User blog comment:ArmadillooftheAges/Useless thoughts and opinions from an old user here/@comment-25941663-20190303183131/@comment-38454773-20190304050028

Thank you for your well thought-out response, Dupin.

You're saying that this Wiki is no longer dedicated to Creepypasta and now it's just about amateurish horror fiction. If that's the case, then shouldn't this place get a name change or let people know on the front page that that's what it has become?

"NOTE: This is no longer a Wiki/Fandom dedicated to Creepypasta. This has now become a site made to host horror fiction. What remains of Creepypasta can be found in the Historical Archive category".

Something like that, maybe.

There's tons of writing Wikis on Fandom and numerous ones are dedicated to horror fiction. If what you're saying is true, it seems to me like this particular Wiki, at this point in time, is just using the term "Creepypasta" to make itself standout more than those other "generic" Wikis to generate web traffic. Granted, it's been established for years and has had a large number of users and exposure, so, hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, I guess?

The fad remark you made piqued my interest. Do I believe that classic Creepypasta may have indeed had some qualities to it that made it seem like a "fad"? Yes, of course. However, I do believe you are making a mistake. You seem to be talking of Creepypasta as if it's a brand of some kind. Like, if you write a horror piece and you posted it online somewhere, it already had the "Creepypasta" trademark on it. I always thought it was more of an umbrella term than anything else, not in itself a category.

I believe the "fad" aspects came more from the fans than the classic Pastas themselves. My idea of a Creepypasta has always been this:

1. A scary/eerie story, image, video, etc. appears online somewhere with little to no backstory.

 2. It enthralls and frightens internet users.

3. They "spread the word" (lol).

''4.  It slowly snowballs into a phenomenon. ''

The fanart, readings, etc. is what can trick people into thinking it's a fad. Creepypasta itself doesn't, or didn't, run on these things. Instead, it ran on people's inherent desire to be drawn to things that terrify them. Human nature or psychology isn't a "fad". It's just who we are and I don't think that will ever change.

Even though I admit I am not as big of a Creepypasta fan as I was in years past, I still occasionally enjoy watching eerie videos that appear on my Youtube feed.

I suppose I always felt like this site was designed more as a depository for Creepypasta or Creepypasta-esque stories rather than some place for amateur authors to publish their works in hopes of getting noticed. If you ask me, there are better sites for that, like Wattpad for instance.

To be fair, I personally don't think this site would've been "dead" if it retained its library format. Instead, that encourages people to try their hand at it more. Sure, there would be crappy stories and mediocre knock-offs and people would catch on, but that's inevitable too. But among all of that garbage, something new, unique, and great would pop up.

It's like Theodore Sturgeon's law: "Ninety percent of everything is crap".

In fact, if you want me to be honest with you, I think this place becoming a place for amateur authors and artists to refine their craft is what made this place sort of dead. I've spoken to a small number of "Creepypasta elders" here, and they tell me this place is a lot less active than it used to be because it got so boring. Whether or not this is true, I dunno. But in my humble opinion, all of these artists and writers taking over and marketing themselves and being in stiff competition with each other definitely killed the spirit of Creepypasta, which was just to freak yourself out and having fun doing it.