Originally created in collaboration with the Alternate Reality Archives, the content below remains in it's original form. Information may be outdated, missing or incorrect. Every keystroke of creation, compilation and upkeep was and is thanks to Alex Hera, an absolute legend in their own right.

General

Unfiction An umbrella term for the genre of storytelling which uses multimedia and player immersion to present a story as nonfiction. Operating under the premise T.I.N.A.G. ('This Is Not A Game’), unfiction seeks to persuade the player/reader that the events they are witnessing and engaging with are happening in real life. Unfiction is primarily delivered through the Internet as a type of digital folklore. Unfiction often deals with surreal and horror themes, using players’ knowledge of the digital (or a similar) arena to manifest unease and create doubt about their safety as a ‘real’ person, separate from the fictional world. An early example of unfiction would be the marketing of 1999 horror movie The Blair Witch Project, which posited the found footage style of the movie as being real recordings of genuine events.

Roleplaying (RPing) The act of assuming the identity, characteristics and behaviour of another person or character, whether real or fictional. Roleplaying is often practised in the digital sphere on forums (such as 4Chan or Something Awful) and social media websites (such as Tumblr and Twitter). Roleplaying is an important aspect for many unfiction projects, as assuming the role of certain characters can help strengthen the players’ suspension of disbelief when interacting directly.

Creepypasta A scary, disturbing or horror-themed story/image/art piece which is pasted around the Internet. ‘Creepypasta’ is derived from the term ‘copypasta’, a block of text
It is important to note that creepypasta is an umbrella genre which is not typically beholden to a single website or forum. Creepypasta can fall under the unfiction genre, but it is not a requirement; one can think of creepypasta as the digital equivalent to oral or written ghost stories and/or urban legends.

Alternate Reality Games/ARG An interactive narrative which is influenced by the actions of the ‘players’, or those who participate in the story. ARGs often involve puzzle-solving, gaming and multimedia elements, such as code-breaking, scouring for information across different sites and interacting with characters in the game. ARGs can also be played in the real world, with players meeting actors who stay in-character the whole time. ARGs are a subgenre of unfiction, as the use of players influencing the narrative constructs the idea that the story takes place in real life.

T.I.N.A.G. (This Is Not A Game) A core principle of ARGs and unfiction which emphasises the importance of not acknowledging that a project is in fact fictional. This suspension of disbelief is crucial not only for the enjoyment of the players and readers, but also for the storytellers; in the case of works such as The SCP Foundation, the impact of the material is lost once its fictional status is acknowledged.

Digital Folklore Folklore which has arisen and/or is disseminated via the Internet and cyberspace. Whilst a great deal of folklore which arose traditionally (via oral or written tradition) is now preserved and disseminated online, digital folklore often refers to urban legends, stories and myths which were created, collaborated upon and spread online. A popular example of a digital folklore legend is The Slender Man, a tall, faceless creature in a suit which abducts and murders young people. Digital folklore operates in a similar collaborative fashion to that of oral and written folklore, in that many people add to the original story and create their own versions: for instance, the web series Marble Hornets and its depiction of The Slender Man as a being which interferes with technology.

Wiki A collaborative online database to which any user can add or edit content. Taking its name from the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, ‘wikis’ store and order information on a myriad of topics, but are often used for fandom (e.g. Memory Alpha, the Star Trek wiki). In the case of The SCP Foundation, the wiki format is used as a storytelling medium.

Web Series A series of videos (often called ‘episodes’) released on the Internet which make up a narrative. In the unfiction genre, web series are commonly employed as a core narrative medium, wherein the vast majority of information a person needs to understand the experience are presented in the web series format. Web series can help us make a distinction between unfiction projects which are, and are not, ARGs. For instance, the web series Marble Hornets is an unfiction project, as it presents itself as being completely real (in the style of The Blair Witch Project). However, it is not an ARG, as player interaction does not impact the story.
This tells us about the relative inaccessibility of some unfiction projects. A project like Marble Hornets can be watched the same way a traditional television series can, with the average person not engaging in side elements such as codebreaking (which in this case, do not impact the story). However, with an ARG such as EverymanHYBRID, only watching the web series elements will leave the average viewer very confused, as its story elements are disseminated across a variety of platforms and mediums. Indeed, many ARGs are notorious for being complicated and inaccessible, and as such dedicated wikis and forums spring up around them to help other players enjoy the experience. This is considered the ‘play’ element of an ARG, and a lot of unfiction projects.

Mythos The collective name for a series of myths, often surrounding one central entity, story, or idea. Interchangeable with ‘Mythology’, a mythos can also encompass stories created by a single author or team of authors, especially those looking to establish lines between their various fictional universes. A popular example of a mythos is the ‘Cthulhu Mythos’, referring to a number of works by the horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Mythos can become

Verse A similar premise to a mythos, but often designating more than one author and/or collaborative storytelling. Applied as a suffix to a relevant noun or adjective, a Verse typically indicates which stories belong within a specific universe, and thereby which rules apply. A popular example of a Verse is the ‘Slenderverse’, referring to a number of works (writing, film, art, etc.) surrounding the creepypasta monster The Slender Man. Whilst Mythos usually refer to written work and art, Verses tend to refer to cross-platform, multimedia stories which share the same universe: for instance, The Slenderverse contains web series like Marble Hornets and TribeTwelve, but also the ARG EverymanHYBRID. Mythos and Verse are often used interchangeably, with the more-commonly used ‘Slenderverse’ occasionally being called ‘The Slender Man Mythos’.

Gamemaster/Puppetmaster Someone working behind the scenes to create an unfiction project or ARG. While often referring to a single person who creates the premise for a given project and makes decisions regarding the project’s trajectory, some unfiction projects can have multiple Gamemasters. Whilst many Gamemasters keep their identity anonymous whilst working on a project, some interact with their fans in a transparent fashion, dropping hints, announcements and behind-the-scenes looks at the creation of their work. As unfiction and ARGs take a great deal from

YouTube A video-sharing platform founded in 2005. YouTube is often used in a variety of unfiction projects, such as EverymanHYBRID, Daisy Brown, and This House Has People In It. YouTube also hosts a thriving community which creates, discusses and analyses unfiction.

The SCP Foundation: Specific Terminology

The SCP Foundation A web-based, collective storytelling project about the fictional organisation of the same name. Standing for, ‘The Secure, Contain, Protect Foundation’, The SCP Foundation presents itself in a wiki-style format, largely composed of reports on the objects known as ‘SCPs’. These reports are highly scientific in content, providing exact measurements and descriptions of each SCP as well as any logs of new behaviour or experiments.

SCPs The informal name given to the anomalous objects which the SCP Foundation captures, contains and neutralises. SCPs can be virtually anything, from commonplace objects with unusual properties, to Lovecraftian entities incapable of human comprehension. In-universe, SCPs are written by SCP Foundation personnel, and are each assigned a number and an object class (e.g.: SCP-173). Some SCPs are given individual ‘nicknames’ - for instance, SCP-173 is often called ‘The Sculpture’.

Object Class A classification given to an SCP which designates its level of danger, and the difficulty of containment procedures. These object classes are as follows: