This Essay Is No Joke

Link to article: This Essay Is No Joke.


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+ Introduction

Hello, my name is [[*user MisterFrown]], and this essay is meant to serve as a repository for a collection of advice for and information regarding the creation of [[[Joke SCPs]]], alternatively known simply as “-J’s”. Writing Joke SCPs has always been one of my favorite things to do on the Wiki, but it can be fairly difficult for people to get into it. The goal of this essay is for you to, by the end of it, have a fairly decent understanding of Joke articles on the Wiki and to hopefully have a good resource to fall back on when trying to make one.

Before we get into it, though, there are some fairly important things about this essay that we need to get out of the way first:

* Humor is, at the end of the day, subjective. You cannot expect everyone to find a joke funny. Similarly, this essay may not work for everyone. For its purpose, I will do my best to make it as broad as possible while attempting to provide the best examples to get my points across. Keep in mind that what I find funny and you find funny are possibly completely incompatible with each other, and that’s okay. Please note that this essay was written from //my// perspective as an author.

* There is no single way to make an effective Joke SCP. This essay will go into the broad ways -J’s manage to achieve humor, how the average Joke article is effective, and cover several “genres” of different -J’s on the site and how they work. There are several outliers to the “average” Joke SCP, several of which I plan to go through here.

* While this essay is meant for -J’s specifically, there is no reason a fair amount of this advice can’t work for the average SCP, with many mainlist articles being explicitly meant for humor these days. However, you should note that Joke SCPs are able to get away with a lot more than mainlist articles. A section of this essay is reserved for the differences between mainlists and Jokes, which you can read for more information.

With all of that out of the way, let’s get to the first part of this essay: What a Joke SCP even is.

+ What is a Joke SCP?

++ Overview

A Joke SCP is an article explicitly meant to be funny which typically has an “SCP-XXX-J” structured designation. They are not considered part of the mainlist, similar to [[[scp-ex|-EX]]] and [[[archived-scps|-ARC]]] articles, and a majority of the userbase does not consider them “canon” to the greater SCP Universe; you won’t typically see a -J referenced in a main series article, with [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/system:page-tags/tag/department-of-other some] [[[scp-8399|exceptions]]].

-J’s are able to “get away with” a lot more than a main series article. What I mean by that is that you can do various things through use of a Joke SCP you couldn’t do otherwise. Arguably the most famous example of this is [[[SCP-even number-J]]], otherwise known as “SCP Mad Libs”. Typically, if you have an idea for an out-of-the-box article you don’t think could be on the mainlist that could be humorous, a Joke SCP would be a good conduit through which to pull it off.

++ Some Types of Joke SCPs

There are multiple different categories that -J’s can be organized into for ease of referral, depending on the strategy they use to achieve their humor:

* **Standard** - Exactly what it sounds like. A majority of Joke SCPs fit into this category, being that they are just things that happen to be funny, are just written about in a humorous way, or both. Their end goal is to simply be funny by their own merit. Some examples of this are [[[SCP-028-J]]], [[[SCP-300-J]]], [[[SCP-500-J]]], and [[[SCP-1861-J]]].

* **Parody** - An article that spoofs an existing one into something funny. Think of something like the average [[[spc-hub|Shark Punching Center]]] article. Some examples of this are [[[SCP-049-J]]], [[[SCP-173-J]]], [[[SCP-4000-J]]], and [[[SCP-6969-J]]].

* **Satire** - An article that is funny specifically because it is satirizing some part of the SCP Wiki, SCP writing as a whole, its culture, or part of the SCP Universe. Some examples of this are [[[SCP-014-J]]], [[[SCP-1234-J]]], [[[SCP-SAFE-J]]], and [[[weryllium-proposal|Dr. Palenez's Proposal]]].

* **Non-Anomalous** - Articles which describe non-anomalous items as SCP objects (oftentimes to add to the humor). Some examples of this are [[[SCP-019-J]]], [[[SCP-666-and-a-half-J|SCP-666½-J]]], [[[SCP-1939-J]]], and [[[Deepwell Proposal]]].

* **Game** - An article that becomes an interactive game or experience, typically with funny elements. Some examples of this are [[[scp-001-and-a-half-j|SCP-001½-J]]], [[[SCP-1D6-J]]], [[[SCP-5000-J]]], and [[[SCP-even number-J]]].

Keep in mind that this isn't a complete list and is simply meant to illustrate some of the strategies one can go for to produce a Joke SCP. Keep in mind that the golden rule is to make something that is, at the end of the day, funny.

++ Mainlists vs. Jokes

So, earlier on in this essay I mentioned that Joke SCPs were able to "get away with" more than a mainlist SCP. I used the example of SCP-even number-J to show that a -J can theoretically be more of a game than a narrative article itself, but that is not the entirety of what a Joke SCP can get away with more than a standard mainlist. Generally, the main things -J's can get away with are the following:

* Breaking of clinical tone for comedic effect (see [[[SCP-666-and-a-half-J|SCP-666½-J]]]);

* Having the Foundation and/or its members act out of character (see [[[Taboo-J]]]);

* Making SCPs out of things that would likely not be otherwise (see [[[SCP-078-J]]]);

It is important to emphasize that main series articles can, of course, be entirely dedicated to making the reader laugh, or at least which make that a large part of their appeal. Plenty of them are incredibly successful as well. Whether an article idea should be a -J or a main series article is generally up to the author's discretion, as plenty of ideas could be either. However, Joke SCPs let you play around a lot more with what you can do to be funny. If you make your mainlist article far too goofy, people will question why it isn't a -J, and if you make your Joke SCP too serious, people will question why it isn't a main series article. However, oftentimes a lot of the humor from a Joke SCP comes from the fact it is stupid things in a clinical document. If you do not strike a good enough balance and lean too far into one or the other, it is possible your article will suffer for it.

Essentially, in a -J it is perfectly normal to let the O5 Council act like a bunch of absolute morons while discussing a funny anomaly, while in a mainlist article it is more likely you would want them to act entirely serious while doing so. Though, this is not to say your -J cannot have the Foundation or its membership acting seriously, such as in [[[SCP-9999-J]]]. Overall, it's up to the author what they want to do and what they feel is best for their article idea when developing it. There are sometimes ideas that could theoretically only work if done as a -J, in which case the choice of what to make them is clear. These are most often ideas that would be far too goofy to be mainlists, such as [[[SCP-007-J]]].

Additionally, readers often judge Joke SCPs specifically on whether or not they made them laugh. When creating a specifically humor-intended mainlist, your article can also be judged similarly. Normal main series articles are not typically judged for such a singular thing, meaning Joke SCPs can sometimes be more difficult than mainlists depending on the person. Try not to be easily discouraged if your first few tries to make a -J are duds. It can be hard to find something that works.

While the SCP Wiki often emphasizes [[[reimagined-hub|remixing]]] existing articles into new ones, it works a bit differently for -J's than it does for mainlists. You pretty much can't use the same joke twice. Once someone uses it, everyone from now on will basically say "this is just x article" and yours will be less well-received. Take [[[SCP-9000-J]]] for example. No other Joke SCP will be able to make all of its text braille and say it will help blind people again, or even something else somewhat similar.

+ Writing a Joke SCP

++ Overview

So, you want to write a Joke SCP.

The following three points are what I would consider to be the optimal recipe for success when writing the average -J. As said at the beginning of this essay, this is purely my opinion and based on my experience. There are many Joke SCPs which do not follow these guidelines, but oftentimes having some of these main things will spell out the key to your article's success.

* **Do not go too long without a joke.** An important aspect of jokes is trying to ensure they do not overstay their welcome. If you keep things going for too long, your reader will lose interest and stop finding it funny. Take [[[SCP-SAFE-J]]] for example. It is essentially the same joke for the entire article, but it is incredibly short in order to prevent it from becoming annoying. Generally, it is best to keep your average Joke SCP fairly short in order to prevent this.

* **Keep things short.** As stated in the previous point, we are trying to prevent your reader from losing interest. Every article on the SCP Wiki, though often -J’s in particular, is a battle for the reader’s attention. No one wants to read something they find boring. The goal of a Joke SCP is to make its readers laugh, which means in order to keep them from losing interest, you need to keep them laughing throughout the article. This is why you should put smaller little jokes throughout the article to keep things entertaining and funny.

* **Have a final gutpunch.** Though putting small jokes throughout your article to keep the momentum going is important, they usually work best when they are building towards something. An important part of a joke is the punchline, and a Joke SCP is often no different. Having a final punchline and/or large joke as the finale of your article is important to close it off and hopefully ensure more positive reception to the article as a whole.

If you look at most modern Joke SCPs, there is a high chance that they follow this formula. I would recommend you maybe read through some existing -J’s and try to pick out whether or not they use these strategies. Generally, use of all of these three together is often the best formula for guaranteeing a successful Joke SCP.

It cannot be ignored that many successful -J’s don’t entirely follow this formula entirely. However, there is usually good reason as to why they do not. At the very least, a majority of -J’s on the Wiki use two out of these three. For example, [[[SCP-____-J]]] is incredibly short and has a final punchline, but it is so short that peppering it with more smaller jokes just isn’t necessary. [[[SCP-6969-J]]] is much, much longer than the average Joke SCP, but it keeps the momentum going by constantly peppering small jokes and sticks the landing very well. Many older -J’s, such as [[[SCP-666-J]]] and [[[SCP-173-J]]], simply have a bunch of small jokes throughout to string the reader along with no real final punchline, but are still short to prevent things from going on for too long.

Overall, I would recommend using at least two of these three primary components if you are writing a Joke SCP, but all three wouldn’t hurt.

++ Deconstruction of the Joke Hub

The [[[joke-scps|hub]]] for Joke SCPs contains a few guidelines and its own description of what -J's are. I feel like its important to go through and further dissect what some of it means, while adding more information.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

This is an index of all the "joke" articles on the SCP Wiki. If you are interested in contributing a Joke SCP, keep the following in mind:

* **Joke SCPs must be funny.** Site members will generally downvote jokes that they don't find funny.

[[/div]]

This is very true. As stated previously in this essay, within critique, rating, and reviews in the forums, site members put particular emphasis on whether or not an article specifically made them laugh. Thusly, your goal when writing a Joke SCP can simply be defined as trying to write something funny enough that the average person will find it funny. Since humor is subjective, it's more than likely that your article won't be able to please everyone, and that's fine. However, if your article would only be funny to a small group of people, chances are that it won't do well. Inside jokes for the Wiki work well, such as in articles like [[[SCP-6132-J]]], but not ones within small friend groups.

For these reasons, getting critique on a -J before posting is arguably more important than a regular article. Your article doing well on the site hinges on whether or not people find it funny, so you need to show it to people beforehand and make sure that they do.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

* **Pop culture and video game references don't work when done straight.** Just as with main series SCPs about mythology or folklore, it generally won't work unless you add a healthy dose of Foundation-flavored twist to it. Evangelions and portal guns simply won't cut it.

[[/div]]

Now, I want to first clarify something important. It's easy to look at this point and think to yourself that making articles that are pop culture references in general are not allowed or wouldn't work, but that is far from the case. What this point is trying to say is that just making your article be the pop culture reference and that's the joke does not tend to be really funny. You could totally write a funny Joke SCP about a portal gun, but just having it be a portal gun and it being a reference shouldn't be the joke.

For some examples of articles that are based on pop culture references, I'd recommend checking out [[[SCP-1550-J]]] and [[[SCP-K9-EX-J]]], which are two that pulled it off very well.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

* **The Joke index is not a dump box for ideas that didn't make the cut for the main series.** Joke SCPs are generally considered harder to write than main-series SCPs and are one of the top three most difficult things for new authors to write about (along with Humanoids and Keter-class objects).

[[/div]]

This is pretty self-explanatory. An article that is simply low quality isn't funny. Well, I will say there are at least a [[[scp-4463-j|few]]] [[[scp-021-j|exceptions]]] that managed to pull it off. Generally, though, it's not a good strategy to just make a poor article and call it a joke.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

* **Please don't randomly write things here.** Just don't. If you want to write a joke SCP, think it out.

[[/div]]

There was certainly an era of the internet where "lol random" was considered to be pretty funny, but that era is long gone now. A Joke SCP oftentimes needs to be very intricately planned out. Trust me when I say you really need to take your time sometimes.

++ SCP-001-J Proposals

At the time of writing, I have written four Joke 001 Proposals, meaning I have more direct experience than any other author making them. It is easy to think that making one would be less hard than a regular 001 Proposal, and for the most part I would agree with that assessment.

However, if you choose to undertake the process of making an SCP-001-J, you should keep in mind that, at the end of the day, you are //still// writing a 001 Proposal. Even though what a 001 Proposal “should be” has been in a state of flux in recent times, with many authors simply placing what they would consider to be their magnum opuses in the 001 slot, what you write should still have some sort of justification for being one, even if said justification is simply it being your Joke magnum opus.

If you look through every current SCP-001-J Proposal, all of them have fairly accurate justification for being there and can typically be fit into one of these categories:

* It is a parody of an existing 001 Proposal ([[[Cimmerian-Kaktus Proposal]]], [[[Henzoid-Crocket Proposal-J]]], [[[djkaktus-s-proposal-j|Another djkaktus Proposal]]]);

* It is a world-ending threat ([[[daveyoufool-proposal|Daveyoufool’s Proposal]]], [[[fishish-s-proposal-j|Fishish’s Proposal-J]]], [[[Deepwell Proposal]]]);

* It parodies 001s as a whole or is a joke based on 001 Proposals ([[[weryllium-proposal|Dr. Palanez’s Proposal]]], [[[misterfrown-s-proposal-j|MisterFrown’s Proposal-J]]], [[[everyone-s-proposal|Everyone’s Proposal]]]);

* It is still otherwise important or redefines the SCP Universe ([[[Abraka David’s Proposal]]]);

No matter what, if you are making something an SCP-001-J, try to be sure it isn’t just a regular Joke SCP with the number slapped on for no particular reason, as it’s likely it will make your article less well-received if you do that.

+ Analyzing Other Articles

++ Deepwell Proposal

Prior to writing this essay, multiple people had asked me for advice on my general process for writing Joke SCPs, or for some general advice. I think advice often works best when its seen in action, and I tended to like using my third 001-J, [[[Deepwell Proposal]]], as an example because I find it so clear cut and easy to explain things with. Maybe take a second to open it so you have it on hand.

If you take a look at it at first glance, it is incredibly short, especially for a 001. The conprocs say barely anything and can be skipped past if we're being honest. Those tend to work in the favor of an article like this, especially for other reasons that we're going to get to in a second.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

**Description:** SCP-001-J is the Site-17 deep well, a structure that was used to collect groundwater prior to Site-17’s construction. As it was not constructed by the Foundation, motivation to maintain it was minimal, leading to it becoming dilapidated and overgrown.

[[/div]]

Once you get to the description, you are immediately assulted by a pun, one that is the crux of the article. This immediately hooks the reader in and tells them exactly what type of an article is going to be. However, as I just said, keeping the article short and the conprocs short were both very important decisions here. The lack of conprocs lets the reader immediately get into the joke and the length of the article makes it so that its primary joke, a stupid pun, doesn't overstay its welcome.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

As SCP-001-J is significantly deep, but simultaneously guised due to overgrown plants surrounding it, personnel are known to often fall into it. Due to how deep it is, subjects who have fallen into SCP-001-J can no longer be seen and are presumed lost. It has been posited that the well may be bottomless, as all exploration attempts have led to the agents involved falling victim to SCP-001-J.

[[/div]]
 
Oftentimes, part of the humor in -Js specifically is the discussion of really stupid things in very fancy clinical tone. The second paragraph essentially just talks about how an organization of the worlds brightest minds has had a ton of their personnel, who are arguably the pinnacle of humanity, die by falling in a well. They speculate that it may be anomalous, because its in their nature to do so. We are seeing a Foundation who is so stupid that not only was a random well important enough to be 001(-J), its literally hurting them to the point they think it has to be anomalous, and that's funny.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

The well is known to vocalize following the entrapment of a victim, mimicking their voice and asking for assistance. This voice will periodically become more desperate and weaker until its total collapse three days after the victim has fallen. This is believed to be a method by SCP-001-J to lure further subjects into its maw to be devoured, leaving researchers to speculate that it may be carnivorous.

[[/div]]

Next paragraph, we have the Foundation describe how people fall down the well and scream for help for obvious reasons, but no help comes because the Foundation is convinced that 001-J is the one making the noises. And its all described like a fancy document. The sheer absurdity of this situation lends to the humor, and when people realize what's going on, that's funny.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

Further research into SCP-001-J’s anomalous properties has ceased due to the loss of all Foundation personnel.

[[/div]]

And then after that, we learned this thing literally ended the entire Foundation, a god damn well.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

[[div class="blockquote"]]

= **<<Begin Log>>**

**O5-1:** I can’t believe that this is how the Foundation ends. After everything we’ve been through and all of the threats we’ve stopped, this is our undoing? Stuck at the bottom of this fucking deep well?

**O5-7:** I mean, you do know what they say, right, One?

**O5-1:** What?

**O5-7:** All’s well that ends well, amirite?

//All Overseers turn to stare at O5-7, eyes narrowed.//

= **<<End Log>>**

[[/div]]

Following the meeting, O5-7 became the final member of D-Class personnel to be lost to SCP-001-J.

[[/div]]

Finally, we see the final meeting of the O5 Council, which, of course, repeats the same overused pun that caused this article to be made in the first place. It's the final gutpunch, supplemented by the O5 becoming a D-Class at the end.

As you can see, this article follows the three primary guidelines established earlier in this essay. It's short, it peppers small jokes throughout, and it has the final gutpunch at the end. This article couldn't just be a funny regular article in its current state because it uses its status as a -J to its advantage by having the Foundation act unusually stupid.

++ SCP-6914

Now, I know that it looks a bit odd to be putting a main series article in a Joke SCP essay, but I want to show how the advice given here can also be applicable to them as well. Additionally, I want to contrast this article with the previous to further display the difference between what a mainlist article and a -J can get away with. [[[SCP-6914]]] is certainly a humor-intended article all the same. Something important to note, however, is that this article only follows two of the main guidelines: it's incredibly short and has the final gutpunch. To compensate, it is much shorter than usual.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

**SPECIAL CONTAINMENT PROCEDURES:** All staff within Overwatch Command have been informed of SCP-6914's anomalous properties to ensure their compliance with its directive. Foundation landscapers employed for the structure are to only use lawn equipment which prevents them from touching the grass planted nearby.

[[/div]]

As you can see, the containment procedures are pretty short. As this article entirely hinges one on joke at the end, it's best to keep them short. We want the audience to get to the joke as soon as possible if nothing else is going to be funny.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

**DESCRIPTION:** SCP-6914 is a small sign reading "KEEP OFF GRASS".

Upon a human individual within an 80 km radius of SCP-6914 making physical contact with grass, a lightning bolt will spontaneously manifest from the sky and strike them where they are currently standing. The lightning will be specifically tailored to reach its intended target, capable of altering its intensity upon each manifestation to the required amount to break any possible barriers protecting the subject, including ones constructed of non-conductive material.

Following the discovery of SCP-6914, unanimous approval of the Overseer Council led to it being installed outside of Overwatch Command Site-01. While Site-01 has yet to experience a security breach of a magnitude considered worthy of such a security increase, the importance of the facility and the personnel within was the primary contributing factor of the decision.

[[/div]]

As you can see, the description itself is fairly small too. The entirety of it just exists to set up what the anomaly is in the first paragraph and lay down the foundations for the article's main joke in the second. In a minimalist article like this, every part of it counts.

[[div class="blockquote"]]

**ADDENDUM 6914.1:** Incident 6914-Alpha

On 4/18/2012, a lightning strike suddenly occured within an unused room in Site-01's second sublevel. Mobilized members of Mobile Task Force Alpha-1 ("Red Right Hand") were quickly dispatched to the area for investigation. Upon reaching the room, they discovered the charred corpse of Agent William Peterson, who had been struck by the lightning. Review of security footage revealed that Agent Peterson had grabbed what was discovered to be a marijuana cigarette from his bag prior to the strike.

The implications of this incident remain under review.

[[/div]]

And there we go, that's the joke: a pun that "grass" can also refer to weed. This article is so short that I was basically able to put all of it in here. As you can see, there was basically no other attempt to be funny throughout the entirety of the article up until the end, but it was able to get away with that because the rest of the article was almost entirely dedicated to setting up a final gutpunch instead and it didn't take long to get there. You can certainly get away with going for longer, such as in [[[SCP-9999-J]]], but it's best not to push it too hard. Remember that a humor-intended SCP is a battle for attention.

Despite both SCP-6914 and Deepwell Proposal being articles intended to be funny, they follow different rules. As a mainlist, SCP-6914 acts entirely in-character for the main SCP Universe, despite its ridiculous circumstances. Deepwell Proposal, however, as a Joke SCP, doesn't. It bends the rules.

+ Conclusion

I hope you learned a little bit more about writing humorous articles from reading this. As I said at the beginning, this is mostly advice from my perspective that has worked for me on my journey on the Wiki, so even if you decide to go and write a Joke SCP right now that ignores all of this advice, you may still have a shot. Humor is subjective and what people find funny will often be different from each other.

Good luck out there.

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This Essay Is No Joke

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