Peanut-173 No More: SCP Foundation To Remove The Iconic SCP-173 Image
The very first SCP entity from which it all started, SCP-173 is about to lose a part of its identity as the creative writing wiki SCP Foundation has announced that the famous image illustrating the entry will soon be removed from the site.
On Tuesday, the SCP Foundation tweeted that the entry for SCP-173, the very first SCP entity there is, will no longer be illustrated by the iconic image of a tall humanoid creature with green eyes and red-and-black spots on its face.
Although mostly associated with the SCP Foundation universe, the image is actually a photograph of the art piece Untitled 2004 by Japanese artist Izumi Kato. As Kato became aware that the image is being used by the wiki, the SCP Foundation and the artist reached an agreement that the image would be allowed to be used by the wiki as long as it wasn't used for commercial purposes. While the SCP Foundation is legally licensed under CC-BY SA 3.0 (which means that anyone is free to make any kind of content about SCP as long as they provide credit) SCP-173 remained the only exception — until now.
On Sunday, SCP Wiki Staff began a discussion on possibly removing the image, making the official announcement two days later.
The SCP Foundation reiterated that Izumi Kato has not forced them to remove the image and that the decision was made proactively out of legal and moral obligation.
To be clear: Kato has not demanded we take down the art. However we believe it is necessary in the spirit of @creativecommons, open collaboration, and artistic integrity to remove the image. We thank Kato tremendously for putting up with the Wiki and the burden we thrust on him.
— The SCP Foundation (@scpwiki) February 1, 2022
While normally SCP staff would choose a replacement image, SCP-173 will not be receiving one per request of Moto42, the author of SCP-173.
This is to allow everyone to envision SCP-173 for themselves, instead of there being a singular, definitive, official "SCP-173". Although the status of adding a replacement will be voted upon as well, it is likely that SCP-173 will remain without an image.
The SCP Foundation announced an event for artists wishing to submit their interpretations of SCP-173, which will be followed by the creation of an art collaboration page for the entity.
ATTENTION ALL ARTISTSAnticipating the removal of SCP-173's image, the following is proposed: A collaborative art page containing several talented artists' interpretations of SCP-173, releasing concurrently with the original image's removal.If you are interested, please PM me.
— Elenee FishTruck (@John_Hohn_Swohn) January 31, 2022
The current SCP-173 illustration will be removed from the site on February 13th, 2022.
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Sui Caedere
I'd say RIP, but it basically died when it left /x/ anyway lol
The damage is already done to the artist either way, that'll always be one the most iconic SCPs. But he was a good sport about the whole thing, which is a nice change when it comes to copyright issues
Concerned Troll
What about Containment Breach, though? SCP-173 is basically the main villain, isn't it?
Sui Caedere
It's free, the issue with copyright is when you try to monetize it
hipnox
The end of an era
Revic
It's kind of unfortunate, but it makes sense. It seems like nobody's being a dick. The whole thing that started it was just a random one-off post that probably was not made with any anticipation of the future consequences of the image chosen, so that's totally understandable, but so are all the reasons for its removal.