[ SECRET POST #4979 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4979 ⌋

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


01.



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02.
[Jurassic Park]


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03.
[Jeon Somi]


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04.
[Wynonna Earp]


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05.
[The Untamed]


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06.
[Brian Molko of Placebo + Jay Leno = Noel Fielding]


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07.
[The Untamed]






















Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 33 secrets from Secret Submission Post #713.
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

Tagging etiquette!

[kribban]

I was recently critized for not tagging a past relationship. I told them my motivation for not tagging it was that I didn't want people searching for that ship to read the fic thinking it was a current pairing. Another person commended me for that.

This led me to think there are two schools of thought when it comes to tagging: "tag to attract readers" and "tag to warn potential readers."

Is one position more popular than the others?

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

I think you're absolutely in the right not to tag it, seeing as tags are the main way we filter on AO3 and having to account for stories where they're not the main pairing is frustrating.

Personally, I would've just made a note in the summary that there's mention of past X/Y.

Bit of a grey area though, isn't it?

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

Seconding this.

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[venusundae]

i tend to do the same thing you did, and only tag the relationship that the story focuses on. in a recent fic of mine that has like... a goddawful number of chapters, i didn't tag the side relationships that i mentioned happening between other characters. bc if i searched for that ship and had to read 25 chapters of Relationship A just to hear character C talk about their flings in like two chapters i'd be so annoyed haha. i think of tagging as aiding in searching, first and foremost. but if there is a big trigger i will tag that as well. side characters and past relationships i know can ruin a fic for a person, so i will make sure to detail stuff like that in an authors note or somewhere else.

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

Honestly in that case I think you did right by your readers. I did the opposite once, I tagged for A/C because there was a mention of it having happened in the past but not currently in the frame of A/B, and I got a load of nasty comments from A/C shippers who were angry that I dared insinuate that A was not monogamously soulmate bonded with C. Or B, for that matter. I had to eventually go back and tag it for "nonmonogamous relationships" because holy fuck purity culture is out of control and in 20 years of fandom I have never gotten hate like that for any level of bicycle shipping.

tagging in general is a damned if you do/damned if you don't situation but I feel like most of the time, when you tag, someone either wants to find it or they want to eliminate it and the tag system allows for both. Tag it Omegaverse so A/B/O fans can find it and haters can block it, it works just fine for both. Really, the amount of mention a relationship/pairing/character is in the story is the only gray area for tagging that I can think of atm.

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

Unless A cheated on C with B, it's not a nonmonogamous relationship anyways. Serial monogamy is still monogamy!

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

Personally I would tag as "past X/Y" because I know a lot of people like to avoid certain ships altogether. But I also rarely care about that when it comes to what I read. I'm trying to think of a "backstory ship" I hate so much it would ruin a fic for me, but I can't.

There's also the question of how much time and attention to you spend on the backstory ship, and how it's portrayed in your fic. If the backstory ship is really prominent in the fic, then I'd definitely say tag it.

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

That's what I'd do. "past X/Z" or "brief past X/Z" in other tags. I USUALLY don't gaf, but there are some absolute NOTPs of mine where I appreciate it.

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, this is what I would do.

+1 and @ OP

[(Anonymous)]

I agree. Though I have quite a few background ships that can completely ruin a story for me. The way I figure it is that if they're actually participating in the story or referenced a lot then I'd use the associated tags, 'past', 'minor, 'mentioned'- relationships, since that's what they're there for.
Depending on the fandom this can be considered fairly essential. Fandoms with heavy shipping wars would expect that type of tagging etiquette with any mention of the other paring and tagging appropriately.
Ultimately I do think you should tag all relationships in a fic since it leans more towards proper tagging technique. One, two, or even three, relationships apart from the main ship should be tagged with its associated tag, be it: past, background, minor, or mentioned.
...If any of this makes sense at all?? I'll do my best to explain better if you think any of this might help?

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know about popularity, but I think you did the right thing and I have only massive eyerolls for the person who contacted you to scold you about tagging etiquette. Personally, I think the "tag to attract readers" is often taken a little too far and can be misleading under the circumstances you describe and wisely chose not to tag for.

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[tabaqui]

Since I mostly ignore tags other than to make sure it's the 'ship I want and no rape/non-con, I dunno. I tag to inform and so people can see if they want to read it, which includes the main 'ship, major characters, and stuff that might be hard, like drug use.

Otherwise...i just don't think about it?

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

Unless the past relationship contains an obvious trigger (abuser/victim, incest, etc.), then you're not obligated to tag for it. You don't need to "warn" for mentioning a NoTP.

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[icecheetah]

I've seen guides (specific to ao3 mind) say don't include them in the relationships bit but you can tag them like 'past a/c' in the additional tags.

+1

[(Anonymous)]

Yup, makes it easier for everyone.

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[11thmirror]

Hmm. I suppose if it were a past relationship that is thought about a great deal, or has an impact on the plot, I'd tag it; or (way more subjective) if it were a pairing that's very divisive in the fandom? Like if it were a Harry/Hermione fic with past Harry/Ginny, or something along those lines. But sometimes no matter what you pick you're going to annoy someone, I think.

I tend to lean more to more tags than less, mostly because of the number of times I haven't been able to find something I'd read before because the writer only tagged the fandom and one pairing. But not tag rambles! None of that "I wrote this at 3am" "I don't know what I'm doing" "manicures - freeform" nonsense.

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

Tagging fic is and will always be a courtesy, not a requirement. It amazes me just how spoiled so many people have grown online, expecting everyone else to cater to their browsing experience down to the tiniest detail.

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

omg this, I'm so over it as a writer

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

okay but like... don't pout when people don't read it
because you're not telling people what's there, so the people who like that stuff won't find it
tagging works for both sides of the exchange

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

IDK, all I can say is that I'm sitting here with 3+ id fics I'm never going to finish and post because I can't be bothered to sort out what's going to ~~trigger someone~~ in fics I wrote to get myself off.

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

See that's the kind of thing I figure if you post and tag, you would (if on Ao3)
Rate E, tag the MC, tag OC, (you can even add the OFC tag if it's a female oc), and then if you were inclined, tag any kinks or just sex or whatever. Alternatively, you can choose the "Author chose not to warn" rating, which really means you're on your own/the risk belongs to the reader (in regards to being triggered or what have you).

But also, that just might be fic you'll never want to post.

The tags, I find, help me find what I want. They also let me know what to expect. I've read some stuff that I just had to stop because I didn't think it was gonna be that bad (it was tagged for, I just liked what else was being tagged). So I wasn't surprised when thing I wasn't into showed up in the story, but being woops nope outta here, that was my risk to take. The entire weight of things can't be on the author. It's on the reader too. I've read fics where certain things weren't tagged and I was pleasantly surprised. But I don't contact the author to let them know you should tag this so people can find it.

I kind of agree with the anon above about tags being courtesy -- on Ao3 it's commonplace, but back in the day (at least on the archives and places I was) all you got was a rating (which would imply sex or violence), a summary and the pairing. Maybe the author would warn for DARK THEMES or VIOLENCE. But that was all you got. Kinda like reading a book. I don't mind the tags, as they help me find things I want, but I mostly search the tags for the pairings. Anything else I just read through to see if anything would bother me.

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah I think you did the right thing - nothing is more annoying than trying to look for a ship you like only to find the ones where they're background/barely there in the fic ships.

Whenever I've written tags with other non-main-ships involved, I've been a bit more specific in the tagging (like: past Character x Character, or, brief mention of character x character) - but then again if they're not that big of a presence in your fic I could see why it would be unnecessary to tag them.

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

I think it tends to vary with the nature of the tag. AO3 archive warnings, for example, are there to warn potential readers, with the convenient side effect of attracting other readers, and the same can usually be said of other tags for disturbing content. Tags such as ships, a number of kinks, a number of specific sex acts, etc. on the other hand are usually used to attract readers, with the convenient side effect of warning off readers who really hate that content.

Both types are a courtesy and not a necessity - CNTW is always a valid tag - but in general, tags to warn merit more liberal use because 100 words of graphic eye torture in a 10,000 word fic could still ruin someone's day, while someone who clicks on a fic tagged with, say, Harry/Ron would quite reasonably be annoyed if they only showed up for 100 words in a 10,000 word story, or were only mentioned in as a past relationship in a Harry/Krum story.

Re: Tagging etiquette!

[(Anonymous)]

Most people don't tag for maiming. I think someone can get over surprise Stucky.

Not you OP

[(Anonymous)]

It seems like a lot of the annoyed writers in this thread simply did not look at a simple guideline, are tagging their stories improperly, and are pitching fits about their readers because of their own sloppy easily solved mistakes.

Newsflash assholes! You're doing it wrong! Now just grab a few buddies (or one, I'm sure you could at least manage that) get a good grip, and see if you can't pull your head outta of your ass long enough to read a simple guideline. It'll do you a world of favours, and if not, go back to FF.net, you won't have to try to wrap your brain around all these difficult and complicated tags anymore! <3