SCP Wiki. The EditThis collated over 280 Main List SCPs and over 30 “Joke” articles by its last known archive in September 2008.^[3]https://web.archive.org/web/20080903043644/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Continue_on^[4]http://scpclassic.wikidot.com/editthis-scps

On EditThis, Security Clearance Levels, Object Classes, Warning Labels, Secure Facilities Locations, Incident Reports, and Eye-witness Interviews / Personal Logs were established in-universe and in documentation, as were a rudimentary form of footnote usage.^[5]https://web.archive.org/web/20080903043644/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Continue_on^[6]https://web.archive.org/web/20080804044121/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-080 There were dedicated sections for Joke articles, began January 23rd, 2008,  though without the -J designation added to numerical entries yet,^[7]https://archive.ph/QNbYp#selection-20783.0-20783.190^[8]http://web.archive.org/web/20080409210737/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP_Series as well as the first guidelines and rules for writing SCPs.^[9]https://web.archive.org/web/20080903043644/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Continue_on^[10]https://web.archive.org/web/20080617060229/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-010^[11]http://web.archive.org/web/20080803022143/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Guidelines_and_Caveats A crude template of the SCP document format was available, “SCP-XXX”; this was largely written by 4chan user Lofwyr.^[12]https://web.archive.org/web/20080410225114/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-XXX^[13]https://archive.ph/QNbYp#selection-17733.0-17733.232

Numerous early SCPs of note from /x/ threads made their way to numerical slots on EditThis, including ones still occupied today, such as SCP-914, SCP-120, SCP-127, SCP-055, SCP-579, SCP-076, SCP-073, SCP-082, SCP-085, and others.^[14]https://archive.ph/ZXOd8 (See the wiki article on 4chan’s /x/ threads for more information regarding SCPs created on /x/.) The chronological record of SCPs as they were added to EditThis is incomplete due to limited archives. However, a rough comparison of dates can be garnered by looking at individual pages edit histories, and the timeline of captures on the Wayback Machine.^[15]http://web.archive.org/web/*/https://editthis.info/scp_wiki/*, sort by “From” The Wayback Machine captured the EditThis in waves, the earliest of these was on April 09, 2008, which captured articles ported to EditThis from /x/, and those written since the creation of the EditThis.^[16]https://web.archive.org/web/20080409210737/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP_Series While the publication dates of numerous EditThis SCPs are not definitive, they can be approximated either by the date they were first archived via the Wayback Machine (whether by a dedicated page or the SCP Series page), or by timestamps on available discussion (“Talk”) pages.

The EditThis SCP Wiki featured the following pages/links:

• • “Community portal” — gave in-universe/out-of-universe instructions to personnel regarding behavioral standards (in-universe) and professional writing standards (in-universe/out-of-universe)^[17]http://web.archive.org/web/20080618224505/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Scp_Wiki:Community_Portal
  • “Current events” — categorized and linked to SCPs in 5 categories: “Shipment of the following scp(s) to site 15”, “The following scp(s) are available for experiment cycles”, “Scp(s) which require security clearance level revision/addition”, “Locations with data due to be released”, and “Other”. The author of this page called it “a pretty cool way for newbies to learn about the whole SCP thing withought [sic] giving it all away. I could cycle around new SCPs there too. and give me some feedback guys and additions too would be good but keep it to the sections I’ve made.”^[18]http://web.archive.org/web/20080514000842/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:Current_events
  • A random page function — led to a random SCP.^[19]http://web.archive.org/web/20080607071023/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Main_Page

A retrospective statistical capture in 2012 suggests that there were 1,290 unique pages on the EditThis, with 1,367 edits.^[20]http://web.archive.org/web/20120720210705/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Special:Statistics The following were, at some point, reportedly the most visited pages on the EditThis Wiki:^[21]http://web.archive.org/web/20120720210705/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Special:Statistics

On the “About” page for the EditThis, the author (presumably the original Admin) wrote:^[22]http://web.archive.org/web/20080701151749/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Scp_Wiki:About

“The documents on this website are written in a fashion that makes them seem like they came out of a top-secret government archive. If you read one or two of these documents and believed for a second that this was real, then we have succeeded at the illusion.”

Curation existed on the EditThis, though by rough, un-protocolized, anarchic consensus, and sometimes by user fiat. No records of deletions were maintained. While pages could not be strictly deleted, their content could be erased, and the slot re-opened. For example, the article originally occupying SCP-139 (“Animal Talker”) was present in June 2008, but cleared on the Main Series list by August.^[23]https://web.archive.org/web/20080614163913/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/SCP_Series^[24]https://web.archive.org/web/20080903043644/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Continue_on The same is true for other slots, such as SCP-370, which can be seen present on some archives of the Mainlist,^[25]https://web.archive.org/web/20080614163913/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP_Series but is absent from it months later.^[26]https://web.archive.org/web/20080806084747/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Continue_on (Later archived dates of the Mainlist retain the “blue link”/active entry designation, again indicating the slot was once occupied, but deleted.) ^[27]https://web.archive.org/web/20080610053728/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-370^[28]https://web.archive.org/web/20080806084747/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Continue_on Additionally, there were “edit battles” where users attempted to make a given article better, only for it to be reverted by the author.^[29]https://web.archive.org/web/20080701010214/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-1007

Numerous slots on EditThis featured different entries. For example, SCP-666 was — similar to a potential definitive SCP-001 — filled with numerous attempts at the coveted numerical designation while on EditThis.^[30]https://web.archive.org/web/20080611150603/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/?title=SCP-666&action=history^[31]https://web.archive.org/web/20080609212533/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP_Series^[32]https://web.archive.org/web/20080903043644/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Continue_on#600_to_699 Entries that occupied the slot included at least a black door (initial) and the “Spirit Lodge” article that was ported to WikiDot from EditThis by user far2 on July 26 2008, and that still occupies the slot on WikiDot (rewritten).^[33]http://web.archive.org/web/20080611150603/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/?title=SCP-666&action=history^[34]http://web.archive.org/web/20080611151216/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-666^[35]http://scpclassic.wikidot.com/scp-666

“For a little history: When this whole thing got started, there was a constant flow of absolute trash trying to fit into the 666 spot. I think six or seven entries (or more) got rejected, with the absolute worst two being, respectively: A spooky TV that only plays Jesus being tortured, and Literally Damien from The Omen. It was basically understood that any overt reference to satan was probably going to be rejected and everyone was tired of seeing them.”^[36]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-81240/scp-666#post-4509634 — WikiDot user mirthless, author of the initial SCP-666 (now rewritten)

Users left criticism on EditThis talk pages, e.g. the early SCP-618 (-J), which was a brief description of Sonic the Hedgehog.^[37]https://web.archive.org/web/20080617062338/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-618 Some discussion pages called for deletion of articles; these could be replaced with another user’s attempt at the designation slot.^[38]e.g. http://web.archive.org/web/20080606025248/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-008.5, http://web.archive.org/web/20080503234534/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-225, … Continue reading Also, articles could be rewritten at the whim of the general userbase, even if not called for.^[39]e.g. http://web.archive.org/web/20080617060249/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-020 Users sometimes moved entries from one slot to another, e.g. “SCP-000” moved to SCP-024.^[40]http://web.archive.org/web/20080714175943/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-024

Contribution and collaborative standards on the EditThis were very loose, and anyone — whether a member or an anonymous IP address — could modify, add, or remove anything without permissions. On the EditThis equivalent of the “This page doesn’t exist” (WikiDot) placeholder, a notice/warning was given to anyone creating a page:^[41]http://web.archive.org/web/20080520000615/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/?title=User:Steelkun&action=edit

“Please note that all contributions to Scp Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you don’t want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then don’t submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Project:Copyrights for details). DO NOT SUBMIT COPYRIGHTED WORK WITHOUT PERMISSION!“

The early EditThis admin understood the need to speak on copyrights (see above). Per the EditThis Terms of Use around the creation of the SCP EditThis, all content was assumed to be the poster’s original content, and in contrast to WikiDot, was not automatically subject to a Creative Commons or other copyleft license.^[42]http://web.archive.org/web/20080609200223/http://www.editthis.info/wiki/Index.php/Terms_of_use

EditThis was the first official use of numerical subdesignations (e.g. -1, -2, etc) in naming conventions for SCP. On both EditThis and /x/, these had taken the form of “SCPa”/”SCPb” in-universe.^[43]https://web.archive.org/web/20080714124454/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-1020 Out-of-universe, subdesignations were used for alternate or spin-off versions of a given SCP. For example, the initial SCP-903, a -J article about “GLaDOS” from the game Portal, had two listed subdesignations on the mainlist, SCP-903-1 and SCP-903-2, which were derivates of Portal game components (“Turret” and “Rock Turret”, respectively).^[44]https://web.archive.org/web/20080903043644/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Continue_on#Joke_SCPs This can also be seen with the early SCP-040, and SCP-040-1; the latter was a derivative article of the former.^[45]https://web.archive.org/web/20080714202408/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-040-1 This naming/mainlist convention would eventually resurface on the RPC Authority for the RPC-001 slot and its “proposals”; specifically for RPC-001-2 in March 2021, 13 years later.^[46]http://rpc-wiki.net/rpc-001

Standardizing metrics into SI units had been discussed as early as January 2008 on /x/,^[47]http://scparchives.bluesoul.net/x/scp/448755.html, archive but were fortified/enforced mainly on EditThis.^[48]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/history-of-the-universe-part-one, archive^[49]http://web.archive.org/web/20080617062355/https://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP_Series#SCP-001_submission, archive Early EditThis pages also began to incorporate stylistic trends, such as tables, using the MediaWiki software.^[50]http://web.archive.org/web/20080611135116/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-974^[51]https://web.archive.org/web/20080804102923/http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/what-s-new^[52]http://web.archive.org/web/20220706094658/https://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Special:Version

A culture existed on the EditThis where if an author referenced an SCP number, it was expected that they would write an entry for that number.^[53]http://web.archive.org/web/20080715203430/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-016

History

Note: The Wayback Machine only sporadically scanned the relevant pages of EditThis, meaning that a lot of historical content has been lost. As a result, the historical record is fragmentary.

“On January 19, 2008 (a Saturday) at 11:42 AM Eastern Standard Time/ 4:42 PM Coordinated Universal Time, an individual known only as “Admin” created the first-ever SCP wiki on the EditThis wiki farm. Throughout the day, Admin also created the core pages of the website including the Main Page, and likely the “SCP Series” page in which all SCPs would be listed. (The 2006 dates are for the edits that created the generic main page that every wiki on EditThis is given upon creation.) There was never a discussion about creating a standalone wiki on /x/ or /b/; Admin apparently just saw the need for one and acted appropriately.” — Cooldude971, from The SCP Foundation on 4chan and EditThis^[54]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/the-scp-foundation-on-4chan-and-editthis

The EditThis Wiki was created on January 19, 2008.^[55]http://web.archive.org/web/20080607071023/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Main_Page Its creation was preceded by a sharp increase in interest in the SCP series on 4chan’s /x/ (paranormal) board. Three times the number of SCP threads were created over three days in January 2008 than in the prior six months. These saw a ten-fold increase in the number of SCP entries.^[56]http://scparchives.bluesoul.net/history.html The earliest links to the SCP EditThis Wiki appeared on 4chan’s /x/ and /b/ boards, with anonymous users requesting additional SCPs be posted there for collection and organization purposes.^[57]https://archive.ph/rHdvx#selection-4167.36-4167.168^[58]https://archive.ph/jmVa6#selection-987.9-987.71^[59]https://archive.ph/bu1YC#selection-14155.0-14161.96

EditThis was a relatively unpolished wiki farm that would suffer regularly from slow processes, major outages, database errors, malware attacks, image upload issues, and maintenance downtimes that could extend up to a week.^[60]https://archive.ph/QNbYp#selection-10527.0-10527.30^[61]https://web.archive.org/web/20080511213321/https://editthis.info/wiki/Main_Page^[62]https://archive.ph/oyTjs^[63]https://web.archive.org/web/20091213010638/http://editthis.uservoice.com/pages/35672-feature-requests^[64]https://archive.vn/dIUWj#selection-26779.42-26779.147^[65]http://scparchives.bluesoul.net/x/scp/578335.html^[66]https://archive.ph/54tqP#selection-3252.0-3303.216 On “A Word From the Administrator”, one of the first pages created on the WikiDot SCP Wiki, The Administrator attributed some of these technical difficulties to “legions of spammers attacking editthis.info”.^[67]https://web.archive.org/web/20110510092428/http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/a-word-from-the-administrator Sentiments expressed on /x/ indicate EditThis was commonly down and unreliable.^[68]https://archive.ph/54tqP#selection-2396.0-2447.57 Users reportedly had to refresh the pages on EditThis numerous times in attempts to get pages to load,^[69]http://scparchives.bluesoul.net/x/scp/611656.html and would wonder whether or not any given outage was the death of the SCP Series.^[70]https://archive.ph/m2Jy8#selection-848.0-917.113 Uploads of new SCPs were unsuccessful at times, prompting users to post their new SCPs on 4chan’s /x/ instead.^[71]http://scparchives.bluesoul.net/x/scp/683772.html, archive When running properly, it would offer limited functionality for the purposes of the SCP Wiki’s collaborative project; for example, discussion pages (“talk” pages) were rudimentary with no clear reply features, and only optional timestamp tagging.^[72]e.g. https://web.archive.org/web/20080617062355/https://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP_Series (When the community moved to WikiDot, The Administrator would note the improvements, saying “No more long, overdrawn talk pages,” including that proper forums were now available.^[73]https://web.archive.org/web/20080804102923/http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/what-s-new)

In addition to this, the Admin that created the EditThis seemingly left the site early on, denying the Wiki the ability to provide basic maintenance and other necessary tasks.^[74]http://web.archive.org/web/20080430052030/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/?title=SCP-743&action=history The Admin account appointed no further staff members and provided no means of off-wiki contact.^[75]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/the-scp-foundation-on-4chan-and-editthis

The issues with the EditThis software, and the reported abandoning of the EditThis Wiki by its Admin creator, eventually lead community members to transfer the SCP series to WikiDot. A switch by EditThis’s founder, Rob Kohr of constantsun, to a paid model is cited as another reason for the move.^[76]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/archived:a-word-from-the-administrator, archive^[77]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/history-of-the-universe-part-one, archive Oddly, no announcement of such a change is found on the system admin’s blogs for 2007 or 2008.^[78]http://constantsun.blogspot.com/2008/, archive^[79]https://web.archive.org/web/20080726192318/www.constantsun.com/blog/) However, prior to this and shortly before the SCP EditThis Wiki was created, EditThis implemented Google adsense as an opt-in for revenue.^[80]http://web.archive.org/web/20080410112821/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Control_Panel, “Share the Sense – New”

Per the SCP WikiDot Administrator’s note, the EditThis was running out of its allotted space (25MB), and not only was Rob Kohr not going to upgrade the site when new software was instituted, but he was considering actively deleting the SCP EditThis himself.^[81]https://archive.ph/sTfJS#selection-861.0-861.545 The SCP EditThis Wiki’s “Control Panel” page shows 4.3MB of used space (“Remaining space: 20.7MB of 25MB”) on April 10 2008, the earliest available archival date of that page.^[82]http://web.archive.org/web/20080410112821/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Control_Panel By early July, the site had used 12.7MB of the available 25MB.^[83]http://web.archive.org/web/20080708031741/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Control_Panel Data usage did not reach or approach the maximum allotted while the community was on EditThis, with 12.3MB of available space (approximately half) remaining just prior to the creation of and migration to the WikiDot version in early July 2008.^[84]http://web.archive.org/web/20081201104618/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Control_Panel However, it was likely clear that the allotted space was going to be an issue, and that this contributed to the migration to WikiDot. (The move to WikiDot increased the available data from 25MB to 300MB.^[85]https://web.archive.org/web/20110510092428/http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/a-word-from-the-administrator)

A mass act of vandalism (“Destructive Reverts”) took place in April 2008 and prompted discussion of making users register before editing pages on the site. Also in the same month, the entire site was replaced with pictures of “goatse”.^[86]http://web.archive.org/web/20080617062355/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP_Series

EditThis would continue to have fundamental issues after the SCP Series emmigrated.^[87]https://web.archive.org/web/20100219123607/http://groups.google.com:80/group/editthisinfo Per a post to WikiDot by The Administrator, the EditThis experienced large-scale vandalism on July 31, 2008.^[88]https://web.archive.org/web/20210224203041/https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-78183/possible-vandalism-anonymous-edits

The “SCP Series” page on EditThis was deleted in either August or September 2008.^[89]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/the-scp-foundation-on-4chan-and-editthis, archive^[90]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-86941/old-site-is-gone, archive (There is a gap in archives between June 2008 and October 2008 for the SCP Series page.^[91]http://web.archive.org/web/20080614163913/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/SCP_Series, http://web.archive.org/web/20081007031516/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP_Series) A copy of the SCP Series page (titled “Continue on”) was created as early as August 6th, 2008.^[92]https://web.archive.org/web/20080806084747/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Continue_on This page features full use of the “ACCESS DENIED” method for unused slots (called “red links” in EditThis lingo), whereas earlier iterations of the SCP Series page only added numbers that were filled.^[93]https://web.archive.org/web/20080806084747/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Continue_on, http://web.archive.org/web/20080614163913/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/SCP_Series The addition of unoccupied numbers to the series list was first enacted by EditThis user Aeromax in June 28, 2008.^[94]http://web.archive.org/web/20080629073928/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Special:Recentchanges, “red links”

The “Continue on” iteration of the SCP Series page was removed by September 4th along with most pages of the original EditThis, and did not feature any new SCP additions.^[95]https://web.archive.org/web/20080904054620/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Continue_on^[96]https://www.diffchecker.com/GVtYezoO/ (This list is more or less identical to the one on the SCP Classic Wiki.^[97]https://www.diffchecker.com/HQprYcJ4/) The Main Page of the EditThis was changed sometime between September 3rd and September 4 to remove most of its content.^[98]Sept 3: http://web.archive.org/web/20080903043649/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Main_Page, Sept 4: http://web.archive.org/web/20080904054625/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Main_Page Concerned users posted messages to the main page, which by September 6th read:^[99]http://web.archive.org/web/20080912031443/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Main_Page^[100]http://web.archive.org/web/20210810210207/https://editthis.info/scp_wiki/?title=Main_Page&oldid=1342

“WTF

WHERE IS MY SCP WIKI?”

YEAH, I WANT MY SCPASTA–RobV 16:21, 4 September 2008 (PDT)

No SCP Wiki makes SCP-315 cry

http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/ Tharr you go.”

The last apparent revision to the main page of the EditThis was November 17, 2008.^[101]http://web.archive.org/web/20100101224209/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/?title=Main_Page&action=history Users questioned where the series went as late as December 2008.^[102]http://web.archive.org/web/20210810213024/https://editthis.info/scp_wiki/?title=Talk%3ASCP_Series&direction=next&oldid=1345

The Recent changes page of the SCP Wiki EditThis reveal sporadic activity across the last decade.^[103]http://web.archive.org/web/20140815100231/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Special:Recentchanges^[104]http://web.archive.org/web/20150623083917/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Special:Recentchanges^[105]http://web.archive.org/web/20161204060413/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Special:Recentchanges^[106]http://web.archive.org/web/20171025003922/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Special:Recentchanges^[107]http://web.archive.org/web/20200928193235/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Special:Recentchanges^[108]http://web.archive.org/web/20220525220932/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Special:Recentchanges^[109]http://web.archive.org/web/20211101000000*/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Special:Recentchanges Most of this activity consists of inappropriately posted Backrooms content, Spanish translations of SCP items, and meaningless content and/or vandalism.^[110]https://web.archive.org/web/20221122202651/https://editthis.info/scp_wiki/?title=Special:Contributions&limit=500&target=Dr.+Winderezen^[111]https://archive.ph/89tbv^[112]https://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Help:Contents

Style

SCPs during the EditThis era were primarily focused on horror and/or odd objects that resulted in fatalities if not handled correctly. There was an emphasis on creating an interesting anomalies with a mechanism introduced by which it could enact a containment breach and/or injure/kill personnel. For example, a comment left on the talk page of the initial SCP-016 reads:

“This needs *alot* of work. We appreciate the enthusiasm, but I’m not certain you understand the goal here. This isn’t creepy, scary, or even odd.”^[113]http://web.archive.org/web/20080715203430/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-016

Articles were short, often featured an image, and emphasized clinical tone with a move away from dramatic prose, e.g. the style of The Holders.^[114]e.g. http://web.archive.org/web/20080612181909/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-824 Objects were commonly mundane until explained as anomalous. Narration, internality (e.g. first-person prose), story structure, character work, and emotional appeal were not common.

Some articles retrospectively revised existing “IRL” structures, objects, and places, such as SCP-023, which is a Foundation-centric apocryphal rendering of the Pentagon.^[115]https://web.archive.org/web/20080617060254/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-023 Many of these were elements of popular media and/or video games, and were delegated to the “Joke” section.

Article Structure

The classic object classes (Safe, Keter, Euclid) developed on EditThis.^[116]http://web.archive.org/web/20080410073035/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP_Object_Classes These classes were initially based on the SCP’s characteristics, without a focus on containment difficulty. Initial use of these classes was loose and imprecise, later causing confusion in those SCPs ported to WikiDot with (anachronistically) incorrect object classes.(citation needed) Many early articles featured dual object classes (e.g. “Euclid/Keter”), though generally, instances of these dual object classes were later simplified on WikiDot (e.g. SCP-166).

While many of the early SCPs from /x/ lacked dedicated containment procedures and description sections, by EditThis, most were re-organized to abide by this emerging format (e.g. SCP-023). Few articles utilized the containment procedures as literary devices that introduced a “hook” or appealing set-up to the anomaly the instructions were for.^[117]https://web.archive.org/web/20080813071138/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-121

Numerous early SCPs on EditThis (many originally written on /x/) included introductory security level warnings (e.g. “Level 4 Clearance Required”).^[118]https://web.archive.org/web/20080801235759/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/SCP-023^[119]https://web.archive.org/web/20080813071123/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-008^[120]https://web.archive.org/web/20080813071138/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-121

Early EditThis SCPs slowly introduced the concept of “addenda”, although these could appear as “errata” instead.^[121]https://web.archive.org/web/20080701151759/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-254^[122]https://web.archive.org/web/20080813071138/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-121

— Pardon our Progress —

Tropes & Cliches

Early containment procedures regularly featured sound-proofage, and temperature regulation for the object. The ubiquity of these elements in containment procedures were so prominent, they were recognized on EditThis as over-done:

“I’m really proud of whoever wrote this one. It manages to be cool WITHOUT having a soundproof chamber or precise temperature requirements. Yeah, that’s possible, guys. Get with the program.”^[123]http://web.archive.org/web/20080613195609/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-223

Other tropes & cliches were identified and lamented by commenters while on the EditThis. For example, “Drives people insane” and “makes you kill someone” were well-established and begrudged tropes for SCPs by April 2008 on EditThis.^[124]http://web.archive.org/web/20080617060249/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-020^[125]http://web.archive.org/web/20080617062136/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-047^[126]http://web.archive.org/web/20080617062144/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-053^[127]https://web.archive.org/web/20080617062136/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-047 Instructions for termination of employees/D-Class was also common.

EditThis SCPs also commonly included the now passe phrase “appears to be a ___”. (This would later be culled as a compositional faux pas, as a matter of both in-universe and out-of-universe clarity.)[citation needed]

Joke Articles

Tensions between SCP’s more ominous characterization, and users’ humor were first made ostensible and obvious on EditThis, with the creation of a separate quarantine-like section for Joke articles on the mainlist. Users utilized the format to present obscured cultural references, e.g. the “Umbral Blot” from D&D, or Headcrabs from Half-Life. These were both enjoyed & disapproved of. Concurrently on /x/, users bemoaned these as unoriginal, as they were pre-existing ideas.^[128]http://web.archive.org/web/20080714175943/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-024^[129]http://scparchives.bluesoul.net/x/scp.txt, search “Headcrabs” Non-horror entries were often relegated to the Joke section of the series, even if they were not intended to be humorous.^[130]http://web.archive.org/web/20080714202404/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Category:Joke_SCPs^[131]https://web.archive.org/web/20080617062318/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-146 Ultimately, what was most important to the early SCP pioneers & ethos was sustained quality and effort, rather than these disagreements in stylistic approach. For example, and regarding the budding category of Joke articles, one EditThis user wrote:^[132]https://web.archive.org/web/20080617062327/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-360

“It was stated when this project was started that it had no intent of falling into [what] the Holders series succumbed to. If you’re going to do parody articles, give them the same time and energy as you’d take for a regular SCP. Funny, self-satirizing articles will be remembered”

Popularity

The comparative popularity of the SCP EditThis Wiki is difficult to assess given the available data.

A radial-tree graph of all URLs archived via the Wayback Machine in 2008 does not show the SCP Wiki as occupying an appreciable percentage.^[133]http://web.archive.org/web/sitemap/https://editthis.info/scp_wiki/

“This ‘Site Map’ feature groups all the archives we have for websites by year, then builds a visual site map, in the form of a radial-tree graph, for each year. The center circle is the “root” of the website and successive rings moving out from the center present pages from the site. As you roll-over the rings and cells note the corresponding URLs change at the top, and that you can click on any of the individual pages to go directly to an archive of that URL.” — web.archive.org

However, as of April 2008 — three months after its creation — the EditThis SCP Wiki was listed as the fourth-most popular Wiki on EditThis, based on Google analytics, with 51,071 unique views.^[134]https://web.archive.org/web/20080410055351/https://editthis.info/wiki/Main_Page

In May 2008, when EditThis migrated to new servers, the SCP Wiki was given second place priority among all EditThis Wikis, reportedly based on unique visitors.^[135]https://archive.ph/oyTjs#selection-1403.0-1413.127 In June, approximately 60-70 unique visitors would view the EditThis SCP Wiki per week.^[136]https://web.archive.org/web/20080610180409/https://editthis.info/wiki/Main_Page By the creation of the SCP Wiki on Wikidot in July 2008, the SCP Wiki had fallen off of EditThis’ list of “Top wikis by unique visitors (this week)”.^[137]https://web.archive.org/web/20080714124739/https://editthis.info/wiki/Main_Page Throughout the months of July and August, traffic would reduce to less than 30 unique visitors in low-volume weeks, and 30-50 unique visitors on high-volume weeks.^[138]https://web.archive.org/web/20080701234452/https://editthis.info/wiki/Main_Page^[139]https://web.archive.org/web/20080730083609/https://editthis.info/wiki/Main_Page The EditThis SCP Wiki would not reappear on the “Top wikis by unique visitors (this week)” after August 2008, around the time of its abandonment.^[140]https://web.archive.org/web/20090601000000*/https://editthis.info/wiki/Main_Page Activity logs on the SCP EditThis wiki are robust until June 2008, after which there is a gap of available information regarding edits made to the site, presumably due to most new activity taking place on the WikiDot SCP Wiki.^[141]http://web.archive.org/web/20080629073928/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Special:Recentchanges^[142]http://web.archive.org/web/20080701000000*/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Special:Recentchanges

Native & Surviving SCPs

As of writing (March 2024), 88 SCP articles originally submitted to EditThis still exist on the SCP Wiki (Wikidot), whether in their original form, rewritten, or -ARC’d.

Note: These entries are taken to be native to EditThis if their content does not exist prior to EditThis archival dates. This was determined on a case-by-case basis, by searching a holistic archive of SCP content on 4chan’s /x/.^[143]http://scparchives.bluesoul.net/x/scp.txt See a comprehensive spreadsheet for more information and methods, below:

 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12EXIW0xxqp8d0skHEB3fy1hexuil69ZwuWLQ726gBkg/edit?usp=sharing

Trivia

The creator of the EditThis is unknown, though they were given the assigned username of “Admin” by EditThis for creating the Wiki.^[317]http://web.archive.org/web/20080520001537/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/User:Admin This individual can be seen posting on an /x/ thread, where they submit their “SCP-743” (non-viable), which is an addictive and self-replenishing bag of beef jerky. It was erroneously referred to as “SCP-170” through the text, but was added to the EditThis in the SCP-743 slot.^[318]http://web.archive.org/web/20080409210737/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP_Series^[319]http://web.archive.org/web/20080412204953/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-743 Elsewhere, the individual refers to themselves as “Modfag”.^[320]https://web.archive.org/web/20080617062318/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-146

Per the above Admin, the initial logo for the SCP Wiki on EditThis was a dinosaur.^[321]https://archive.ph/QNbYp#selection-19377.1519-19377.1699 It was quickly replaced with Josie the Half Cat.

Archives of individual SCPs, e.g. SCP-016, show that entries occupied slots without being added to the “MainList” SCP Series page. This was some primitive form of the draft and sandbox features that would later develop on WikiDot, where entries would have to be considered good enough in order to be added to the MainList.^[322]http://web.archive.org/web/20080409210737/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP_Series^[323]http://web.archive.org/web/20080412180734/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-016

While pages could not be outright deleted on EditThis (something partially revived in common with WikiDot thanks to the “slot troll”), users did vote for deletion on entries, to maintain quality control.^[324]http://web.archive.org/web/20080503234534/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-225

On April 20, 2008, someone edited the SCP Series page on EditThis to be the infamous image of Goatse.^[325]https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/goatse-revealed-kirk-johnson/^[326]WARNING, NSFW, EXPLICIT: http://web.archive.org/web/20080420213700/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/SCP_Series^[327]http://scparchives.bluesoul.net/x/scp/602751.html, archive

Early EditThis entries were very high or low numbers so they wouldn’t get lost in the scroll of all those empty links.^[328]https://archive.ph/TzVOS#selection-8619.337-8619.461

There was an “SCP-008.5” on EditThis; it was not well-received.^[329]http://web.archive.org/web/20080606025248/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-008.5^[330]http://web.archive.org/web/20080611151216/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-666

The talk page for the Main Page on the EditThis Wiki has a user (Investigative unit 0042) suggesting aesthetic updates, including a “Welcome” notice, an “About” page, an insignia-like logo “that looks good as a patch on a Agent’s arm”, a Mission Statement, major events ^[331]http://web.archive.org/web/20080607185852/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:Main_Page All of these would be incorporated into the WikiDot version in later years.

EditThis had a global spam list. In 2008, the only word included on it was “xes”.^[332]http://web.archive.org/web/20080410112821/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Control_Panel

WikiDot user and early moderator & administrator Lt Masipag was known as “Unite 3-012” on the EditThis wiki.^[333]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/the-scp-foundation-on-4chan-and-editthis[additional citation needed]

On EditThis, the editing and discussion buttons were at the top of the page.^[334]https://web.archive.org/web/20080804102923/http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/what-s-new

The EditThis had a “Community Portal” page, which simply stated: “So this is a community portal… Damn. It’s emptier then a pool at Habbo.”^[335]http://web.archive.org/web/20080410112844/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Scp_Wiki:Community_Portal

If you would like to experience a simulation of editing the SCP Series on EditThis, click here.

A capture of the SCP Series on June 10, 2008 shows a “SCP-000 – Umbral Blot”.^[336]http://web.archive.org/web/20080610055149/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/?title=SCP_Series&action=edit This was later moved to the SCP-024 slot.^[337]http://web.archive.org/web/20080714175943/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-024

The Admin who created the EditThis was last seen active on the site in January 21, 2008.^[338]http://web.archive.org/web/20080430052030/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/?title=SCP-743&action=history

An early comment (January 2008) on the SCP Series page implored authors to not use higher numerical slots, saying there were plenty lower ones that needed to be filled first.^[339]http://web.archive.org/web/20080410225129/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP_Series, archive According to Dr Gears, authors would (continue to) occupy high-number slots so that their entries would stand out from the rest.^[340]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/the-scp-foundation-on-4chan-and-editthis

The needless killing and destruction of D-Class was called out on EditThis as a tired and ill-thought-through idea.^[341]http://web.archive.org/web/20080617062355/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP_Series, “D Personnel”

On the EditThis, someone suggested Author Pages, so that they could keep up with their favorite authors’ works.^[342]http://web.archive.org/web/20080617062355/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP_Series, “Author page”

Apollyon was suggested and developed on EditThis.^[343]http://web.archive.org/web/20080418042105/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/?title=Talk:SCP_Object_Classes&action=edit

The classic smoke grey background for quoteboxes and divs on the SCP Wiki traces its origins back to EditThis’s MediaWiki software, which also used the same background color for its quoteboxes.^[344]http://web.archive.org/web/20080611135116/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-974

The earliest known SCP to demand Overseer clearance is SCP-006 on EditThis.^[345]http://web.archive.org/web/20080410171535/http://editthis.info/SCP_wiki/SCP-006 It also is the first mention of a “founder” to the SCP Foundation.

EditThis’s SCP-927 was the first SCP to use the Apollyon object class.^[346]http://web.archive.org/web/20080509113902/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-927

EditThis users called for the deletion of the initial SCP-093 (“Red Sea Object”).^[347]http://web.archive.org/web/20080617062256/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-093 One user (and the first comment) said: “Unless someone can salvage this, I vote for deletion. —Sen 22:54, 9 April 2008 (EDT)” It was rewritten on WikiDot (by NekoChris) and has become one of the most influential articles ever written.

Fritzwillie’s SCP-968 “Tar Baby” was initially listed on the EditThis as SCP-1007.^[348]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-968^[349]https://web.archive.org/web/20080903043644/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Continue_on#1000.2B^[350]http://web.archive.org/web/20080701010214/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-1007

On EditThis, there was a similar competition for the SCP-000 slot, as there was for the SCP-001 slot.^[351]http://web.archive.org/web/20080714175943/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-024

The original SCP-061 (“Auditory Mind Control”) on EditThis foreshadowed the later-common style of writing SCP Foundation-bourne projects and machines as the anomaly (e.g. pataphysics articles such as SCP-2000, SCP-3309, or SCP-CN-1109, as well as  the Admonition series of articles).^[352]https://web.archive.org/web/20080805202533/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-061

The SCP Foundation of EditThis was so small in scale, one article (SCP-062) refers to an anomaly being analyzed “by our electronics specialist”.^[353]https://web.archive.org/web/20080715121509/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-062

The earliest known footnote in containment fiction is EditThis’ SCP-080, which contained a footnote to a real-life CNN article.^[354]https://web.archive.org/web/20080804044121/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-080

The initial SCP-095 on EditThis had its object class as “Keter-3-3-1-1”.^[355]https://web.archive.org/web/20080714124434/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-095

Several original images from EditThis remain, including SCP-005 and SCP-075.^[356]https://web.archive.org/web/20080801072422/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/SCP-005^[357]https://web.archive.org/web/20080803022340/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/SCP-075 The licensing notes for both on the SCP Wiki states the image is “Copyrighted (Used with permission)”.^[358]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-98508/scp-005#post-2568548

SCP-005’s image was used for a novel, “My Father’s Magic”. The key on the image is referred to in the book’s description as a “skeleton key”. The book was published in 2016, 8 years after SCP-005.^[359]https://www.amazon.com/My-Fathers-Magic-Bohlin-Suspense-ebook/dp/B01E4R1IDW

SCP-012 (“A Bad Composition”) would later inspire a canon on the SCP Wiki, started in 2016, On Mount Golgotha.^[360]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/on-mount-golgotha-hub

An audio version of SCP-012 (composed by WikiDot user simplexityyfvs) is embedded in a faux-comment section for SCP-7676, which is based around SCP-012.^[361]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-7676/offset/2^[362]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-15052890/scp-7676

A line in SCP-012 (“Attempts to perform the music have resulted in a disagreeable cacophony, with each instrumental part having no correlation or harmony with the other instruments.”) has inspired discussion about the piece possibly being an atonal or twelve-tone work, i.e. by Arnold Schoenberg.^[363]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-82656/scp-012#post-2872293

SCP-035 mentions how the mask changes in-universe from a tragedy mask (frown) to a comedy mask (smile). Initially, SCP-035 did not have an image.^[364]https://web.archive.org/web/20080803022214/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-035 Once moved to WikiDot, its image was that of a comedy mask.^[365]https://web.archive.org/web/20090706025357/http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-035 It was changed as an April Fool’s joke to a tragedy mask in 2012, and never changed back, and the original comedy mask image deleted.^[366]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-77082/scp-035#post-1521958 The page now features a .gif as its image, and cycles through images of both masks.

In 2015, commenters on SCP-036 (“The Reincarnation Pilgrimage of the Yazidi (Kiras Guhorîn)”) began to question the offensiveness of including an actual ethnicity in the article.^[367]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-79714/scp-036#post-3726096

In 2012, GXS, the author of SCP-090 (“Apocorubick’s Cube”, from 2008), asked permission to rewrite it out of dissatisfaction.^[368]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-438250/old-author-new-member They were told by a staff member that as the original author, they could rewrite it at will, but that if the rewrite was not well-received, it would be reverted back to the original version. To this, GXS replied “I wouldn’t worry too much about that.”^[369]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-438250/old-author-new-member#post-1362543 The rewrite doubled the number of comments on the article in one day (from 6 during 2008-2012, to 12 by February 6th), all of which criticized the rewrite as inferior to the original. The page was presumably downvoted in tandem with these comments, and the rewrite was reverted to the original on February 6th.^[370]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-81638/scp-090#post-1367906 In response to this, GXS wrote: “Agh. I’m not going to lie, I’m more than a little miffed that my rewrite got reverted in favor of the old version. Seriously, self-deprecation notwithstanding, my old work was abysmal. It’s clearly not a Keter, and the wording and layout is so derp that it makes me wince to look at it. I don’t feel like it should be 090, let alone an SCP article.”^[371]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-438250/old-author-new-member#post-1371025; and “Look, I’m going to come right out and say it, as the author of both versions of the article, the old one was not good. If people don’t like the new one, that’s one thing. But to say the old one was better than the new one? That’s adding insult to injury. I could live with the page just being deleted, but I’m not going to stick around a site with my ancient schlock flapping around in the breeze. I thank you for considering my rewrite. I had a new one in the works, but now I really, really don’t want to keep going with it.”^[372]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-81638/scp-090#post-1371039 GXS has not interacted with the site again since.

On WikiDot, SCP-105 (“Iris”) is attributed to several authors who rewrote the work. It is also attributed to a “Dantensen”, however no WikiDot account exists for this name and has not been archived in the Wayback Machine.^[373]https://www.wikidot.com/user:info/Dantensen^[374]https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://www.wikidot.com/user:info/Dantensen* No records exist of the original author.

SCP-109 (“Infinite Canteen”) is (currently) incorrectly attributed to Kain Pathos Crow (who ported the article) on the WikiDot in the page’s license box.^[375]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-109

(As of February 2024) SCP-116 (“The Brittle Boy”) is the lowest-rated, not-rewritten, surviving SCP from EditThis.^[376]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-116 The second-lowest is SCP-117 (“Complete Multitool”).^[377]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-117

SCP-127 (“The Living Gun”) is, at the time of writing (February 2024), misattributed to far2, who ported the SCP from EditThis to WikiDot.^[378]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-127 This is despite archives available in EditThis, and also Arc/Arcibi’s personnel page on WikiDot listing SCP-127 as an original work.^[379]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/arcibi-s-file

The SCP-666 slot was so coveted, it featured numerous attempt-entries while on EditThis. When “Spirit Lodge” was eventually in deletion range on Wikidot, the staff hesitated to delete it, in part debating whether or not it should be -ARC’d or rewritten, by also in part out of anticipation that the slot would be filled by numerous low-quality SCP attempts.^[380]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-81240/scp-666#post-1431698 The prospective deletion was divisive and took staff longer than usual for consensus to be attained, with the article dipping to -27 prior to an eventual and last-minute rewrite.^[381]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-81240/scp-666#post-1431925 After the rewrite, the article went from -27 to a neutral rating in 35 hours.^[382]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-81240/scp-666#post-1435237

EditThis’ SCP-048 (“Joey”, now SCP-048-ARC) was at one point, the most-visited single SCP page on the EditThis Wiki.^[383]http://web.archive.org/web/20120720210705/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/Special:Statistics

EditThis’ SCP-132 (now SCP-132-ARC) entered deletion range in 2011.^[384]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-76629/scp-132-arc#post-1023965 Since, it has slowly climbed back up, passing +42 as of 2023.^[385]https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/forum/t-76629/scp-132-arc#post-6164863

Discussions of whether an article should be a -J or not predate Wikidot, and exist on EditThis.^[386]https://web.archive.org/web/20080617062345/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-627

The EditThis mainlist, particularly the -J section, shows how influenced early SCP authors were by the Portal series of video games. Six-J SCPs dealt specifically with Portal game elements; “GLaDOS”, “Companion Cube”, “Turret”, “Rock Turret”, and “Portal Gun”, and “Delicious Cake” (the comments of which note “Go play Portal.”).^[387]https://web.archive.org/web/20080701032906/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-1004

An early attempt at standardizing -J articles designation numbers was JSCP-1000 “Death Gaze”. The idea of putting the “J” before “SCP” did not catch on.^[388]https://web.archive.org/web/20080921142804/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/JSCP-1000

The first Administrator of Wikidot, Fritzwillie, wrote EditThis’ SCP-1004, which was an SCP about a cake, and that contained an actual recipe.^[389]https://web.archive.org/web/20080701032607/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/?title=SCP-1004&action=history

The first instance of utilizing specific security level clearances for a given anomaly as a need-to-know basis (e.g. “level 1/243 security clearance” is EditThis’ SCP-243 (“Viral Mercury”).^[390]https://web.archive.org/web/20080610061557/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-243 This would later be popularized more in later SCP articles, such as SCP-3000.

EditThis’ SCP-243 contains the first explicit mention of the Foundation preparing to weaponize an anomalous substance.^[391]https://web.archive.org/web/20080610061557/http://www.editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-243 In the very early stages on /x/, some users were already considering the narrative possibility that the Foundation was containing anomalies not just to protect the world, but also to potentially research and weaponize them for military applications if they could be controlled. However, these discussions seem to just be a one-off speculative comment, rather than an actual narrative element in any of the SCP articles written at that time on /x/.^[392]http://scparchives.bluesoul.net/x/scp/446341.xml

While the concept of containment breaches was alluded to in earlier SCP entries (such as SCP-176, SCP-232, SCP-008, and SCP-121), the initial SCP-254 marks the first instance in EditThis archives where a containment breach is used as a central narrative device, and as a cliffhanger. The article concludes with a dramatic scenario in which SCP-254 has escaped containment, prompting a high alert and search for the missing anomaly. This incorporation of the breach as a key plot point, rather than a mere mention of potential risks or consequences, sets SCP-254 apart from its predecessors. As such, it can be considered a pioneering article in terms of utilizing the containment breach as a significant storytelling element within the SCP canon.^[393]https://web.archive.org/web/20080701151759/http://editthis.info/scp_wiki/SCP-254 (Containment breaches were a common topic of interest for early /x/ SCP writers, and many had containment breaches incorporated into their micronarratives. See the wiki page on /x/ for more information.)

Quotes

“We were this small little group of faceless beings, telling stories to the void, it was daunting but thrilling. Even then, there was a sense of community, but more the loose confederation like that of making friends on a long train ride.”^[394]https://archive.ph/TzVOS#selection-8619.463-8619.700 — Dr Gears, on the EditThis era

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“We were growing, fast, and the structure of the wiki couldn’t handle it well. Plus, we had been growing alongside The Holders series, a similar short horror collection, but all overseen by one guy. That was one of the other things, once we started the migration to the new wiki. There was a discussion on how to proceed if it should be locked down to only a select few authors, or open to a much wider crowd. I remember being in on that discussion and bringing up the decline of The Holders as a reason to allow more voices in. We had issues with spamming, rogue edits, and a host of other issues, and generally the feeling was we’d outgrown the old wiki… Overall it helped solidify what had, until that point, basically been recording random text from bathroom walls. We had profiles, names, faces, for a bunch of forum geeks and part-time trolls, it was great.”^[395]https://archive.ph/TzVOS#selection-8623.167-8623.822^[396]https://archive.ph/TzVOS#selection-8651.356-8651.562 — Dr Geras, on the transition from EditThis to Wikidot

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“If you really must take a number like 1000 (which you don’t), at least get rid of the dramatic tone. We don’t need that. These are supposed to be all clinical and shit. C’mon.”^[397]http://web.archive.org/web/20080611211526/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-1000 – HK-016

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“Don’t make any higher-numbered SCP’s. There are plenty of numbers people haven’t used yet, and we don’t want this turning into the Holders series. AND LEAVE SOME FUCKING COMMENTS IN THE DISCUSSION PAGES. SCP AUTHORS WANT TO KNOW IF THEY FAIL.”^[398]http://web.archive.org/web/20080416082857/http://editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-002 — Anonymous user on EditThis

“Srsly. It was stated when this project was started that it had no intent of falling into the faggotry and rot that the Holders series succumbed to. If you’re going to do parody articles, give them the same time and energy as you’d take for a regular SCP. Funny, self-satirizing articles will be remembered, not LOL XBOX IS MASIVE AND CRUSHES PPL GIVE IT SPACE ADN FEED IT OR ITS RINGS WILL GET MAD AND START SHITTING 3 [EXPUNGED] NIPPLES FOR 4-6 WEEKS TIL M@cR0HARD GIVS IT BACK FROM [EXPUNGED].”^[399]http://web.archive.org/web/20080617062327/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-360 — Anonymous commenter on the initial SCP-360

“If you really must take a number like 1000 (which you don’t), at least get rid of the dramatic tone. We don’t need that. These are supposed to be all clinical and shit. C’mon.”^[400]http://web.archive.org/web/20080611211526/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-1000 — HK-016, on SCP-1000’s talk page

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“This is way too dramatic. Supposed to be clinical, guys.”^[401]http://web.archive.org/web/20080612181909/http://www.editthis.info:80/scp_wiki/Talk:SCP-824 — Anonymous, on SCP-824’s (non-viable) talk page