[ SECRET POST #4063 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4063 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 50 secrets from Secret Submission Post #582.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

03. https://i.imgur.com/TBLiKR1.png

[(Anonymous)]

And reading someone else's fic is exactly what I'll do.

[(Anonymous)]

LOL. This is the fanfic equivalent of the good ol' customer service "I'm never going to come to this store again", i.e. the person delivering it clearly feels like they've laid down a righteous burn, but the poor SOB who has to deal with it just thinks, "Thank god and good riddance".

[(Anonymous)]

I agree, and I mostly do the same. For some of my fics I tag some basic stuff - like, if it's related to a certain episode, or if it has a certain kink people might want to read/avoid. But never more than that, and not the cutesy tumblr style tagging.

[el_regrs]

I can understand this. I put tags on my fics, but I use so few tags compared to everyone else that sometimes it feels like I'm doing it wrong. But I definitely don't want to give half the story away before anyone's read it, either.

[(Anonymous)]

Sometimes there is no summary, or it's one of those definition-of-a-word summaries that sounds dramatic but tells me nothing. In those cases, the tags can at least give me an inkling of what I might be getting into and if it's something I might want to avoid.

Tags can also be useful if you're searching for particular tropes or kinks.

I certainly don't thing fic authors need to go overboard. When I see fic for a pairing where the tags tags read something like "blowjobs," "anal sex," and "kissing" I think "Is the kissing tag really necessary here?"

Okay.

[(Anonymous)]

I think if you've got a good summary and don't particularly care about the hits from people searching for a specific thing, that's cool. I can usually only tag a handful of Additional Tags before I throw my hands and figure it's good enough.

[(Anonymous)]

Usually when I look for fic I do it by browsing tags rather than fandoms or ships, so I guess I'll probably never even know your work exists. *shrug*

[killertofuuu]

I don't fully agree. I tend to appreciate tags that warn me about what I'm getting into as opposed to a big mystery, but I totally respect your approach, too. That's your call to make, OP. Ultimately, readers are the ones responsible for what they choose consume, and I think people choosing to bypass your fics in favor of those that give them more certainty is an appropriate outcome of your decision, which is something you seem to have already made peace with anyway.

Happy writing, my friend.

[ninety6tears]

I think that's totally fine, especially if you write decent summaries. Certainly better than the BNFs who don't even use pairing tags.

[(Anonymous)]

Characters and a decent summary is really all most people need. And as long as you're not being an ass about it and selecting "No warnings apply" when your fic is full of rape and death, those who need more info will know to either skip or take their chances.

[nightscale]

I just tag whatever I feel is relevant, it's hardly difficult, and tbh whenever I'm looking for fic the only reason I check the tags is for something I don't like.

[(Anonymous)]

I'll tag for stuff like graphic violence and sexual content, but that's it. I'm fine with people deciding they'd rather read another fic, though I do roll my eyes if they make a big fuss over doing so because it feels like a flounce on their part.

[(Anonymous)]

This is one of the changes in fandom I dislike... this idea that people cannot POSSIBLY sacrifice ANY of their precious, precious time by reading a fic unless they know all the possible things that might happen in it. And the amount of huffy pushback you get from not going along with this new normal is nuts.

what an...interesting...attitude

[esteefee]

I had a reader discover one of my dS stories because they were casually cruising AO3 for every Percy Shelley-related story. If I hadn't tagged for Poetry they never would have found it and left me such an awesome comment.

I think you are missing out, OP.

[(Anonymous)]

I am in a fandom that is small(ish) and skews towards older fans having their first fandom experience. It's always a hell of a shock to go into other fandoms and find that "fifty seven tags of every minor detail" is the norm elsewhere. Tags there are mostly pairings, characters, archive warnings, one or two big details if necessary, tagging if it's part of a challenge, and occasionally an in-joke. I just looked at my last ten fics and they average out to about 4 tags/fic. This means that if something is tagged I know it is an important detail and can approach accordingly. I'm sure the "fifty seven tag" thing is useful in larger fandoms, but it burns me out before I even read.

[tabaqui]

Right there with you. Sometimes I think about adding more tags because i'd get a wider readership, probably, but i just...can't be fuckin' arsed. I have *no idea* what to tag about half the time, and there's no real list of AO3 tags to browse through, and most of my stuff isn't stuff you'd really tag for, like torture or super-kinky sex or anything, so....

Fandom, characters, mature or explicit or whichever fits, where it goes in the 'verse (like - post Captain America, or pre Civil War or whatever) and that's pretty much it.

[(Anonymous)]

I'd rather read your fic than the ones with a screenful of unnecessary tumblr-style tags, but best of all is the basics plus a very few tags indicating any particular points of interest.

[(Anonymous)]

I do appreciate warnings for major character death and rape. And stuff like A/B/O and age play and that kind of thing. But if your fic isn't dealing with that kind of stuff...*shrug*
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Although.....I've recently gotten back into MCU fic, and as a Steve fan I've appreciated the use of tags like "not Team Cap friendly" since it keeps me from wasting time with yet another Steve-bashing fic. :(

[(Anonymous)]

I appreciate tags, I don't dissect, I merely tag for general themes -- I have no intention of revealing the plot.

I don't mind if people don't tag for things other than fandom and characters as long as they provide a decent summary.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't like to think that people will NOT read my fic for not having tags up the wazoo, but I personally would rather read something with less tags myself, because tags are spoilery. Just tell me the pairing and the basic premise plz.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm torn about this one. On the one hand, the easiest way to find fics is by tags, so if you don't tag, your fic won't come up in my search, and it bums me out to think that I've missed great fic because the author doesn't tag.

On the other hand, I'm a terrible tagger myself because I have a hard time picking the story apart to the base parts to know/remember everything I should tag.

[(Anonymous)]

Hey, that’s fine, but it’s always nice, if you post to Ao3 and write dark and/or kinky stuff to use the “choose not to warn” tag. Then you don’t have to figure out a long list of tags, but readers still get a head’s up that it’s not all fluffy bunnies.

[(Anonymous)]

As long as you have a good summary, I'll probably read your fic before I read one of the over-tagged monstrosities on AO3. Searching by tags is almost useless in some fandoms now anyway, since people will tag for things that aren't even plot points because some side character mentioned them once.

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you for putting out my honest, true feelings out there. I do tag because that is considered common courtesy nowadays, but I hate having to pick my entire fic apart and ask myself at every stage what should be tagged. I don't know what people who don't at least write an entire rough draft of an epic fic before posting do! I sure as heck don't know all that's going to be in a fic when I start writing it.

So I start with basic tags, then add others as the chapters are released. That way, by the time it's fully posted, all the spoilery tags are there, but those who don't want to be spoiled weren't.

And I always "Choose Not to Warn" to give potential readers a heads' up that there might be stuff not yet tagged that could give people pause.