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It could be anything, I just think the content of the post needs to be explained in the title so yea those two would work
Trigger warnings seem to be used exclusively for self-harm / suicide / eating disorders as well, which means that (as you and ShyBoy have identified) other triggers like sexual abuse and domestic violence are often disregarded.
But all sorts of people have mundane triggers, too, we can't weed everything out.
I think giving leeway is important rather than reprimanding. Or even just hitting 'Report Post' and leaving it upto a mod to look into and perhaps add more info to the title.
Agree with piccolo though that it is impossible to weed everything out so a bit of realism is needed really. Tact and sensitivity is great but members particularly those in vulnerable situations themselves may not always be in the right frame of mind to dilute their post let alone slap a 'triggering' title on it. This is where having great moderators comes in
Perhaps this is something we could add to the good manners guide? We signpost people to that in the welcome PM and it's a nice link for new users who may be feeling a little lost anyway - people could link to it more often and it's a way of letting people know they're not being got at, but that this is something that's been carefully considered by the community.
So I dislike the usage from that perspective, and I dislike it because I think it's excessively nannying, and creates artificial barriers to entry to the boards to people who aren't familiar with this culture that has developed. (By which I mean, that a newcomer may be disuaded from posting because they don't want to label their own posts.)
So really, I think that such tagging should be discouraged, and if there's a real sense that people need to be "protected" from threads that other users create, then there should be a more general warning to that effect attached to the forums.
I have noticed this. Like "Super Triggering" and "triggertastic" and "OMGSOTRIGGERING". It feels like a competition sometimes.
But obviously in a normal thread you should not post graphic descriptions or pictures of triggering material and I think most don't, when it is posted the report button is the best course of action.
So it comes down to proportionality. Extremely graphic thread? Post a warning. Not graphic but likely to contain potentially triggering content because of the subject matter? The risk is implied by the thread title. Thread title doesn't imply anything relating to triggering content? Should be safe, report any triggering posts.
This. TheSite is far too sensitive now, we people getting offended and triggered by anything. I just wish that people understood, that if they find stuff that triggering they should really get help ><
I mean seriously, change my name to **Triggering** because everything i seem to post, is too insensitive for people. Like a draw picture of a guy wth a gun and a caption... Like really if that made you want to shoot yourself, you've just i don't even know...
It's gone way to far, triggering on this Forum is just like Political Correctness in the UK, people just need thicker skin and a back bone.
here here! Well said.
But it's still my opinion..
If you're life's been that hard, that you need to self harm, over some words online, then your life hasn't been hard enough, else you'd get over it.
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So using that as a warning isn't, by itself, helpful. It could even have the opposite effect, and encourage people to look at stuff. (Sometimes, as I said above, I think that's why some people use it.)
So folk can't win.
Also, you all pile on to Shikari, but they have a point. It's poorly phrased to say "get over it", but in the ultimate truth, that is what people have to / strive to do. Sure, it's not _as simple as_ a switch and then people are over it, but the phrase "get over it" can also mean "deal with it, work through it", or whatever else you want it to mean. Ultimately, everyone has to "get over" all their troubles, so that they can then move forwards with life.
No mist, if someone is feeling so easily triggerable, then they will avoid the site. If they're not feeling that easily trigger able, going into a thread with pictures or graphic descriptions may trigger them. So put a trigger warning on it.
I think accipter is bang on here.
Also shikari from what I've seen only posts to deliberately upset others, best way to deal with him is just hit the report post every time you see one of them 'opinions'.
If that were only true. Have you seen this message board at all? It is FILLED with people who have had extremely hard lives, who want to just get over it, and hate themselves for being set off by a word on the internet. Sensitivity costs nothing, finding a way to be as sensitive as possible to the maximum number of people is admirable. We can't win all the time, but we can try.
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Except that a) I disagree that that's how people are using the "warnings" and b) I disagree that someone [new to the site] should know / be expected to / need to use such warnings.
Still think we should leave moderating upto the actual moderators. People often post about SH here when they are at their most desperate. I dont think any expectation should be placed on them to disregard their current situation and slap 'triggering' warnings on the title or to water down their post. In an ideal world I guess this sort of sensitivity would happen but if it were an ideal world; people wouldnt self harm in the first place.
I think guidelines are appropriate and aim to create a safe messageboard but users getting fired up and policing the messageboard for anything remotely 'triggering' is just stupid. Hit the report button if you think a post is too graphic. Imagine the original poster's disappointment if they create a thread in desperation- hit New Posts- see they have a reply and open it to find 'You may want to use a trigger warning on the title of your post in future as some users may find this post distressing
Everyone is triggered by different things, I know personally I'm not triggered by the "normal" things such as reading about self harm. I'm triggered by very specific things that remind me of a personal experience... and even then I wouldn't call it triggered. "Triggering" implies "my thread will make you self harm" and I think there are very few people who will read a thread about self harm for example, and actually go and self harm.
Everyone just needs to make it clear in their thread title what the threads about and there will be no problem :thumb:
However many people just post generic things on the title (and I'm not sure why) and I've even seen people say -not just here- that they don't understand how to pick a relevant subject for a thread or e-mail. I don't understand how that is possible, but there you have it.
In my case, there are posts that affect me somewhere deep without any indication about that in the title (or even in the first few posts in a thread). It's not related to self harming at all and seemingly impossible to "detect" beforehand.
I think my comment was more aimed at the below
I have known people who have been set off quite easily by words, or sights, smells, sounds etc. Hence the comment made by someone that suggests self harm due to simple words online is something petty and easy to deal with, is quite an irresponsible comment to make.
It's not about life being hard, it's about having mental health problems. When people are in the process of seeking help to get better ("get over it", if you prefer), they will probably want to keep certain things of a graphic nature out of their mind. Keeping things in the right place, with appropriate warnings, can be a really useful safeguard.
If someone then chooses to look anyway, that is their responsibility.
This is not a conversation about whether triggers exist or not.
I would also echo Clementine's point that there is a bit of a culture of flaming someone rather than referring the post to a moderator. That kind of response to a post can have a negative effect on vulnerable people just as much as, say, seeing an image that is triggering to them.
How do you feel people are using the warnings?
In the case of people new to the site, if they are making it obvious they are posting about triggering material, they don't need an explicit trigger warning. It's implied. Of you're triggered by beef burgers, you would know / be responsible for your self to not read the thread 'my beef burger recipe'.
If, however, it's a more difficult thread e.g. 'I need help' where it's talking about graphic issues, then i think a trigger warning is absolutely necessary.
Think of it like your standard risk assessment, which is hazard * likelihood. Normally you take no action, only if the likelihood of triggering exceeds a threshold and that it's not obvious to readers that it would be triggering, should a trigger warning be used. (imo)
So to be clear, I don't think we disagree that trigger warnings are not always necessary. We only seem to disagree in that I think, sometimes they are appropriate, and the impression I have is that you feel they are never appropriate?
This is a good point that applies all over the boards in all honesty. Sometimes a troll post will turn into a flame war instead of being moderated. Even when I've reported threads or posts, seldom are they removed.
I think we have a lot of free reign on the boards, but I think the light-touch moderating sometimes is a detriment. I could make a troll account right now and get away with quite a lot before getting a ban.
It's a tough one though. The charity's mission is to help vulnerable young people, and quite a lot of vulnerable young people act up because they don't know how else to express themselves. There needs to be boundaries but blanket bans are not good either for that reason.
I think the trouble right now is that, on one hand, we have a lot of people who can only be termed "attention seekers". I don't say this lightly but the problems they have and the language they use gets more graphic in direct reverse proportion to the amount of replies they get. And then, on the other hand, we have the sort of cretin who thinks that being polite and courteous to people is "political correctness gone maaaaad!", like some sort of retarded Richard Littlejohn groupie.