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➡️ Content warnings on fiction are a courtesy.
➡️ Not every medium of fiction and storytelling has or is expected to have content warnings or extensive tagging.
➡️ Print novels do not traditionally warn for content in any way.
➡️ Until AO3 came along, fanfiction did not traditionally warn for content in any significant way.
➡️ An author is only obligated to warn for content to the degree mandated by the format they publish their fiction on.
➡️ Content warnings beyond the minimum are a courtesy, not an obligation.
➡️ ‘Creator chose not to warn’ is a valid tag that authors are allowed to use on AO3. It means there could be anything in there and you have accepted the risk. ‘May contain peanuts!’
➡️ Writers are allowed to use ‘Creator chose not to warn’ for any reason, including to maintain surprise and avoid spoilers.
➡️ ‘Creator chose not to warn’ is not the same thing as ‘no archive warnings apply’.
➡️ It is your responsibility to protect yourself and close a book, or hit the back button if you find something in fiction that you’re reading that upsets you.
➡️ You are responsible for protecting yourself from fiction that causes you discomfort.
Hm. This is a bad take. Many people who find certain topics triggering can be triggered by even a very slight reference to the topic, whether or not they continue to interact with the work can’t help them because if they don’t have a warning beforehand then the damage is done as soon as they get to that part of the story. This mentality is in fact quite bad not only because it demonstrates a complete lack of empathy but also because it’s based on the assumption that the way things have been done for publications in the past will continue to be the best way to do them going forward. There is genuinely always room for improvement, and what tags allow is what previously required people to simply hear from someone recommending a book: the option to not encounter the harmful topic.
Triggers aren’t harmful because people are actively reading the thing, what makes it a trigger is that simply a topic being brought up can cause a panic attack, or something just reminding you of it can cause undue stress or a disassociative episode, etc. Simply saying “just stop reading” doesn’t undo the harm caused by getting far enough to learn the trigger.
Have a good day, but please do look into topics of stress disorders. The world trying to be more accommodating doesn’t hurt you, it just helps folks who aren’t normally given options
⭐ It is common, courteous and good practice in fandom circles to use content warnings for things that you know are major, common potential triggers.
⭐ Not all fiction warns for potential triggering content. Most published fiction does not warn for specific content. Most mainstream film only uses vague content warnings and guidelines.
⭐ On AO3 authors can use the warning “author chose not to warn” which means the fic may or may not contain any of the major types of triggering content that AO3 has warnings for.
⭐ When you choose to engage with a piece of fiction that has no content warnings on it, you are consenting to be surprised.
⭐ When you choose to engage with a piece of fiction that has no content warnings on it, you are accepting the risk that there may be content in it which will upset or trigger you.
⭐ Just because a piece of fiction warns for one type of content does not mean that fiction is necessarily free from other potentially triggering content.
⭐ Fiction cannot warn for all possible triggers. Fiction cannot warn for your specific triggers. People are triggered and upset by all kinds of things, and no author can predict what parts of their material may or may not upset or trigger a member of their audience.
⭐ Your mental illness and the state of your mental health is not your fault, but it is your responsibility.
⭐ When you choose to engage with a piece of fiction, you are consenting to engage with that piece of media.
⭐ If a piece of media turns out to contain elements that are upsetting or triggering to you it is your responsibility to stop engaging with that media for the sake of your mental health.
⭐ Your mental health is not the responsibility of any fiction creator.
⭐ Authors of fiction are not responsible for your mental health.
⭐ Authors of fiction have the right to put any type of material in the fiction that they create.
⭐ Authors of fiction do not have the duty to avoid creating material that is upsetting or triggering to you personally.
⭐ Authors who create fiction which does not come with a list of content warnings are not harming your mental health.
⭐ If you cannot consume fiction without knowing for certain that it does not contain elements that may upset or trigger you, it is your responsibility to make sure of that it doesn’t before you engage with it.
⭐ While it is good to use warnings for common triggers, authors do not owe you accessibility to their fiction by providing a list of triggers for you.
⭐ If you want to consume a piece of fiction but are unsure if it has elements that may trigger and upset you, it is your responsibility to either find out if it does by asking someone who knows, or to avoid that media altogether.
⭐ It is not an author’s responsibility if you feel like you might be “missing out” on fiction that you might enjoy, because you do not know if it has material that may or may not trigger you in it.
⭐ Authors do not owe you accessibility to their fiction, and your mental health is not their responsibility.
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