I find tags to be warnings for common triggers, tropes, and pairings. I do see people over tag, and I find that’s often because a reader requested it. Which is fine, but I don’t think one needs to tag “oral sex” in an E rated fic, for example.
But things like “bad BDSM practice” should be tagged, because just “BDSM” may be great for some people, while safewords being ignored can be extremely traumatic. So I think it really comes down to
A) does it put your fic into the correct category? Ship, fandom, rating. Basic Archive maintenance. B) if someone has a common trigger (sexual assault, child abuse, violence) are they adequately warned? C) if you don’t want to tag for B, don’t tag warnings at all. Use that “Author Chooses not to use Archive Warnings” option. It’s there as a catch-all and a general warning that a reader enters at their own risk.
Like I said: that tag has a good space.
The whole “You should warn that my favourite character isn’t portrayed nicely!” group is Group A and that’s not what tags are for. :/
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Date: 2020-04-17 01:44 am (UTC)But things like “bad BDSM practice” should be tagged, because just “BDSM” may be great for some people, while safewords being ignored can be extremely traumatic. So I think it really comes down to
A) does it put your fic into the correct category? Ship, fandom, rating. Basic Archive maintenance.
B) if someone has a common trigger (sexual assault, child abuse, violence) are they adequately warned?
C) if you don’t want to tag for B, don’t tag warnings at all. Use that “Author Chooses not to use Archive Warnings” option. It’s there as a catch-all and a general warning that a reader enters at their own risk.
Like I said: that tag has a good space.
The whole “You should warn that my favourite character isn’t portrayed nicely!” group is Group A and that’s not what tags are for. :/