[ SECRET POST #4358 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4358 ⌋

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

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 38 secrets from Secret Submission Post #624.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

07. https://i.imgur.com/zAzTDns.png

[(Anonymous)]

As long as you let people know you're not warning, so they can choose not to read your fics, sure.

[(Anonymous)]

Exactly. And "warnings" can also be enticements to many readers, so I think in our current fanfiction world, warning is a better way to go to attract reader. But "choose not to warn" is entirely valid, and I have no problem with the OP choosing that.

[(Anonymous)]

They are warning, though. They're just not warning to your particular preferences.

They'd have to CNTW on AO3 specifically if they posted a character death fic, but most archives don't actually have warning requirements.

[(Anonymous)]

I've been pondering this myself. Giving away major plot points is just so contrary to what storytelling is about, FFS.

[(Anonymous)]

Is it actually, though?

[(Anonymous)]

Fanfiction is not normal storytelling though, and the experiences your readers are looking for with fic are not at all what they look for in an original story.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't post trigger warnings, just tags. How you choose to see them is up to you.

Suggestions to tag differently most often seem malicious and won't get much attention from me.

[(Anonymous)]

Agreed.

[(Anonymous)]

I read this and RE: eating disorders, all I can think is "LOL TRIGGERED NO STUPID SNOWFLAKE LIBRUHLZ!?"

[(Anonymous)]

what now?

[(Anonymous)]

0/-100. Troll harder.

[(Anonymous)]

That says more about you than it does about op or the secret.

[(Anonymous)]

one of the great joys of fanfic is being able to find what I want. I don't want to have a ~hunger for discovering what happens~ only for the answer to be 'lol your fav died, surprise!!! aren't you surprised???? I'm such a great artist!'

like, no, I don't want to waste my time with that

also I super hate this "obviously common/dangerous triggers like eating disorders are on the same level as ~totally unpredictable~ triggers" as if 1) eating disorders are somehow crucial to the mysterious tension of your plot, sure, and 2) as if people with more unusual triggers don't know that they're unusual, and that they should take more proactive measures.

honestly you sound kind of pretentious and really proud of being a prick

+1000

[(Anonymous)]

great, great post

[(Anonymous)]

I mean, on one hand, I agree. A lot. I use very few tags and think people generally need to take more responsibility for their fandom experiences. OTOH, there's a difference, IMO, between a spoiler and a trigger warning, and you seem to be conflating the two. Even then, I don't always warn for things either (and there's no way to know that you're covering ALL your bases.) But I certainly tag for character death (seriously? at NOT tagging that, tbh). And I think it's ridiculous and rude to say "readers can take their chances" on something when you're the one going against standard practices of fandom by not even hinting at what risks they might be taking.

[(Anonymous)]

You assume people read fanfic like they read original stuff. But that's such a faulty assumption.

[(Anonymous)]

Which is why I like the AO3 tag "author chooses not to use warnings" or whatever it is. I don't think you're obligated at all to post warnings, but it's a nice courtesy to indicate that you actively chose not to. No one is entitled to read your fic, so if they know you chose not to warn, they either opt to take a chance or they don't.

[tabaqui]

Same. I use the 'no warnings apply' button a lot, because mostly, they *don't* apply. But when something might be upsetting, I tend to make a note up top that says 'some things may be triggering, see end notes', and then put more details into 'marked as spoilers' endnotes.

I only do this for some really yucky stuff, though; not for a character remembering when their dog died in third grade or whatever.

[(Anonymous)]

Eh. I use warnings to find things to read. I search by those tags on ao3, for example...so I guess I'm not finding your fics.

[(Anonymous)]

I choose not to warn, but if an author does warn I like them to be consistent. I read one fic where the author warned for EVERYTHING, and then she dumped in an extremely detailed rape scene that she decided wasn't *really* rape so she didn't warn for it. Weird and rather disturbing.

[(Anonymous)]

yyyyyyyyep. get a trusted pre-reader if you need to.

[(Anonymous)]

In agreement with OP. Too many warnings is annoying, and life doesn't come with warnings. If it looks a little bit dodgy, protect yourself and stay away. Don't ask me to do it for you. I'll think you're a whiny baby.

[(Anonymous)]

How I think about this issue is: fanfic writing/reading is done for love of the source material and the fandom. Fanfic posting and providing feedback is a transaction to keep the fandom functioning. As a writer who posts, you have an obligation to do the bare minimum: include a summary that actual summarizes, update & complete a multichapter fic in a reasonable time period, and tag/warn responsibly and respectfully. If you're a pretentious dick who thinks your ~*art*~ is more important than this bare minimum, then you won't have readers for long. Likewise, a reader should do the bare fucking minimum of recognizing someone provided them with free entertainment, e.g. pressing the kudos button. If they're a greedy, lazy consumer, they'll at best be ignored if they complain about a lack of trigger warnings (I'm much more likely to add a tag to something if a reader I know asks me about it). At worst they will not have any more fic to read because writers will abandon them for fandoms that actually show appreciation for writers.

TL;DR: If you want to write fanfic however you want, more power to you. If you actually want to post fic and engage in a community, slap on those warning tags. If you want writers to warn for something, don't just take and take and take and expect them to happily cater to every single random reader's demands.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh boy- normally, I'm all for non-spoilers, but this I have to say isn't how you do it.
I really hope you're sticking to ff.net, because by any other standard, that's just courtesy.
It isn't some big surprise when writing your fanfic and having someone major die. It's either lead up to, or is completely out of the blue- and at that point, it's just bad writing enough to warn your readers at the get go.
Triggers, and that of the sort, aren't spoilers. Really, unless it's canonly based, no one is going to know who you're planning to kill off. And if you're aware of significant triggers you might include in a chapter/whatever, then mention it in a note at least.

You write fanfiction, if it's for yourself then leave it as it is- but if you decide to publish it, then you need to adhere to other peoples needs. Warn someone if you know it's about to ruin their day, please.