Ethan's Guide to Adding Categories

I'm adding this because I remember when I first joined this wiki I had some trouble with categories and no one would really tell me what categories to add. Hopefully some new users will find this useful.

Categories are important and per the rules you must add them or face a three-day ban. However, with the exception of the franchise categories mentioned at the end of this guide, do not just make up non-existent categories (that can also get you banned).

A complete list of categories is here. However, please be aware that although we the admins do our best to keep the wiki free of fake categories, it is still an ongoing process, and sometimes made-up categories slip through the cracks. Therefore, don't assume that the fact that a category is on this list means it is legitamate. When in doubt, click the page for the category in question. If there is only one pasta in that category, and the category was created by someone other than an admin, chances are it is a fake category and you should not add it (in fact you are free to delete it if it is clearly a fake category).

Some common fake categories that new users keep adding include:

"horror"

"Pokepasta" (the correct category is "Pokemon")

"First Creepypasta" (we really hate this one)

"mods" and "video game glitch"

"creepypoem" (the correct category is "poetry")

"short story"

categories for consoles or game developers (e.g. "GameCube" or "Nintendo")

categories used more like tags on Youtube (e.g. making a category for the title of the pasta, the name of the narrator, settings, or insignificant objects mentioned within the pasta)

names of notable video game characters (e.g. "Ash", "Professor Oak", "Link", "Snake", "Knuckles", etc.)

"Lost Episodes" (the closest thing on this wiki is "Television")

"shock ending" or "twist" (the correct category is "mindfuck")

and speaking of the aforementioned, any of the standard categories on the Creepypasta wiki (just because it is a category on the Creepypasta wiki doesn't make it a category on this wiki.  We usually have our own versions of them) categories for popular creepypasta meme-monsters (e.g. Funnnymouth, Smiledog, The Rake, Jeff the Killer, Mr. Widemouth, etc.)

"Creepypasta" and "Creepypastas"
These two are a given. Unless you are writing a guide or something like this, always add those two categories.

Video Games or "Real Life"
If your pasta is a gaming pasta, add "Video Game" and "Video Games". "Real Life" is the closest thing we have to a "non-gaming" category. Do not add this category to gaming pastas and gaming mindfucks. Also do not add it to pastas that are set in fictional universes.

Note: contrary to the impression the name of the category may give you, a pasta does not have to be based on a true story in order to qualify as "Real Life".

"Original Story", "Migrated", or "Sequel"
If you are the original author of the pasta you are uploading, and it is not a sequel to anything, add "Original Story". If you are importing it from the Creepypasta wiki or someplace else, add "Migrated". Note: Please remember to ask permission from and to credit the original author before migrating a pasta if you can find him or her. If the author is anonymous than the pasta is fair game, but please say so on the page.

"Sequel" is self-explanatory. Add it if your pasta is a sequel to another, either your own or someone else's.

Franchise Categories
Do not make specific game titles into categories. Instead, use the name of the series or franchise to which the subject of your pasta belongs. For example, add "The Elder Scrolls", not "Skyrim". If your pasta focuses on games from two or more series, add "crossover".

Do not add categories for consoles or development companies.

So there you go, four categories you can automatically add if your pasta is a non-gaming one and six if it is a gaming pasta.