Warnings and tags - haven't had this discussion in a while.

[kate]

A friend of mine posted this over on tumblr: If someone marks their fic “Author has chosen not to warn”, do you get to get your nose out of joint that it’s not tagged with things that you bother you?

#not a rhetorical question

I don’t. But I have no triggers and few squicks. I also am able to protect myself and stop reading things that may upset me, and then manage the upset myself without too much trouble or emotional damage.

I like to think that if I had triggers or squicks, I would ask a friend to vet the story for me, but I can also imagine I’d look at the tags and go, hm, that looks okay to me, and give it a whirl. It’s exhausting looking out for that all the time, and I think everyone deserves the chance to mess up by being a little optimistic about the lack of *personally* disturbing tags on a fic. And I think it’s fair for them to be upset. I even think it’s fair for them to mention it, and I also think it’s fair for them to be a bit unreasonable in their language, if you’ve hit an honest to god trigger.

I also think that you are not required to tag or warn based on their needs, or their comment. It is your creation and your decision, and I can also understand that it might be upsetting to receive a comment like this, because it can feel like an attack. It may even be worded like an attack.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I have received a comment like this and I made a choice to add the thing the person was talking about to the tags. It took me two days to respond to it and make the decision, though, because I felt like I had been attacked, and I felt it was unreasonable. In the end I decided to do it, because I wanted to protect anyone else who might have triggers about the thing I hadn’t tagged.

These days, I use warnings and tags very purposefully to try and make my stories as safe as possible for others. I want people to be able to make educated choices about what they’re consuming, giving them tools so they can protect themselves. It doesn’t hurt my work, and to me, it is one of the great advantages to fanfiction over books. We’re writing for other fans. We often give gift fanworks because we love other fen. It’s the interaction that makes it better than books. And because of that interaction, I try to protect people who might want to consume my fanworks.

Honestly, holding books up as the end-all, be-all of the way writing should be is bullshit anyway. I read fic that’s better than published books all the time. So why should the way we think tags, warnings, and consumers of our fanworks/other fen should emulate the way books do things? (Not to mention - every OTHER entertainment has a ratings and warnings system. Music, movies, TV. Why not books?)

(And all that said - I *do* use the “Choose Not To Warn” option when the warnings are too complex to really get into or I can’t figure out WHAT to warn/tag for. I figure better safe than sorry - I am hoping that people with triggers will look at that and go “Hmmm, better not risk it.” But I don’t count on that, and if I get a comment, I try to respond gracefully and address the situation as much as I can. *shrug* It’s a complex topic, but in general, I am on the side of protecting others as much as I can. That’s just me, and I don’t judge anyone for thinking or believing differently.)

Comments

[angrboda]

his is a bit out of order, here. If you are neurotypical, and have no squicks or triggers, then saying this so derogatorily is very much your privilege showing. Leads directly back to 'choose not to warn' being a warning in itself that this may not be safe for you and therefore you should take precautions by asking someone to look it over for you or ask the author or even some of the other people who have commented on the story "does this story contain xyz?". If you simply choose to ignore it in spite of you knowing you have triggers, well, then, yeah, you could have avoided that, couldn't you?

[kate]

That is true - but we all make mistakes, and none of us like to be called names. And I can imagine that if I had to spend my whole life exhaustively checking everything I read through another person, I might take a chance here and there, and wouldn't want to be called an idiot for that when luck doesn't fall on my side.

[angrboda]

I'm not trying to mince words here, but I never said they were stupid. I said it was their own stupid fault, which is not the same thing. We all do things now and then which we shouldn't and it'll be our own stupid fault through lack of care, lack of attention or whatever. Doesn't mean we're actually idiots.

I will also just mention that at no point did I encourage unpleasant replies to such comments. I did in fact say, or at least tried to say, that the author in question should try to recognise it as the misunderstanding it is and work from there.

[kate]

I'm sorry, but that is mincing words. It's fine, assuming that you really don't think people with triggers are idiots (and your use of "we" makes me think you are one of them, in which case, I have no more comment - as a person with triggers, you're welcome to speak of your own group in your own way).

I did want to point it out, though, because it is something I try very hard to avoid myself, and had to choose my words carefully in the post and my responses. Because I believe authors have the right to write and tag as they like, and I still would like to protect people with triggers, I'd love for it to be as simple as just "people with triggers should vet every single story through someone else" but honestly, that just doesn't seem reasonable to me.

It's too much like my gluten allergy where I weigh the consequences of something that might have gluten, whether or not asking will actually get me an accurate answer (lots of chefs don't KNOW what foods contain gluten besides wheat), and whether or not what I'm about to eat might be worth the possibility that I could be miserable for a few hours or days. Sometimes I get sick of having to go through the whole rigamarole and I just say "fuck it" and eat the thing. And sometimes I get lucky, sometimes not. This feels very much like that to me, and let me tell you, when I find extremely conscientious places that include detailed gluten information on their menus, it is a huge relief and makes me so happy. I try to be that gluten free menu - and I try not to be judgmental about folks who are sick of asking their friends to vet every single story for them. My point was simply to point out that it's not idiocy - it's simple human frustration and desire. I want to avoid putting judgments on it, especially because I don't have triggers so I'm not in a position to judge.

And thank you - I agree that your comment was not disrespectful overall or calling for mean answers from authors. I tried to recognize that in my first part of the original comment, and apologies if that didn't come across.

[spikedluv]

Oh, that gluten-free analogy is spot on!

[jesse_the_k]

I try to be that gluten free menu

Aha! From another celiac, that is the best. It carries through to the "big 8" ingredients which must be labeled in the US; "choose not to warn" is like the "this product was produced in a facility where there are tree nuts, soy, dairy..."