Your LJ is not your living room. Really.
I find myself a bit baffled by one aspect of the current warnings debate (is there a cute name for it yet? WarningWank2009? TriggerFest V.01? Attack of the Privileged Mentally Ill People With Delusions of Entitlement? I really wish sarcasm could be more easily conveyed in text. So I'll say it explicitly: I am mocking some of the arguments I've seen.) This is only peripherally related to that debate, but I'm just kinda boggling at the general attitude I've seen about people's public LJs. There appears to be a feeling of, "I'll do whatever they require me to on a comm, but my LJ is my LJ and I'm allowed to do/say what I want with no repercussions."
This doesn't compute for me. I mean...these people do know we're on the internet, right? Okay, I know that LJ fandom is pretty damn insular and that people on the outside consider LJ retro-Web 2.0 and often dismiss it as "overly-dramatic teenage girl stuff" (and not "retro" in the cool way, but "retro" in the "ew. puke-orange carpet" way). But...people do link to shit on LJ. Our entries are linkable, even if we have things set so we don't get spidered by Google.
Okay, maybe I'm coming from a weird perspective, cause my journal is very much a big Buffy playground. It's wide open for discussions and disagreements (except on personal posts, because my personal life is not and will never be up for debate or criticism, but those posts are always flocked for that very reason). I guess I expect random people to drop in, and I never think that any public post I write is just restricted to my flist. Seriously, open LJ. It is modded, actually, but because Buffy fandom is made of awesome, I haven't had to put on my Mod Hat much at all (I can count on one hand the number of times I've had to do so. And very, very few of those required freezing threads).
But, then, my stuff is mainly meta/polls, etc. I do know that the people who are discussing their personal LJ as being somehow non-public are referring to fanfics.
So let's look at fanfics.
Any fanfic I write is posted publicly. My LJ gets outside traffic. I expect that. That's why there are links on the left to my Master Fic and Drabble List. That's for new peeps to check out my shit.
Additionally, I know that any fanfic I write and post publicly is subject to being linked to by:
- Reccers
- Award sites
- Individual fans telling their friend/s to read my stuff (alas, I only dream of this happening, but it is a possibility)
- Search engines
- ANYONE CAUSE IT'S THE FUCKING INTERNET
Any link some random stranger rides in on will inevitably take them directly to my fanfic that I have made public with the intention of it being read (don't give me some "writing for pure joy" crap. If you're posting your stuff, you want it to be read by someone). If I choose not to label and/or warn in my own space because of some notion that my space exists in an impenetrable bubble, this stranger will likely be missing important meta-info to frame my fic. Additionally, they may end up reading my totally awesome fic where evil!Spike in alt-S2 rapes Buffy while she's kidnapped by Angelus, but it's okay cause she totally falls for him and they end up in love (not an actual fic I've written). Some of these random strangers will love it. Some may go, "Ugh. Non-con. Wish they'd warned for that." And others may not be able to say anything because they're currently in the middle of a flashback to their own sexual assault and will be effectively disabled for days because they didn't receive the valuable information to help them make a crucial decision on whether to read my fic or not.
I'm trying to avoid the common verbiage that's brought up by the "pro-warning" side (which is not a monolithic beast but involves an array of opinions, much like the "anti-warning" side. I'm uncomfortable presenting it as a strict dichotomy, but my brain is tired and I'm unable to think of an alternative). "Obligation", "should", "have to", etc...these are words that can bring a conversation to a halt because nobody enjoys being told that they "should" do something or that they have an "obligation". Especially when discussing their own space.
And they're right. While your LJ is public, it is your space. You have the ultimate right to play in it on your own terms. Nobody has the right to make you do anything in your own space.
But I don't think anybody's trying to do this. Because it's recognized, yes, there are no fandom police. We are a large, unruly, contradictory group. We have no ruling force, and no reliable way of enforcing anything. This is for the best.
However, I do think people have the right to also make a request of you in terms of your own space. Because it does need to be recognized that, unless your LJ is completely flocked, your own space is public. It's out there. It's open. And because your LJ is publicly accessibly to the world-at-large, it is considerate to take that into account when posting things which contain potentially triggery material.
Because the viewpoint that there should be no consequences or repercussions for things posted to your own LJ is bullshit at best. LJ is a communication tool. It's a communication tool that's geared towards forming networks and communities. Everything you post on LJ is something you're communicating. And you can choose to communicate to a select few by making an flocked post. By making it public, you are opening yourself up to feedback, criticism, and, yes, it bestows upon you a responsibility over your own words.
Our personal LJs are often referred to as our "living rooms", and that's a nice, cozy way of thinking about it. But it's a poor analogy for public journals. Our LJs are like park benches, and we're standing on top of them, shouting our views and thoughts to anybody that might pass by and choose to listen. If you say something that harms someone, they're well within their rights to call you on it. And, yes, other people are within their rights to say, "Hey, would you mind putting a sign on your bench to let people know you're gonna be talking about this stuff?"
You have the right to ignore them and not put up a sign. Because in LJ-land, there are no policemen to run you off (excepting in cases of LJ-the-corporation passing out bans for TOS-breakage, which is irrelevant to this case).
And you know what? I have the right to think you're something of an ass for dismissing the people who are telling you, "What you're saying is triggering me. Please let me know you're going to be saying this so I can get away."
Please note what they're not asking. They're not asking you to stop saying it. They just want a heads up so that they can avoid it.
If you prioritize your freedom to publicly post unlabeled/unwarned for fic on the internet at the expense of people who have spoken up and said, "Hey, this hurts. Please help by giving me the tools I need to avoid things that might trigger me."
...well, yeah, I think you're something of a jerk. On the internet, we only have each other's words to go by in forming opinions of another person. And you're choosing a very selfish persona to display.
And let's get this straight from the get-go: this is not about people being offended by your fic. This is not about people feeling a bit sad after reading your fic. This is not about people feeling squicked by something in your fic. This is about people having trauma-related triggers and literally flashing back to their original trauma. This is not something people are making up in order to "emotionally blackmail" writers into caving to their whims. They are not looking for people to "hold their hand" through fandom, but they are asking writers to provide them the necessary information so that they can make an informed decision about whether to read or not.
You know...this ended up being more about warnings than I expected. Funny, that.
Rules on this post:
1. You are allowed to discuss this post
2. You are allowed to disagree with this post
3. You are allowed to debate with me (or others) on this post
4. You are allowed to use logical fallacies such as the straw man or the slippery slope fallacy. But you will be called on it if you choose to do so.
5. You are not allowed to trivialize or dismiss people with triggers or who are mentally ill. You will be warned once if you do so, and then you will not be welcome in this space anymore.
For those needing context (way, way at the bottom of this), check out metafandom, check out my previous post on character death warnings, and, if you only have time to read one post on the subject, read impertinence's post on triggers (Warning: Very explicit discussion of sexual assault and the nature, anatomy, cause & effect of triggers. Is itself triggery).
In happier news, I rotated my icons! New Willowy-goodness! *does happy Willow dance*
This doesn't compute for me. I mean...these people do know we're on the internet, right? Okay, I know that LJ fandom is pretty damn insular and that people on the outside consider LJ retro-Web 2.0 and often dismiss it as "overly-dramatic teenage girl stuff" (and not "retro" in the cool way, but "retro" in the "ew. puke-orange carpet" way). But...people do link to shit on LJ. Our entries are linkable, even if we have things set so we don't get spidered by Google.
Okay, maybe I'm coming from a weird perspective, cause my journal is very much a big Buffy playground. It's wide open for discussions and disagreements (except on personal posts, because my personal life is not and will never be up for debate or criticism, but those posts are always flocked for that very reason). I guess I expect random people to drop in, and I never think that any public post I write is just restricted to my flist. Seriously, open LJ. It is modded, actually, but because Buffy fandom is made of awesome, I haven't had to put on my Mod Hat much at all (I can count on one hand the number of times I've had to do so. And very, very few of those required freezing threads).
But, then, my stuff is mainly meta/polls, etc. I do know that the people who are discussing their personal LJ as being somehow non-public are referring to fanfics.
So let's look at fanfics.
Any fanfic I write is posted publicly. My LJ gets outside traffic. I expect that. That's why there are links on the left to my Master Fic and Drabble List. That's for new peeps to check out my shit.
Additionally, I know that any fanfic I write and post publicly is subject to being linked to by:
- Reccers
- Award sites
- Individual fans telling their friend/s to read my stuff (alas, I only dream of this happening, but it is a possibility)
- Search engines
- ANYONE CAUSE IT'S THE FUCKING INTERNET
Any link some random stranger rides in on will inevitably take them directly to my fanfic that I have made public with the intention of it being read (don't give me some "writing for pure joy" crap. If you're posting your stuff, you want it to be read by someone). If I choose not to label and/or warn in my own space because of some notion that my space exists in an impenetrable bubble, this stranger will likely be missing important meta-info to frame my fic. Additionally, they may end up reading my totally awesome fic where evil!Spike in alt-S2 rapes Buffy while she's kidnapped by Angelus, but it's okay cause she totally falls for him and they end up in love (not an actual fic I've written). Some of these random strangers will love it. Some may go, "Ugh. Non-con. Wish they'd warned for that." And others may not be able to say anything because they're currently in the middle of a flashback to their own sexual assault and will be effectively disabled for days because they didn't receive the valuable information to help them make a crucial decision on whether to read my fic or not.
I'm trying to avoid the common verbiage that's brought up by the "pro-warning" side (which is not a monolithic beast but involves an array of opinions, much like the "anti-warning" side. I'm uncomfortable presenting it as a strict dichotomy, but my brain is tired and I'm unable to think of an alternative). "Obligation", "should", "have to", etc...these are words that can bring a conversation to a halt because nobody enjoys being told that they "should" do something or that they have an "obligation". Especially when discussing their own space.
And they're right. While your LJ is public, it is your space. You have the ultimate right to play in it on your own terms. Nobody has the right to make you do anything in your own space.
But I don't think anybody's trying to do this. Because it's recognized, yes, there are no fandom police. We are a large, unruly, contradictory group. We have no ruling force, and no reliable way of enforcing anything. This is for the best.
However, I do think people have the right to also make a request of you in terms of your own space. Because it does need to be recognized that, unless your LJ is completely flocked, your own space is public. It's out there. It's open. And because your LJ is publicly accessibly to the world-at-large, it is considerate to take that into account when posting things which contain potentially triggery material.
Because the viewpoint that there should be no consequences or repercussions for things posted to your own LJ is bullshit at best. LJ is a communication tool. It's a communication tool that's geared towards forming networks and communities. Everything you post on LJ is something you're communicating. And you can choose to communicate to a select few by making an flocked post. By making it public, you are opening yourself up to feedback, criticism, and, yes, it bestows upon you a responsibility over your own words.
Our personal LJs are often referred to as our "living rooms", and that's a nice, cozy way of thinking about it. But it's a poor analogy for public journals. Our LJs are like park benches, and we're standing on top of them, shouting our views and thoughts to anybody that might pass by and choose to listen. If you say something that harms someone, they're well within their rights to call you on it. And, yes, other people are within their rights to say, "Hey, would you mind putting a sign on your bench to let people know you're gonna be talking about this stuff?"
You have the right to ignore them and not put up a sign. Because in LJ-land, there are no policemen to run you off (excepting in cases of LJ-the-corporation passing out bans for TOS-breakage, which is irrelevant to this case).
And you know what? I have the right to think you're something of an ass for dismissing the people who are telling you, "What you're saying is triggering me. Please let me know you're going to be saying this so I can get away."
Please note what they're not asking. They're not asking you to stop saying it. They just want a heads up so that they can avoid it.
If you prioritize your freedom to publicly post unlabeled/unwarned for fic on the internet at the expense of people who have spoken up and said, "Hey, this hurts. Please help by giving me the tools I need to avoid things that might trigger me."
...well, yeah, I think you're something of a jerk. On the internet, we only have each other's words to go by in forming opinions of another person. And you're choosing a very selfish persona to display.
And let's get this straight from the get-go: this is not about people being offended by your fic. This is not about people feeling a bit sad after reading your fic. This is not about people feeling squicked by something in your fic. This is about people having trauma-related triggers and literally flashing back to their original trauma. This is not something people are making up in order to "emotionally blackmail" writers into caving to their whims. They are not looking for people to "hold their hand" through fandom, but they are asking writers to provide them the necessary information so that they can make an informed decision about whether to read or not.
You know...this ended up being more about warnings than I expected. Funny, that.
Rules on this post:
1. You are allowed to discuss this post
2. You are allowed to disagree with this post
3. You are allowed to debate with me (or others) on this post
4. You are allowed to use logical fallacies such as the straw man or the slippery slope fallacy. But you will be called on it if you choose to do so.
5. You are not allowed to trivialize or dismiss people with triggers or who are mentally ill. You will be warned once if you do so, and then you will not be welcome in this space anymore.
For those needing context (way, way at the bottom of this), check out metafandom, check out my previous post on character death warnings, and, if you only have time to read one post on the subject, read impertinence's post on triggers (Warning: Very explicit discussion of sexual assault and the nature, anatomy, cause & effect of triggers. Is itself triggery).
In happier news, I rotated my icons! New Willowy-goodness! *does happy Willow dance*