I'm totally new to this place. What should I do first?
Welcome to the Library, we're happy to have you here! The very first thing you should do is read our Orientation. It covers most in universe and out of universe questions, such as how to join and contribute, basics of the Library's universe, where to find site rules, who the site staff are, as well as other in depth guides you might find useful during your time here.
What is this place?
Glad you asked! While mostly covered in the Orientation, the short answer is that this is a collaborative creative writing website. Authors, artists, content creators, and more come together to create fantastical works - some of which go together and share a universe, while others are completely stand alone. You can find stories ranging from two loaves of bread falling in love to speculation over what happens in the Library basement to a collection of artistic renderings of fauna found while traveling.
What kind of content are you looking for here?
Anything! As long as it doesn't break our Site Rules, we accept most any kind of content here. If you want a more concrete goal to aim for, we usually say stories should inspire a sense of wonder, that there's more to the world than meets the eye, but even that can be interpreted however you wish. Some examples of the wide variety of content that's been posted here, and has done well here, can be found in our Recommended Reading List.
How do I find new content to browse?
Couple of different ways! In our sidebar you'll see collections and various ways to browse, but further explanations can be found below.
- The Collections - This page contains series with multiple entries on site, both by solo authors and collections from multiple authors. You are free to contribute to the following Canons and Series, unless it is mentioned otherwise, as long as you follow the general rules of writing and write something appropriate for the collection.
- Wing One - A list of our first 1000 entries. Includes stories, does not include galleries, themes, or contest pages.
- Wing Two - A list of our second 1000 entries, currently being filled out.
- Enter the Library - A random collection of pages, and one of the best ways to stumble across new content you wouldn't have seen otherwise.
- The Index - A list of all entries to the Library in alphabetical order. Includes stories, galleries, themes, and contest pages.
- Most Recently Created - A list of the most recently posted content to the site.
- Top Rated Pages - A collection of the top rated pages, sorted by rating.
- Members Pages - Have an author you like? Find their author page, which includes a list of all their works, here.
- Tag Search - You can search for stories based on their tags here. Please note, that while functional, the tagging system is a tad outdated.
- Chat Guide - If you'd like to join our Discord chat and find recommendations there, or just say hello to fellow Wanderers, please read this page first.
How does content get added to the site?
Through users like you posting! A full guide to posting, including finding ideas, getting critique, and actually posting the page, can be found in our Orientation under the Guide to Writing tab. Alternatively, we also have some collaborative pages you can add to, which can be found on The Collections page.
Can I edit other user's content?
Yes and no. Small grammatical or spelling errors? Yes, you're free to make that edit. Adding a rating module or fixing a broken link? Yep, sure. Completely rewriting a section, adding a sentence or more in, or making significant changes to the story content itself? No, do not do this, unless you have permission from the author. If you're not sure, it's best to ask first, or just notify the author in the comments instead.
If you're adding to a collaborative page mentioned above, please follow the specific set of contribution guides listed on that collaborative page, and again if you're not sure, ask!
How does content get removed from the site?
When you post your work, you add a rating module. Other members of the site can vote on if they like their piece, or if they think it should not be on site. Do not take these votes personally! Usually if your piece falls into the negatives, it just means your work needs more polish, which is why we have places to get critique and feedback from before you post. Remember that users are not required to explain their votes to you.
Upon falling below the deletion threshold, which is currently -3, staff will delete your piece. You will receive a wikidot message when this happens, which will include the record of deletion, as well as any feedback comments that were left on the piece.
Additionally, staff can deletion your content if it violates site rules, or upon author request.
What else do staff do?
Besides running deletions, staff help uphold the site rules, moderate the chat and forums, run contests and events, and are just generally here to answer any questions you may have! Always feel free to shoot a staff member a DM if you have a question, or ping us in chat if something's up. We're here to help.
A list of all active staff members, as well as ways to contact them, can be found in the Orientation under Meet the Staff.
Can I roleplay here?
No, please do not roleplay in the chat or in the forums. This is a writing website where you are encouraged to write your own stories and make your own art and characters and whatnot, but you're here to share your writing in a bit more professional of a space. If you're looking for places to roleplay or act in character, you're welcome to ask if anyone does or if people are looking for members of an RP space, but it needs to be taken off site.
Do I need to know anything about SCP to contribute to this site?
If you're unfamiliar, the SCP Wiki is our sister website. In universe, the Library is a location known about by the SCP Foundation (the main focus of the SCP Wiki), and the two do technically share a world, but you do not need to know anything about SCP to contribute to this site. The two sites are, at the end of the day, standalone, and while there may be some crossover, there is no requirement to be a member of one to contribute to the other.
While mentioned in our site rules, to reiterate - SCP articles are to be posted to the SCP Wiki. Stories heavily focusing on SCP content may be better suited to be posted there than here. Use your best judgement, and you can always ask / get feedback if you're unsure about where your story would best fit.
Do my stories need to include the Library/groups from the Library/the Library universe in general?
Only if you want them to! Again, you can write about pretty much whatever you want to here, as long as it follows our Site Rules. We'd love to see what fun and exciting content you have to contribute, Library related or not.
In universe, the Library contains every story that has been written, will be written, won't be written, and more - so again, anything goes!
Do I need to follow any specific canon? Can stories contradict one another?
For the most part, no, there is no overarching story canon or must include lore about the Library universe. There are some popular headcanons, found in our Universe Rewrite, but even on that page, you can see stuff contradicts each other! If you need something to be true to make it work for your story, that's all the justification you need.
This does change; however, if you're contributing to something found in The Collections. These collections do have some more specific rules - either a shared universe, a specific writing style that needs to be emulated, or something similar, so if you're looking to contribute to one of those collaborative pages, be sure to match the style the rest of the works are in!
What is this site's license / What is Creative Commons?
This site is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License, as listed at the bottom of every page. A full explanation on what this means can be found here.
I'm having technical difficulties.
Wikidot is, in short, not a great platform. There are many bugs that can arise just by virtue of this platform being as broken as it is. Some common bugs you might come across and their fixes are listed below.
- Wikidot has not sent me a confirmation email: If your email has numbers in it, uses a hotmail address, or uses Facebook integration, Wikidot will not send a confirmation email when you are trying to create your account. You'll need to use a different email in order to receive the confirmation email.
- My comment is not showing up in the forums: Occasionally, Wikidot will be slow to load/update, and comments may not appear, or may vanish and then reappear. Give it up to 24 hours before posting a new comment.
- I need help with formatting/CSS: Try taking a look at our Style Guide for basic formatting tips.
I have further questions or concerns that were not answered here.
Feel free to shoot staff a DM, leave a comment here on this page, or hop into chat and we'll do our best to help you out!