And you still wind up with authors acting like complete asshats (Alice Hoffman, I'm looking at you) because they take exception that a reviewer didn't like their book and "spoiled the plot."

Oh my God, I just found out what you were talking about. That's ridiculous. And now she's deleted her Twitter.

The review did seem to spend half the time describing the plot, though. But I think that's typical of professional book reviews, isn't it? I tend to skip most of the first paragraphs where they tell me what happens and look for the parts that tell me how the book is.

The review did seem to spend half the time describing the plot, though. But I think that's typical of professional book reviews, isn't it?

It's certainly not unheard of. The Publisher's Weekly review for Accent gave away the major plot point I referenced upthread and I'm most assuredly not the first it's happened to. And of course, the running joke amongst most authors is asking whether they got "Klausnered" as in Harriet Klausner, prolific reviewer extraordinaire, who has the WORST habit of not only spoiling every plot, she often gets plot elements wrong when writing her reviews. It's almost a rite of passage to be reviewed by her.

Pro-warning people are saying, wow, is it that hard to be a decent human being?

A fair number on that side, though, are also saying that if you do not agree with them 100% at all times, you are therefore a horrible human.

And, you know, I have triggers. I don't agree with them 100% at all times on how to make fandom a safer space.

There's a lot of people talking past each other. There's a lot of people telling people they don't know anything about their own mental conditions. It's a mess, and frankly, very few people involved aren't covered in mud right now.

In general, I'd say that some kind of trigger warning shouldn't be a problem ... unless the piece is nothing but the triggering material, which implies to me that the piece is lacking.

I'm just wondering if, assuming trigger warnings became widespread, would we see someone running across them and taking the position that because they are a very special snowflake with major issues, no one should write anything that would be a trigger for them.

because they are a very special snowflake with major issues, no one should write anything that would be a trigger for them.

Because just knowing that something could trigger them might trigger them, and they left their plastic bubble at home.

I want to be sensitive, but what happened to buyer beware? I mean, why is it the writer's responsibility to ensure the comfort of the potential reader? If the writer doesn't warn, isn't it incumbent on the people who are reading to find out if there's a problem or to choose not to read the fic?

It's a mess, and frankly, very few people involved aren't covered in mud right now.

Yes, I expect a lot of people from either side are going, "Please get off my side."

I'm just wondering if, assuming trigger warnings became widespread, would we see someone running across them and taking the position that because they are a very special snowflake with major issues, no one should write anything that would be a trigger for them.

I suppose. And the ensuing,"Get stuffed" would be deafening.

Fay, skinit has a peacock feather skin I'm just sayin'. (And now I'm torn between getting that one for my netbook, because it look so cool, and the biohazard symbol, because...want!).

Yes, I expect a lot of people from either side are going, "Please get off my side."

Part of the problem is that I don't think it's a binary for/against situation, but it's being treated like one by too many of the people involved.

I think it just harder to do , Vortex. But I think you can go pretty simple. NC-17 is usually enough to say sex and violence are mixed together . Which would tell me enough that I there might be a trigger issue for someone in the work. But then again, if I had a trigger issue, I wouldn't have any problems asking - is there a raoe scene , or child abuse seen in the work. Even for a published books -- why risk it?