metafandom, which has current links and will no doubt carry more tomorrow.My basic attitude to warnings hasn't changed a great deal from when I posted this over at
ci5hq. I personally dislike seeing warnings in headers, particularly headers outside the cut, but I'm not opposed to having them available(#) to those who want or need them, and I'm not going to try to distinguish between those for whom certain themes are potentially triggering and those who simply want to avoid upsetting stories, because I'm not qualified to judge (I'm not entirely without knowledge/experience, and I'm not short of opinions in relation to stories, but that doesn't make me capable of walking in anyone else's shoes). My current policy on warnings is as follows:
- I will always warn according to the standards of the comm where I am posting.
- I will advise archivists of any warning/searchable info they require when I submit.
- If I post a story on my own lj or somewhere that doesn't have story warnings required, I will use A Method# to provide the following warnings; rape or significant consent issues, incest, major character death. I may add other warnings, but I'm not sure:I'll have to wing it on the day, if and when I write something that might require one.
ETA1 I didn't mention child abuse, mainly 'cos I can't see myself ever writing it in detail(that's anything <16 years, not Pros-era <21 for men), but I could include a mention - so yes, it goes on the list as well.
- I'm in a bind in relation to stories at AH - the warnings there are too up-front for my taste. I'm wondering whether a link in the story notes (because you get that page before you click on the story itself, right?) to an lj page with a spoiler index would work. Although I like story searchability, so that's a bind too...
- I will continue to advocate that in general, and IMHO, an unwarned reading experience tends to provide a better reading experience, especially for longer, weightier fic. I will also frame this from time to time from an author's point of view. Neither statement is meant to be in opposition to the one above that acknowledges that people need/want warnings. I just don't feel competent to keep the distinction clear for any readers if I try to talk about it now.
#Methods
1. Trailer at the end of a story (I can do double lj-cuts, yes I can)
2. Cut to another post that contains the warning
3. One of the methods to blank out text posted here, or here or here.
4. ROT-13. This one doesn't require you to code, you just need to put a link to the URL - http://www.rot13.com/index.php
All the above can be done even if you don't have something specific to warn for.
ETA2 Am also happy to answer more specific qustions about fic content.
