I remember looking at a thread about when the SCP Foundation (the community, no the in-universe organization) would die out, and it got me thinking about in-universe explanations that weren't just "The World Literally Ended". So here's what I came up with:
The base idea is a phenomenon that inhibits written communication about it. It is a cognito-hazard, so anyone who communicates with an infected individual will come under the effects of the phenomenon. A large number of people come under the effects of the phenomenon, without knowing it because they don't know it exists, and thus would never experience its effects.
Then, the phenomenon evolves, like a virus. It starts effecting other subjects too, until all written communication has become inhibited. At this point, a reasonable percentage of the world's population is subject to the phenomenon, since the vector of infection is so hard to avoid.
Next, the phenomenon evolves to inhibit speech, and then gestures. The end result is a world where literally no one can communicate with each other about anything.
This might be a contrived way to go about it, but I am trying to explore the fear of never being understood, and then imagining it on a massive scale. The result would be an end to the story of the Foundation, not because the world ended, but because there's no one left to tell it. Like if a tree falls in a forrest, but no one tells you about it… it's the same as if the tree never fell at all.
EDIT: if this description is kinda confusing, please read my reply below, which outlines the actual SCP to tackle some logistic issues with the anomaly (like how to write about a thing that's property is it can't be written about).
Thanks in Advanced!
