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The Mass Edit refers to a decision made by SCP Wiki staff to delete or heavily edit SCPs that were considered to be low quality based on reviews of site members1. It lasted from September 9th to December 6th, 2009.2
History
At the time, the wiki had many articles perceived to be shoddy (having low rating, but not enough to hit deletion threshold). An attempt to review all SCPs were brought up in January 2009, but was unsuccessful due to influx of new ones outpacing available manpower.
In a later effort, which would come to be known as the Mass Edit, wiki staff moved to freeze creation of new SCPs and initiated an audit of extant ones, deciding which SCPs should be put up for review, and therefore potentially be deleted or revised.
Staff members would compile a list of eligible SCPs, and community members would put forward their opinions on what should happen to them3, although later chunks were done entirely through staff decision instead4.
Deletions were carried from around 16th of November to 6th of December, 2009. Among the SCPs deleted are (the below list is not comprehensive):
027, 163, 174, 194, 242, 300, 302, 304, 315, 317, 333, 337, 348, 362, 371, 382, 384, 395, 401, 405, 411, 414, 418, 420, 422, 429, 431, 432, 454, 456, 461, 463, 630-J5
466, 468, 473, 474, 480, 488, 490, 491, 700, 704, 707, 711-3, 725, 726, 729, 730, 733, 736, 737, 739, 750, 752-5, 760, 770, 774, 779, 780-2, 785, 788, 792-5, 797, 7996
800, 802, 806, 810, 815, 816, 817, 818, 819, 820, 831, 832, 834, 836, 838, 840, 843, 846, 851, 853, 854, 855, 856, 867, 868, 871, 876, 884, 888, 889, and 8937
503, 505, 532, 585, 628, 1002, 1013, 1023, 1089, 1337-J8
Of the above, 1023 evaded deletion due to being archived as SCP-1023-ARC, and 503 was formerly archived and then reinstated as SCP-4503.
Legacy
The direct result of the Mass Edit were, at the time, considered to be a good thing that saved the wiki from becoming irrelevant, especially by contemporary authors:
[…] I don't know how many people remember, but the Mass Edit, wherein hundreds of articles got rewritten in the span of months in the wiki's early days, really saved the wiki from becoming just another creepypasta site, bringing fresh perspectives into older works. I think rewrites are a good vehicle for that sort of thing.
Although viewed as a net positive action that helped the wiki with quality control, this event would later be considered a symptom of a younger community, with less formal organization and little regard for larger curative responsibilities or setting future precedents.