warnings
Somehow I missed the boat on a lot of the discussion going on about warnings on fics, triggers, squicks, etc. I was vaguely aware of the discussion going on, but hadn't seen any of it (besides a few people's reaction posts) until today. I'm not sure what started it (that one BBB fic, all the comments of which are now screened?), but I was linked to posts here, here, here, here, and here. Warning: Very explicit discussion of sexual assault and the nature, anatomy, cause & effect of triggers. Is itself triggery. I've not read everything, not even close, but I think by this point I can at least say something intelligent about my own fic and warning policies.
I've always put warnings on fic that I believed could be construed as offensive, squicky, or (now) triggery. I try to follow the MPAA rating and warning system, adding things as necessary. I think it's common courtesy, and I, personally, don't feel that adding warnings to my headers detracts from or impacts the fic at all. In the cases where such warnings might be considered spoilers for the story, they may be vague, but they are still there. If you ever come across anything you feel should be warned for, please let me know and I will add it in. The very last thing I want to do is hurt anyone with what I write.
Though I haven't done so before now, I will start putting in a warning line even for fics that do not have warnings. (Most of my fics do have warnings, so this is rarely an issue anyway.) Quite frankly, I didn't see the point before. It seemed understood that if there's no warning line, there is nothing in the fic that needs a warning. However, in light of recent events and people refusing to add certain warnings or simply not warning at all, I can see that it's not understood with everyone, and I will add the "warnings: none" line in the future.
I hope that clears up my own policy and my opinions on the matter.
I've always put warnings on fic that I believed could be construed as offensive, squicky, or (now) triggery. I try to follow the MPAA rating and warning system, adding things as necessary. I think it's common courtesy, and I, personally, don't feel that adding warnings to my headers detracts from or impacts the fic at all. In the cases where such warnings might be considered spoilers for the story, they may be vague, but they are still there. If you ever come across anything you feel should be warned for, please let me know and I will add it in. The very last thing I want to do is hurt anyone with what I write.
Though I haven't done so before now, I will start putting in a warning line even for fics that do not have warnings. (Most of my fics do have warnings, so this is rarely an issue anyway.) Quite frankly, I didn't see the point before. It seemed understood that if there's no warning line, there is nothing in the fic that needs a warning. However, in light of recent events and people refusing to add certain warnings or simply not warning at all, I can see that it's not understood with everyone, and I will add the "warnings: none" line in the future.
I hope that clears up my own policy and my opinions on the matter.