[ SECRET POST #4066 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4066 ⌋

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

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 26 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]

08. https://i.imgur.com/kgTBZHn.png

[(Anonymous)]

Was there more than one person talking about asking writers questions about tags in that thread?

[(Anonymous)]

IIRC there were a couple of people who seemed to agree with the person who thought it was normal for writers to be available for content warning Q&As. But everyone was anon so who knows.

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you! This is exactly how I feel!

[(Anonymous)]

seconded

[(Anonymous)]

AGREED.

[tabaqui]

Fourthed!

[(Anonymous)]

See, I think I get what you're saying, and I mostly want to agree with you, but there's just a bit of my brain that insists on translating all this text as "So a cat gets tortured to death in my story and I didn't warn you? Suck it up!"
Because that's one I've actually seen, and it made much more of an impression than any dozen 'uwu will you tag for gluten'.

[(Anonymous)]

I think the issue here is that one example is something you've seen once, whereas the uwu crybabying is, as you point out, by the dozens. There's always that one "I do what I want and you can't stop me" asshat author, but as a rule -- or at least from what seems to be general experience -- it's not nearly so common as the entitled readers who demand their feelings be taken into account by everyone but themselves.

[(Anonymous)]

Depends what you mean by "asking the author about tags". "Will you please tag for people wearing over-the-knee socks???" is dumb. "When you say 'animal harm' do you mean an accident after which an animal gets help, or deliberate animal torture?" is reasonable.

[(Anonymous)]

It isn't really reasonable. It especially isn't reasonable when instead of "animal harm" the author has said "I choose not to warn" and you're pestering them about your specific personal bugbears because you've decided they clearly want to volunteer to handhold you through the content of their fic.

[(Anonymous)]

Quick question, if I tag for graphic depictions of violence /torture, dies it matter if i mention animal harm, especially if that happens off screen, and us only mentioned to spur the MC into action? Think John Wick. We know what happened, but we didn't see it (and no one was warned).

[(Anonymous)]

It is not just about warnings. If you do not tell people what elements are in your fic by tagging as many things as possible, then they may not read it because they are unable to actually find it. As discussed in the previous discussion, sometimes readers search for stories via tags, not because they're trying to avoid something but because they're LOOKING for something specific. Tags aren't just a warning system, they're an advertisement.

If you'd rather not overanalyze your story in order to come up with as many tags as possible, that's fine. No one is actually forcing you, so maybe quit whining like someone is trying to force you. But more tags=wider reach=higher hit count=potentially more kudos and comments.

In 2018, our main two places for posting fic are websites which use tagging systems (Tumblr and Ao3). This is how we do it now.

(btw, I've also been writing fanfic for 20 years, and we've always used warnings, we just used to have to type out every.single.one. individually instead of having premade tags to pick from a drop down menu. That was certainly motivation to be a bit more spare about fic notes. But everyone please quit acting like we didn't use warnings before)

[(Anonymous)]

I think you might be confusing two different arguments about tagging?

There was one argument about someone saying that they don't tag at all, which I think is where a lot of the arguments about tagging being advertising came into it, and then the other was (IIRC) a very long and involved argument about when it was appropriate to use the Choose Not To Warn tag. And I think the latter is where the conversation OP is talking about happened.

[(Anonymous)]

To me, tags as advertisements is actually an argument for tagging more sparingly/judiciously. When I'm searching tags it's because I want stories that prominently feature those tags, and it's really annoying when people tag for mentions of the tag as a warning, because it means the fic is less likely to contain what I wanted to read about. If a fic has an A+ Parenting Tag I expect it will be a fic about a character dealing with having a toxic parent, not an otherwise unrelated fic with a one line mention of a parent fandom often headcanons as abusive.

[(Anonymous)]

If people aren't complaining about their fic not getting enough hits, maybe they don't care.

Not every author is trying to write for the masses or to hoard kudos - and those authors are probably the same ones to be weirded out a little if someone brings up the idea that it's a fandom expectation that they be available for reader questions, because they're the type that writes out some plot bunny because they felt like it and drops it off for people to enjoy - or not, no skin off their back.

I understand that some things are conveniences for readers. The authors that are interested in hits and kudos are happy to be convenient to readers. Some just aren't, though. And for someone to complain that an author isn't making their fic convenient for them can come off entitled.

[(Anonymous)]

I guarantee you, no one is unaware of the fact that some people exclusively read fiction featuring unicorn blowjobs, or whatever it is you think must be tagged for so you personally have an easier time finding it.

What you're not getting is that someone who isn't interested in handholding their potential readers through an itemized list of everything that appears or might be construed as appearing in their fic isn't interested in handholding their potential readers through an itemized list of everything that appears or might be construed as appearing in their fic. It doesn't matter it those potential readers want to find something or avoid it.

[(Anonymous)]

I wrote fanfic 15-20 years ago and didn't tag, nor did anyone else in my fandom. Perhaps it depended on which fandom you were in.

[liz_marcs]

I go two ways on this:

I can definitely see (and sympathize) with the "why should I tag anything" crowd, mostly because nothing else comes with warnings. Not books. Not newspapers. Not magazines. Not TV shows. Not movies.

On the other hand, in most instances, there is context around all that other media that allows the audience to determine whether they want to interact with it in the first place. In addition, in this streaming world, you can access reviews after the fact to determine whether your first instinct was the right one. Fanfic, by and large, really doesn't have that; hence, tagging as a kind of stand in.

As personal practice, I fall in the mushy middle. I figure warning for the big, common triggers, and tagging for pairing (or indicating that there's no pairing at all) and fandom if a perfectly fair ask and I'm more than happy to do it.

But beyond that? I'm not going to tag for every little thing. At some point ya gotta take your chances and I'm not holding your hand.

HOWEVER, what really annoys me is deliberately mis-tagging something just so you can stick it to another fandom faction. If you're gonna tag, and if you're gonna use tagging, PLAY HONESTLY.

OT but...

[esteefee]

I think it's visually hilarious you chose a typewriter font for this secret when the journalist is using a pen...

[(Anonymous)]

OP, I like you.

[killertofuuu]

Got MDD and a slew of other problems, but agree with you 100%, OP. No one needs to be mollycoddled, and creatives deserve to advertise and express themselves however they will.

[(Anonymous)]

I was really taken aback by the idea that someone would PM authors who specifically chose not to warn and then expect them to be up for a Q&A session about what potential triggers are in their fics. Um... if they were interested in doing that, wouldn't they have tagged their fic appropriately in the first place? But even that wasn't as weird as the idea that this was normal.

If I were such an author and someone PMed me, I'd try to answer their questions but secretly I'd be thinking "WTF is up with this person?" It... it does come off as pretty special snowflakey.

[(Anonymous)]

I heart you, OP.

[(Anonymous)]

This. I wrote a story. My job is now done. You can read it or not. I don't give a shit.