Beating that dead story warnings horse...

[scribblinlenore]

This is something that comes up every now and then for me personally, and now it's come up for fandom in general since it's summer and these issues always crop up when there's nothing to watch on the TeeVee.

Comments

[linaerys]

Maybe it's just because it's a Friday, and I'm losing my mind, but this image:

"a gang rape is suddenly just going to fall out of the sky"

is cracking me up. Although my mental image is actually more like an orgy falling out of the sky, with limbs everywhere.

Ahem.

But yes, I take your point, and generally agree. I've had people email me and say that my story scarred them for life, and I'm all, well, it's about a sadomasochistic zombie and it's rated R; were you expecting fluffy bunnies? For some people you can't warn heavily enough, because they're going to wade in no matter what.

[scribblinlenore]

If it were an orgy falling out of the sky, it would be funny! *g*

I've had people email me that something I wrote gave them flashbacks to when they were raped, and I'm like: Sorry, you don't get to put that on me. I'm not a bad writer, and things don't fall out of the sky in my stories, and if someone doesn't stop reading when it becomes clear how things are going...well, that's their responsibility.

*aside* Are you sure you don't need anything for tonight? I'm happy to bring...whatever.

[linaerys]

If there's some snack you'd like, you're welcome to bring that, but I'm pretty well-stocked. Thanks!

[vylit]

I refuse to put warnings on stories. I know that makes some people rageblackout, but I hate seeing warnings on fic. I mean, I'll tell someone if there's a pairing, so they won't stumble onto incest accidentally, but I think that part of the beauty of reading a fic is not knowing where it'll go. I hate summaries and warnings that tell me what's going to happen. I want the story to unfold, and I want to discover it without being warned ahead of time.

[scribblinlenore]

I totally hear you, Vi. I've actually missed out on good stories because I paid too much attention to the pairings/warnings, and then heard from someone later that the story wasn't the way I imagined it was from what I'd read in the header.

I have sometimes considered adopting a "no warnings" policy, stating that in the header of every story, so people can take a chance or not. Because I do think part of the problem is that people get so dependent on warnings that they suspend their own judgment. "Well, it's titled 'The Hideous Gang Rape of Rodney' but there's no non-con warning, so I guess that must just be a metaphor or somthing, I'll go ahead and read it..."

The one thing I'm sure of is that someone is always going to be complaining, no matter what we do!

[onelittlesleep]

I don't write many warnings on my fics because the story isn't just going to be about one character's death, or one plot point, but about a myriad of things that go hand in hand, or are like a passing stone, and I wouldn't want to just hilight one or draw attention to it, or make it more than it is. I don't want to warn, truthfully, because I don't want to spoil or set up an expectation. I think my stories are best unexplained, and a reader can get out of them what they will. If they find something about it disturbing, then they ought not to finish.

Yes, there is responsibility in writing, but there is an equal responsibility in reading. A reader needs to be shrewd and protect his/her own interest. The only readers I definitely feel should be protected from inappropriate material are the ones underage. Other than that, readers need to grow the fuck up.

Um, also. Yes, please. Where is this John fic where he coerces Rodney into fucking him??

[scribblinlenore]

I know what you mean. It is hard reducing an entire narrative to a few categories. But I try not to think of warnings as a summary of the story. And, hey, if it keeps people from sending me "how dare you!" emails I'm all for it. I just wish people could be more aware that it's an art, not a science.

Where is this John fic where he coerces Rodney into fucking him??

Hee! Maybe someone will write it.

[akacat]

[scribblinlenore]

*laughs* I should know by now there's no scenario I can dream up in SGA that *hasn't* already been written.

[beeej]

I agree that whether or not to list warnings or even pairings and genre is completely at the discretion of the author, but I still appreciate it when they are there. I'm more likely to read their story if I have an idea of who and what it's about.

There is always a gray area, and the examples you've given wouldn't bother me at all if they weren't listed as warnings. But there are writers who post with nothing but the title, fandom, and rating. Hell, sometimes they don't even list the fandom. With so much fic being posted every day, I need a little more info if I'm going to invest time in reading something.

[scribblinlenore]

I totally hear you, and I think it's a perfectly valid, responsible readerly decision to say: I'm not going to invest time in stories that don't have a summary or warnings or anything that gives me a hint about it. I feel the same way!

But some people act like warnings should be a foolproof guarantee that they'll never read anything that disturbs them. And that's just...a seriously unreasonable expectation.

[beeej]

There are no guarantees in life. But if someone wants to tell me ahead of time that I might fall into a big hole if I keep walking that direction, I appreciate it very much. :) If however, they think letting me fall into the hole will be much more exciting for me, well, I'm not really one for bitching and moaning. But I may never read them again.

[improperlydone]

If you want to know what a story is about, isn't that more the purpose of the summary? Listing the fandom and pairing is something I'm all for purely for identification purposes. But I don't consider those to be warnings.

[scribblinlenore]

I feel that way sometimes, too. Like using warnings at all is giving a false impression that I'm somehow guaranteeing that no one will find anything objectionable in the story beyond what I've warned for. I've toyed with having a blanket "no warning" policy that I always mention in the header.

In the end, no matter what you do, there's always going to be someone who's unhappy!