hi i just wanted to make this project bc i feel its important especially as a lot of scratch's user-base is pretty young and therefore may not know. ive seen an alarming increase in people listing their triggers (If you don't know what a trigger is, heres the def 'A trigger is a stimulus that elicits a reaction.' but in this context, we are talking about 'something that brings on or worsens distressing symptoms (usually mental health related)') this goes for any site, social, etc. not just scratch, esp. if its a public forum; avoid sharing your triggers to the best of your ability. not every single person on the internet has good intentions. some people are extremely awful and will weaponize your triggers, especially hyperspecific ones. I'm someone who has hyper-specific triggers, and those of which can be extremely distressing. They impact my functioning a lot. It would simply not be safe for me to share these, even though theyre upsetting, i dont want people to talk about them, and i want others to know that i do not want them discussed around me, it'd be risky to share them. 'But Finn, not everyone is going to be bad and trigger me intentionally. People need to know so that they dont accidentally hurt me.' Triggers should really only be shared in private or when theyre relevant. (like for example your friend is talking about cheese, and cheese is a trigger. in that moment, it'd be okay.) you're the only one responsible for protecting yourself from triggering content. Unfortunately you can't have the entire world never speak of cheese again. 'but when is it relevant? I was playing a game and someone was having a conversation about something that triggers me.' In this case unless youre in that convo itself it's not really the best option to go 'hey, can we not talk abt this its triggering.' again weaponization of triggers, and it can come off as pretty self-absorbed. If its an online conversation you can click off or close chat (which i know can be very difficult sometimes. /gen) its like personal info. It's something that could be dangerous if handled improperly, or shared carelessly. If your triggers are seriously bad enough that they could put you or others at risk, consider stepping back, disengaging in places/socializing with people who could unfortunately trigger you. tl;dr dont share your triggers willy-nilly. it could be very bad.
