This is just straight up a rant. Sharing my opinions and whatnot. I had a lot to say but I limited my writing time so I wouldn't go off on long tangents.

This is a topic that was brought up to me not long after I posted the last chapter. I did a bit of research then on how AFF deals with trigger warnings, so let’s see if remember most of it.

Essentially, when you write a story and there is content that can trigger a person, it gets a status update as trigger warning. A consequence of that is that a fic gets automatically changed to sub-only and members-only. If I remember correctly, the author cannot undo these changes.

For the most part, I agree with the trigger warning system. If the content can cause issues for some readers, then they need to be warned. Whether it is abuse or suicidal thoughts or something along those lines, there are people that can be harmed by stories. Obviously what I don’t agree with is the subscriber-only aspect of this. In some extreme way, this can be viewed as a form of censorship by only letting exclusive people read the fic.

Here’s where I am coming from. Obviously I have been reading a lot of novels and series since I Kindle. Through that I am also using Goodreads so I can find similar style books. One of my favorite genre of fantasy is Grimdark, which basically means it’s fantasy with all the gritty parts include and murder and eyeballs popping out and fingers being cut off. I enjoy mature reading. There is just a list on Goodreads for Grimdarks. In fact, there is a list for just about any type of book on Goodreads. Stories featuring powerful females? Best teen series that isn’t Twilight? Heroes who are skilled in magic? Stories available online for free?

So I’ll be linked to various free viewing websites like maybe livejournal or a private blog or an adult writing site and I read stories that make me want to bleach my brain. I’m especially bad with stories featuring cults and the like. The main point is that all I had to do was click a link to read. I never had to join a website then subscribe to anything.

If you’re someone sharing your fics over multiple platforms, it becomes increasingly difficult for your readers to easily access your stories. It’s just a hindrance. I understand the legal reasons behind this system, but it can be really frustrating for both the reader and the author.

There seems to be a peak for when it becomes worth it to post on AFF. Certainly, there is a lot of traffic to AFF and there are more people to look at your fic, but then again, there are more fics competing for that attention. In my opinion, that peak is mature content meant for older teens and adults that have adult conversations. I don’t mean “it’s a struggle to pay my bills” sort of adult conversation. Once your story has controversial content, you’ve that peak of AFF “profitability”. You should be posting your story somewhere else.

There are certainly a lot of other writing websites that are more lenient with their rules. I don’t want to list them because research is time, but they exist. Obviously, if this doesn’t cause you any issues, there isn’t any reason to leave, but there are options.

When Baby_Soulchild brought this topic up to me, I don’t remember who asked me actually, someone asked me if I would read trigger warning fics as they are sub-only and I hate that. Honestly, yes, I would be more willing to read those because I know the fic has parts to it that I am familiar with. I am a cynical reader and I enjoy stories like that more so I have a higher tolerance for them. I don’t like to read normal things; the more controversy it covers, the better.

This brings me to PC Culture. PC stands for Political Correctness, and it is a topic of controversy in itself.

I keep up with the relevant news as best as I can. I pay attention to the election news because I am a voting citizen of the United States, I pay attention to breakthroughs in science because I am majoring in engineering and I like science, I even keep up with the less important but trending news like which zoo animals have been killed to save someone’s life or which celebrities are feuding. There is so much information available out there that not keeping up with it feels like a disservice for me. One thing I constantly see in the news is the effect of PC culture. 

There are two forms of political correctness. There is saying “Happy Holidays” in the winter to encompass all the holidays one might celebrate, the actual correctness of your statement. Then there is censorship like not being allowed to read a book in school because there might be inappropriate language. By extension of this censorship, there are safe spaces where things that could trigger or offend people are not allowed. Topics of race, religion, politics, money, none of those are allowed because someone might be harmed. Schools are most often safe spaces where things as logical as comprehensive education are restricted.

As someone who should be able to say whatever I want within reason, I hate even the idea of PC, safe space, and censorship nonsense. It’s one thing to call an office party in December a “Winter Party” instead of a Christmas party; it’s another to inhibit the reading of a book for your 10^th grade English class because someone gets an abortion.

We as a society are never going to be able to grow if we constantly say “shh, don’t talk about it.” We shame things, make it taboo, we close all forms of discussion so that ignorance festers.

This is why, for instance, in America we have such a high teen pregnancy rate. Most schools do not have a curriculum that teaches kids comprehensive education. Girls don’t understand why they are bleeding for week and boys don’t get why the e during the night. They don’t understand how STDs are transferred and they don’t get that pregnancy can happen even if you pull out. It’s because dumb parents think that if their kids don’t know about they won’t have . So becomes inappropriate and shameful, and if a girl gets pregnant she has no one to turn to which can lead to all sorts of disasters.

This is why, on AFF, we have so much backlash towards mature content. Way back in the day AFF allowed featured stories to also be rated [M] on the main page. So you’d see titles like Living in a House with five Guys?!? [M] and it’d have three hundred subs (pretty low for these days) and would be featured for a week. Then some parents complained that AFF was promoting towards minors and AFF faced legal action. Since then, AFF has made it harder and harder to find mature content. They hide it behind some ropes and doors so you can only read it if certain criteria is met. Otherwise a story might have words left out or it just can’t be read at all.

Of course, the ropes and doors are very easy to get past. Saying that AFF is a complete glass house safe space where nothing is allowed is incorrect, it’s not. When I was a minor, I was smart enough to lie about my age or create a backup account for AFF and livejournal. Now I’m over 18 so I can read whatever I want. However, it’s frustrating as a reader being told “no, you cannot read this” and as a writer being told “if you write this, access to your story is limited and censored.”

My final message is for parents. You can go yourself with your PC nonsense. If you can’t be a responsible parent and properly supervise what your child is reading and watching, you shouldn’t let them on the internet in the first place. I know it is hard in a technoligcally advanced era where the internet is everywhere, but you need to be firm and disciplined with your children. Your child who isn’t even a teenager should probably not be on the internet reading fanfics or watching music videos or reality shows. Once you give your child a key, you have to be prepared for them unlocking doors leading to dark places. That’s what the internet is, a place with unlimited content.

You have to be an adult. Don’t punish the content creators or the hosts. It’s your responsibility. Stop coddling children either, let them become adults of their own.

I can get passionate about this, so I’m open to debate and discuss things, as it should be in a free thinking society. If there is anything to add, I can edit it in later.