I'm going to offer a differing point of view than the poster before me.
FWIW, I addressed this "guide" and my impressions of it in my own journal here (http://adjudicated.livejournal.com/421633.html). You'll note, in the comments, that furiosity brought up a really good point about it not always being a good idea to repost others' posts -- because here you are, now having to decide whether or not to alter another person's post because the community isn't on the same wavelength re: warnings.
I will not ever, ever, ever warn for slash, femslash, or het. IMO, if the pairings are listed, then it's common sense that those pairings might be engaging in sexual relations at some point in the fic, especially if the fic is rated R or NC-17. I won't warn for normal behavior. I just won't do it. In fact, on my fandom to-do list is to go over to Skyehawke and remove all the warnings from my fics. I feel like I appropriately list the pairings, and since I pretty much only write R/NC-17, then it's a given there's going to be sexual activity.
OTOH, I don't mind warning for triggery things. I would much rather warn for kinks and rape and mpreg and dub con and bloodletting and BDSM, etc. (I personally don't typically write any of the aforementioned triggery topics, except for dub con). I feel why not err on the side of caution? I'd much rather be courteous than choose warnings as my hill to die on. Sure, I have the absolute right to NOT warn for anything, but it doesn't hurt me to warn, and not being warned for certain things hurts other people. I personally do not enjoy deliberately hurting other people, especially when it's easily avoided.
THAT SAID, there are people who are ridiculous and entitled about their right to be warned. I'm sorry, I'm not warning for bees because someone might be allergic. I'm not warning for crossdressing. Sorry, I just won't. That's why we have the back button on our browser. I'm not going to warn for mention of the word "rape." I'm sorry, but that's an unrealistic expectation on a reader's part, to expect that level of warning. If one is THAT sensitive, then write your own safe fic. As a fanfic writer I can be as courteous as I can manage, but at the end of the day I am not personally responsible for ensuring another's emotional comfort. It's not that I don't care; it's that I just cannot bear that responsibility. No fanfic writer can.
I do think that writers who refuse to warn for anything just because they don't HAVE to are kind of dickheads, tbh. Typically writers who absolutely refuse to list any warnings, especially for very graphic fic, take themselves way too seriously. They're ridiculous in their fanfic iz srs bsns-tude. Because, honestly, it's just fanfic!
As I mentioned, I outlined my disagreements with this guide in general over in my own journal. I don't doubt that this was posted because you -- the mods -- wanted to be helpful. And I appreciate that.
I think that because something is well written doesn't make it necessarily valid or useful. It's really subjective.
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Date: 2011-04-02 03:42 am (UTC)FWIW, I addressed this "guide" and my impressions of it in my own journal here (http://adjudicated.livejournal.com/421633.html). You'll note, in the comments, that
I will not ever, ever, ever warn for slash, femslash, or het. IMO, if the pairings are listed, then it's common sense that those pairings might be engaging in sexual relations at some point in the fic, especially if the fic is rated R or NC-17. I won't warn for normal behavior. I just won't do it. In fact, on my fandom to-do list is to go over to Skyehawke and remove all the warnings from my fics. I feel like I appropriately list the pairings, and since I pretty much only write R/NC-17, then it's a given there's going to be sexual activity.
OTOH, I don't mind warning for triggery things. I would much rather warn for kinks and rape and mpreg and dub con and bloodletting and BDSM, etc. (I personally don't typically write any of the aforementioned triggery topics, except for dub con). I feel why not err on the side of caution? I'd much rather be courteous than choose warnings as my hill to die on. Sure, I have the absolute right to NOT warn for anything, but it doesn't hurt me to warn, and not being warned for certain things hurts other people. I personally do not enjoy deliberately hurting other people, especially when it's easily avoided.
THAT SAID, there are people who are ridiculous and entitled about their right to be warned. I'm sorry, I'm not warning for bees because someone might be allergic. I'm not warning for crossdressing. Sorry, I just won't. That's why we have the back button on our browser. I'm not going to warn for mention of the word "rape." I'm sorry, but that's an unrealistic expectation on a reader's part, to expect that level of warning. If one is THAT sensitive, then write your own safe fic. As a fanfic writer I can be as courteous as I can manage, but at the end of the day I am not personally responsible for ensuring another's emotional comfort. It's not that I don't care; it's that I just cannot bear that responsibility. No fanfic writer can.
I do think that writers who refuse to warn for anything just because they don't HAVE to are kind of dickheads, tbh. Typically writers who absolutely refuse to list any warnings, especially for very graphic fic, take themselves way too seriously. They're ridiculous in their fanfic iz srs bsns-tude. Because, honestly, it's just fanfic!
As I mentioned, I outlined my disagreements with this guide in general over in my own journal. I don't doubt that this was posted because you -- the mods -- wanted to be helpful. And I appreciate that.
I think that because something is well written doesn't make it necessarily valid or useful. It's really subjective.
:D