What's your fic poison? + a poll

[51stcenturyfox]

Hey, Gareth David-Lloyd i[Poll #1383064][Poll #1383064]

Comments

[smirnoffmule.livejournal.com]

I think, and I said this over at Vera's, warning is really the wrong word - labels like slash or het, or even listing the exciting kinks contained within, it should be more like a statement of genre, or an ingredients list. "Warning" presupposes a lot of bad stuff; plenty of people might be actively searching for kink X or slash or het. Certainly that's how I'm most likely to be found using the "Warning" header. The only genuine warnings I feel the need to note would be the inclusion of something potentially triggering like rape, or strong violence.

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay. *Lightbulb going on now.*

I do usually think of labeling for darker content or kinks or character death as a warning since some people are triggered negatively by these things.

Warnings = a guide, in the vein of: "Hey, if noncon bothers you, you might want to skip this one", just like "if you suffer from heart problems, Viagra might not be for you".

If headings are standardised in a comm or for an awards submission, the term "warnings" will probably stay in general use, but I don't have a problem with using "genre" instead - or something else.