Archive Style Guide

How to write a file members will want to read, and the limits every file must stay within. Who may write which file, and how it is reviewed, is set by Foundation Directive 003.

1. Voice

1. Write as the Foundation writes: calm, clinical and precise. The horror comes from what is described, not from how loudly it is described.
2. Use plain words and short sentences. State what was observed, then what it means.
3. Use the past tense for events and the present tense for procedures and properties.
4. Refer to people by designation or role: Dr. Vance, D-4312, Agent Kerr, O5-7.
5. Dates are written ████-██-██, times 14:05, in the site's local time.

2. Every file

1. Starts with its header: number, title, type, object class (anomaly files), clearance, site, authors.
2. Has a one-line summary a reader can understand on its own.
3. Uses the sections of its type, below, in order, and no others without the reviewer's agreement.
4. Credits any material adapted from the SCP Wiki: the article, its author and a link, as the Licensing policy requires. Original work is marked original.

3. Sections by type

3A. Writing a test transcript

1. Each line is a speaker and what they said or did, with the time: 14:05 Dr. Vance: Subject, please describe the object in front of you.
2. Actions and observations go in square brackets on their own line: 14:06 [SCP-0012 emits a low tone. D-4312 steps back.]
3. Record what happened, not what it means. Interpretation belongs in the closing notes or the experiment log.
4. Keep every line in order. If something was not recorded, say so: [Audio lost, 14:09 to 14:11.]
5. A draft recorded by a Roblox place is a starting point: correct names, remove chat that was not part of the scene, and add the observations the recording could not catch.

3B. Writing a post

1. One idea per post, in a few short paragraphs, in character.
2. Say what you saw or did, and link the file it belongs to, if there is one.
3. A post is not an incident report. If something happened that must be on record, file the report first and post a short note pointing to it.

4. Redaction

1. Redact only what readers below a level must not see. Every redaction carries its level, written [REDACTED, L4], so a reader knows what clearance would reveal it.
2. Use [DATA EXPUNGED] only for information the Foundation destroyed on purpose, with a reason in the addenda.
3. A file that is mostly redaction is not a good file. If most of it needs Level 4, set the whole file to Level 4.

5. Limits

These come from Discord's and Roblox's rules and the Community Rules, and no file may break them.

1. Horror, not gore: describe effects and aftermath, not graphic injury. No sexual content of any kind.
2. No real people, real tragedies, real hate symbols or real places of worship as anomalies or victims.
3. No content that targets a member, even disguised as a character.
4. Files shown in the Roblox places follow Roblox's content rules; an approver may set a file as web-only if it suits the web but not the games.

6. Canon

1. A published file is the Foundation's official account, not proof of what happened. The Creators decide what is canon when accounts conflict.
2. Do not contradict a published file without citing it and explaining why: a later finding, a test, or an error.
3. Anomalies tied to a Roblox place are coordinated with the Developers before publishing, so the file matches the game.

7. Before you send it for review

1. The header is complete and the clearance fits the content.
2. The sections match the type.
3. Every redaction has its level.
4. Adapted material is credited.
5. You read it once aloud. If a sentence is hard to say, rewrite it.

Revisions