Yeah, totally with you. It is disingenuous to say "warnings don't exist for canon in exactly this form, so warnings aren't needed for fanfic either". The argument was disingenuous the FIRST time I heard it, in X-Files fandom 15 years ago, and it still is now. Professionally produced fiction has all kinds of context around it, especially when we're talking about TV and film! But even so with books.
The distance between author and audience is also highly relevant here. If something on TV triggers me I can't shoot those folks an email and say "hey, you didn't give fair warning for that" and expect to be heard. People in fandom *can* hear me and it's up to them whether they want to listen or blow me off. For that reason, too, it is disingenuous to draw the comparison.
I think there is a bit of a "cult of surprise" that has grown in our culture and certainly in fandom. You won't BELIEVE what happens in the season finale! WHAT A TWIST! The vast majority of stories are not actually "spoiled" when you have some idea of what happens in them (let alone learning the minor details that many people consider spoilers!).
Well, I won't go on too much, we clearly agree. Silly old wank is silly and old.
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Date: 2009-06-24 03:57 am (UTC)The distance between author and audience is also highly relevant here. If something on TV triggers me I can't shoot those folks an email and say "hey, you didn't give fair warning for that" and expect to be heard. People in fandom *can* hear me and it's up to them whether they want to listen or blow me off. For that reason, too, it is disingenuous to draw the comparison.
I think there is a bit of a "cult of surprise" that has grown in our culture and certainly in fandom. You won't BELIEVE what happens in the season finale! WHAT A TWIST! The vast majority of stories are not actually "spoiled" when you have some idea of what happens in them (let alone learning the minor details that many people consider spoilers!).
Well, I won't go on too much, we clearly agree. Silly old wank is silly and old.