I really think so. I’ve actually often wondered why it isn’t an archive warning. I also think suicide/self-harm should be one. Hmm. I’ve got a pretty big audience here. Want to start a movement?
@1001paperboxes you work for AO3, is this something that’s been discussed?
The current warnings on the Archive were chosen in part because they are relatively straightforward for our Abuse team to evaluate whether a given work needs a warning or not, if a complaint is made. However, the definition of what constitutes incest is not so clear-cut – whether it includes step-siblings, first cousins, or relationships of adoption for instance. Because the definition of incest has varied over time and across cultures, we have chosen to leave it up to the creator to determine whether their work meets the definition. Many creators do choose to use an additional tag such as “Incest” or “Sibling Incest” to warn users who might not wish to view such works.
That said, you can easily filter those works in or out using our search and filter functions either by using those freeform tags, the tags for specific pairings (like Alphonse Elric/Edward Elric or Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester), or some combination of both. This will be able to even easier once we have our new version of Elasticsearch up and running!
Thank you for the explanation! It’s interesting, and I appreciate it. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask a few followup questions:
1. There doesn’t seem to be a similar problem for suicide/self-harm. Why is that not an archive warning?
2. Obviously there are problems of ambiguity, cultural or otherwise, for some of the current archive warnings. (What counts as underage given differing ages of consent? What qualifies a character as major for purposes of the major character death tag? Etc.) Do you have a rubric for deciding when these warnings are applicable? If so, how was the rubric developed?
3. I have great respect for the ao3 creators and volunteers and the last thing I want to do is start another fandom flame war aimed at you guys. If I wanted to lobby and/or encourage my followers to lobby for an expansion of the archive warning system, what would be the most productive and respectful way to do so?
I know I have some other followers who work/have worked for ao3, so please also weigh in if you have anything to add.
Marco (now Rich and Famous) taking Ax to wine tastings just so he can see the sommelier’s face when Ax takes a sip of wine, lovingly swishes it around in his mouth, and describes it as having “notes of cigarette butt and,” he pauses, ruminating on the flavor, “just a hint of red ants.”
no seriously 100K of the Animorphs save the Earth and they try to live normal lives by going to college
it’s like sharing a class with a royal, but better, and worse, because you know that beautiful and trendy hot girl in the third row can bite your arm off
oh and Ax attends classes in his andalite form, too, since two hours are too short and he needs to concentrate. he makes people a little nervous.
tobias hangs around, listening to classes from the window, just because he’s a nerd and likes to learn. he refuses to take any standardised test, tho. he refuses to help Marco by mentally telling him the answers to the test.
idk. college era animorphs, where classes are the most stressful thing they have in their lives. where cassie is made valedictorian and president of the universe. where jake can sleep and not take responsibility on anything. where marco can flirt with all the girls and all the boys and not be bored enough to turn into a lobster in his private pool. where tobias and Ax can join the DnD club. where Rachel finds more things to aspire for than to die in the glory of battle. (and join the DnD club too)
mary shelley was the daughter of one of the first feminists as we know it, she met & ran away with percy shelley when she was 18, she wrote BOTH the first sci fi AND post apocalyptic novels, she was at the forefront of romanticism AND gothicism, two of the most influential literary and artistic movements in present day, she suffered from depression and only one out of her four children lived, her husband, who had several affairs, died when they were in their twenties, a majority of her friends and romantic poets also all died in their twenties, and yet she still continued writing poetry and novels and creating art throughout the rest of her life and lived til she was nearly 60. mary shelley is incredibly underappreciated she went through so much and has contributed & influenced so much to the english lit. canon as we know it she is one of the most remarkable writers & women of this era & i love her
