#Content tagging

[ailithnight]

Question for all my fellow fic writers:

For example: If you are writing a DC fic where the main characters are the Teen Titans, and any other DC characters are side characters; would you tag Superman dying in that fic as MCD because he is a main character of the DCverse, or not tag it because he's only a side character in that fic?

Obligatory 'Please reblog for better sample size' blah blah blah.

[transenbyconfessions]

As a trans man I get really upset everytime I see a trans woman tagging something trans man that isn't about trans men. Like selfies or posts talking about how great being a woman is and how being trans is so freeing for women everywhere.

My dysphoria gets really bad sometimes so I turn to tags to get a little gender euphoria but when every other post is a woman describing her experience accepting her femininity I get a little nauseous.

I don't hate trans women by any means and love hearing their experiences I just wish there weren't so many posts tagged trans man that have nothing to do with our experience. Sometimes it feels very obvious someone just went down a trans checklist when it comes to tagging and didn't bother making sure it fit the tags.

Trans women keep it up being you and amazing and proud of your femininity just maybe watch how you tag things a little for the ones like me who get really dysphoric hearing people gush about how perfect women are

Submitted July 10, 2023

[frownyalfred]

the thing about 'choose not to warn/use archive warnings' labels is that, functionally speaking, readers should treat them as though the fic will contain whatever triggering content might otherwise have been warned for. it may not actually contain the specific thing that triggers a given reader, but the lack of warnings should, functionally, be taken as a warning in and of itself, that you risk coming across these things if you do continue. and maybe people will be sad about missing out on reading a fic that might in fact be safe for them, but the same would be true in cases of people being extremely cautious about tagging in a 'better safe than sorry' kind of way.

Agreed, anon. And what I’ve learned in my own experience is that some days are better than others — some days I am more willing to be able to take that risk of not knowing, either because I’m in a healthier mindset or I’ve had more time to prepare.

So some days, that warning might not mean much to me, and on others, it’s a good reminder to check in with myself and see if I’m willing to proceed forward, knowing I might encounter anything on the other side.

As an author, I tag almost everything with the “chose not to warn” tag. I understand why that makes it hard for readers to determine if they should proceed, and I generally try to answer any questions folks have about certain topics.

However. I’ve received several asks and messages in the last few weeks from readers who demand — demand — to know the entire plot of a WIP or the ending of a WIP because they won’t read it if they don’t know, whether for trigger reasons or personal comfort. Even if it’s tagged accurately and in a way that’s up to date.

Sometimes, as readers, we just won’t know. Like someone said in the tags of the other post, if you pick up a book at a library, you won’t know what’s in it. The only thing you know for sure is that you don’t know.

We need to be more comfortable with the uncertain and with navigating a world that has triggers woven into it. Warn when possible, absolutely, but not make unreasonable demands of content creators to cultivate that experience for you.

[aroaceconfessions]

thank you so much to people who tag kissing so others can filter it out if they want. i appreciate you

Submitted June 30, 2023

[waywardflowerturtle]

Reposting as a reminder: You are responsible for your media diet online, whether it is fanfiction, original fiction, videos, illustrations, photos, news, or even social media of whatever stripes you choose to engage with.

If you seek out content you dislike, you have no one to blame for your displeasure than yourself.

Andif you are producing any sort of art or media, please be kind and use tags to warn the haters that they can avoid your work.

Ao3 is actually massively culturally important and very very good at being what it is. I’m so serious when I say that ao3 needs to be protected as the anti censorship, by fans for fans, nonprofit, volunteer run, expertly designed archival site that it is. You don’t have to read or like fanfiction to understand that on principle, ao3 is a site that should be defended.

[just-french-me-up]

"mmh did you know that creator you like also posts 🔞 content? did you know that? don't you think that's weird? don't you think we should keep this space-"

no. i don't.

i booked a front row seat to the devil's sacrament and you're blocking the view

just go back to the 1660 new england hole you just crawled out of and eat barley for a week to atone for your sins or whatever

[atinymexicanbird]

Ark siblings in all universes 🪐

[evidently-endless]

i think we should remind musicians they can absolutely make up little stories for their songs btw. it doesn’t have to be about them at all. you can invent a guy and put him in situations to music. time honoured tradition in fact.

[ashenquill]

[Tim and Jason watching Dick as he fakes his death for a mission]

Tim: Man, he really is peak pretty boy

Jason: Right? Like, stop serving while you’re dying. It’s disrespectful.

Tim: For real, like, at least YOU had your priorities straight.

Jason: Exactly, I—

Jason:

Jason: Now hold up just a second—

Tim: I mean, you looked like shit when you died

Jason: THE FUCK, TIM????

[largishcat]

I actually don’t mind that “dead dove” has become conversational shorthand for “fics with heavy themes where you REALLY need to pay attention to the warnings”. such is the nature of language. what i do mind is when people tag their actual fics with dead dove and then give no indication of what they’re actually warning about. that is useless. that helps no one. that is completely against the spirit of the meme. i will not be reading that

[patopq]

mother

[sweetsylus]

NERD!SYLUS MY BELOVED :(

art credit: @/yvilonion on twt!! please go support them!

[brokenclockgears]

old wounds and festering guilt

[razehider]

this doesn't seem to be widespread knowledge around here yet but there's a big trend among dogshit content scraper accounts to grab a real photo (usually of ✨Aesthetic Nature™✨ or something similar, which is why it's relevant to me) somewhere, and recreate it using AI to avoid crediting the photographer. this can even trick people who are somewhat familiar with the subject matter if they're not paying attention but looks incredibly wrong upon closer inspection

here is some complete garbage as an example. because these "photos" are not completely made up by AI, people into spiders know the species and will recognize their features without looking closely, getting tricked in the process. if you know spider anatomy and look closely though, both of those look like utter abominations. the original photos these two were based on are here and here, by the way

these just so happen to be things i'm familiar with and i would probably get easily fooled by AI recreations of plants or fish or whatever. my point is that if you're not an expert on everything that exists you're not immune to these, so i would probably recommend caring about photo sources unless you actively want to look at this repulsive trash