The only point I ever made was that creators are allowed to tag however they want and do not deserve to be criticized, bullied, or ran out of fandom spaces for making that decision. Especially when they are doing so while fully informed of what that entails. Fanfiction is free content that people are free to read OR not read. It is created out of love and creators have every right to do with it what they will. Some of them choose not to tag for their own reasons. And unfortunately, due to this exact sort of situation, it can sometimes be so that their works AREN'T found by people who aim to attack them. Some tags are targets for people with nefarious intentions. If you’ve never experienced this, then I’m happy for you. But this is something I’ve been well aware of for YEARS of my time in fandom spaces. I have no regrets of encouraging creators to put their own comfort first. Because it’s either that or they give up their passions because others could not leave them be.

Where do I encourage people to abandon a “fandom social contract” by simply saying they’re responsible for themselves and what they consume? Both creators AND readers. THAT is how it has always been, both in fandom and on the internet as a whole. I believe tagging is a great thing! For many reasons! But I believe we need to take a step back and evaluate at what point does “encouraging to tag” cross a line into toxicity? And I have seen the toxic side of it first hand. People should not feel ENTITLED to demand this or that from creators. Because then we have people reading fics, interpreting it however they like, and demanding authors add tags that were never a part of the intended story to begin with. I’ve seen situations like that spiral into witch hunts and targeted harassment of authors. I have seen authors give up writing because people demanded they follow their idea of how to tag.

This is what is meant by tagging is a courtesy. Yes it is kind. Yes there are many reasons TO tag. But we have GOT to take the entitlement that tagging is NECESSARY out of the equation and learn to respect eachother while also navigating spaces the best we can for our own comfort.

I hear your point about sowing division in communities but what I’m also hearing is that you’re not getting what my point is. There is already division. Even outside of moments when this discourse resurfaces and becomes topical. There is pretty aggressive division every single day in fandom spaces and it is caused by the entitled of people when it comes to fan works and the way they approach creators. The point I made aims to bridge the divide. Mutual respect and personal responsibility will only bring about peace, while demanding everyone stick to what is considered “the right way” and “the way we MUST do it” will always create tension.

On the other hand, I do tag my works. Extensively. Both on Twitter and AO3. Which is my choice. For the very reasons that I think tagging is good. So, saying that I don’t respect people in this space with me is far from the truth. I respect them immensely, and that is why I would like for this discourse to resolve even in some small way.