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catscradle Nov. 6th, 2002 02:18 pm)
catscradle Nov. 6th, 2002 02:18 pm)I was just reading ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
flambeau's LJ about what kind of warnings on fics would I personally like to see and it got me thinking; what kind of warnings would be on interest to me?
And you know, I couldn't think of one. Aside from the snarky "suck-fic" warning, that is ;)
I can understand and remain sympathetic to those that do want some sort of warning system. I think torch's theory of people who want warnings going to the lists and archives that use them, while people that don't want them go to the lists and archives that don't use them, is a pretty good method of making everyone happy - provided that people actually did this. She's also right in that unfortunately there are people on both sides that want all or nothing, and that's too bad.
I'm going over my fics now, and with the exception of one story, if someone is going to die or have something nasty happen to them, you know by page two about it. I agree with the philosophy of telling everything major up front and then using the rest of the story to describe how the characters got to that point. I'm a big believer in that it's not the goal, it's the getting there that makes the story. So, I don't have many surprises. That said, that means warnings aren't going to hurt the story by giving anything away - I don't put them on my page, but I guess I don't mind too much if some archives do.
I don't like the warnings on Winding Down the Day in the GWA archive though. By reading them, you get a very false impression of the story, despite the fact that they're all true more or less.
Anyone have things they need warnings about? Or comments on warnings in general?
flambeau's LJ about what kind of warnings on fics would I personally like to see and it got me thinking; what kind of warnings would be on interest to me?And you know, I couldn't think of one. Aside from the snarky "suck-fic" warning, that is ;)
I can understand and remain sympathetic to those that do want some sort of warning system. I think torch's theory of people who want warnings going to the lists and archives that use them, while people that don't want them go to the lists and archives that don't use them, is a pretty good method of making everyone happy - provided that people actually did this. She's also right in that unfortunately there are people on both sides that want all or nothing, and that's too bad.
I'm going over my fics now, and with the exception of one story, if someone is going to die or have something nasty happen to them, you know by page two about it. I agree with the philosophy of telling everything major up front and then using the rest of the story to describe how the characters got to that point. I'm a big believer in that it's not the goal, it's the getting there that makes the story. So, I don't have many surprises. That said, that means warnings aren't going to hurt the story by giving anything away - I don't put them on my page, but I guess I don't mind too much if some archives do.
I don't like the warnings on Winding Down the Day in the GWA archive though. By reading them, you get a very false impression of the story, despite the fact that they're all true more or less.
Anyone have things they need warnings about? Or comments on warnings in general?
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From:
We're adults... least I am
Personally I'm not that big on warnings, least not for squick content. On my age gap vampire lovers story, Sapientia, I don't think I ever said anything. The only major warning I can think of is for a Wraeththu fic which had an "Angst Warning," as one of the characters has a miscarriage and there's a graphic scene of him (er, hermaphrodite) giving birth to it. Pretty upsetting considering it's a major character and the series the scene is in is overall romantic, sweet and family oriented -- it's just raw. I warned people about it since I know my readers are very attached to the characters (OCs).
Wiebke
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no subject
Same deal with prepubescent sex (not underage, per se: 16 is no problem, 13 is iffy but possible to pull off, 8 I'm already gone.)
I also prefer a rape warning, but for the opposite reason. Kind of a kink of mine, I've been known to seek out those stories in the right mood. Kinda hard if they're not labeled. Similarly I appreciate stuff like "darkfic" as guidance for what kind of mood am I in, especially if I don't know the author and there's no summary, but I wouldn't miss it if it weren't there.
Ooh, I just thought of one. Mpreg I want labeled. 'Cause no. Just no. I've never seen it done well, I'm not sure I believe it can be done well, I'm not sure I *want* to see it done well, 'cause it's mpreg. If you like that sort of thing, that's the sort of thing you like. I don't.
But its still not a squick thing. More of a collossal waste of time.
There *are* things that squick me, seriously, but they're too ideosyncratic to make effective warnings, and probably vivid enough that the warning itself would trigger the squick anyway, so why bother?
Mer
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no subject
And I do agree that sometimes warnings are very useful if I'm in a mood for a certain type of fic and want to find it quick.
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no subject
THAT I DID NOT WRITE!
I feel a need to point that out. ;)
From:
Um....
I think we could pretty much figure that one out, thank heavens! ^_~