User blog comment:Banningk1979/Jeff the Killer: A Deeper Look/@comment-24881871-20141118230858/@comment-25052433-20141119062710

You make a good point when you say that the classics may require a different method of judging when deciding their place in the grand scheme of things.

Stories, sadly, aren't like other commodities in our world. For instance, if a fast food chain comes up with better cooking methods, then they can improve upon their 'classic' burger and make something better.

Stories though, are pretty much one and done. Once it's published, that's it. Some of them age well, others don't.

But can we blame the story for poor aging?

Stories like Dead Bart, Happy Appy, Squidward's Suicide, Jeff the Killer and many other classics, came to us at a time when there really were no quality standards. Hell, I remember CP Wiki just a few years ago, when this site was comprised of dozens of terrible Skyrim stories, page after page of My Little Pony erotica and enough terrible video game pastas to sink a battleship.

So, how do you keep a story fresh? Well, honestly, it can only be maintained based on its continued appreciation. No one remembers most of the horrible MLP stories that were here, but Jeff, Dead Bart and the rest live in as classics.

And that, is what makes them classics.

Now, is being a classic enough to make a story untouchable? In the case of Jeff, clearly not.

But as you mentioned, classics may have to be viewed and reviewed in a different light. Not so much by quality, but rather by "quality at the time."

Think of it like classic movies vs. new movies.

Gone with the Wind. One of America's most prized cinematic jewels. Compare it side by side with say....Terminator 3, and you would have almost a no-contest.

Terminator has better cameras, better graphics, better scenes, far more action and dopamine producing thrill.

But Gone with the Wind would crush Terminator in the bare comparison of organic quality. Easy as that.

Sure, the cinematography would be lacking compared to Terminator. But compare the two not as contemporary equals, but rather as events that captured the hearts of viewers, and Gone with the Wind is simply the champion for all time.