Warning Tags

The Archive of Our Own has chosen, for legal and other reasons, to mandate that users either warn for—or explicitly choose not to warn for—a short list of common warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, and Underage Sex. We understand that creators may wish to not warn for some of these things, or to warn for additional content, and have provided options for them to do so within this framework.

Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings:

Use this if you don't want to warn for anything. You may also choose this option if you don't know what you should warn for; if you don't like warning for certain topics or warnings in general; if you want to avoid some spoilers, but not others; etc.

Graphic Depictions Of Violence:

This is for gory, graphic, explicitly described violence. Exactly where to draw the line is your call.

Major Character Death:

Please use your best judgment about who counts as a major character.

No Archive Warnings Apply:

Use this if the Archive warnings don't apply to your content. (In other words, if it contains no graphic depictions of violence, major character death, rape/non-con, or underage sexual activity.)

Rape/Non-Con:

This is your call. If you think your content may be seen as containing non-consensual sexual activity, but you don't feel like using this warning or you're not sure if you should, you always have the option of using "Choose Not to Use Archive Warnings" instead.

Underage Sex:

This is for descriptions or depictions of sexual activity involving characters under the age of eighteen. (This doesn't include dating activity like kissing or vague references with no actual description or depiction.) This warning generally applies to humans; if you are creating a pornographic work about space aliens who only live for a month or thousand-year-old vampires with twelve-year-old bodies, please just use your best judgment. You are always free to specify characters' ages or to use "Choose Not to Use Archive Warnings".

You can also use the "Additional Tags" field to give other or more detailed warnings. Our policies regarding warnings can be found in the Terms of Service and Terms of Service FAQ.