Tumblr, right? These days, the answer so often is Tumblr.

Well, Arrested Development, but then also as someone's apparently tongue-in-cheek suggestion on Tumblr because people get sick of pearl clutchers.

It was, as I recall, after yet another in the endless wanks about U R DOING FANDOM WRONG!!! where, of course, no amount of tagging will make some people happy, so someone basically said, "Okay, let's agree on a label so that you're not even tempted if you don't want to go there." and use the Arrested Development reference.

This person was apparently pretty much joking, but people, people who were tagging or warning, or EXPLICITLY STATING THEY WERE CHOOSE NOT TO WARN, ENTER AT OWN RISK! ran with it. Because I have seriously seen someone flip a lid at someone on something that was tagged for noncon because the felt it needed even more tagging because they read something into the story that wasn't there.

Which, you know, I am choose not to warn. I cannot be put in a position of responsibility for the mental health of adults who are not me. I can't. It is detrimental to my own mental health. I will tag as best I can, but I am not going to give notes at the bottom summing up what might be problematic in the chapter or story. I am not going to go through and painstakingly check for something for someone I don't know. I may, if I have the bandwidth emotionally, be able to give a guess, but I can't give an assurance.

I, err, have strong feelings on the subject.

I will warn if something is dark or skates close to my own edges, but I won't give specifics. I'll just say potentially disturbing content, with the proviso that my work is meant for grown ups who can make their own decisions. Hopefully someone who knows them can recommend it to them.

I am thankful for the whole trash party tagging thing, because it means I can protect my own mental health by staying far, far away.

When you guys tag, do you tag in a particular order? Like the ingredients lists on the side of the box?

Or alphabetical? Or just in the way that makes the words sound best together?

I am thankful for the whole trash party tagging thing, because it means I can protect my own mental health by staying far, far away.

See? It serves a purpose! I can find, you can avoid! I do tag. I just don't WARN. There's a difference. Damn it.

I tag by what I think is the most important element, then I'll sometimes go "No, someone's going to get their panties in a twist about X, I'd better put something in about that." No real order, just as it occurs to me.

I mean, I'm keeping running lists as I write, but I feel like they should have a somewhat better order than, "OH YEAH! THAT!"

Also, like there are implications I should tag for, but can't figure out HOW to tag for in the main story.

I'm like Connie: whatever I happen to think of at the time. Sometimes, after reading someone else's fic I'll think, "huh, maybe that's a tag I could add to fic X." When I first starting tagging on AO3, mine were very minimal. I used the "choose not to warn" constantly, because I figured anything I felt the reader needed to know would be in the tags I use. Still feel that way, pretty much.