Nolan Lawson

CWs are more art than science. In the current Mastodon culture, some topics like politics, NSFW, violence, etc. are almost required to have CWs.

For other stuff it's up to your discretion: alcohol, food, selfies, eye contact, etc. Mental health topics often use "mh" with a +, -, or ~ for positive, negative, or neutral.

A good CW can set up the punchline to a joke! A bad CW can spoil a joke. It's tricky.

Ultimately it's about empathy for your readers. You'll get the hang of it. 🤗

Aug 16, 2018 at 10:29pmWeb
Show threadNolan LawsonAug 16, 2018

Also: some folks think CWs should be used for almost everything. Others think it's more fun without them. Some think Topic X needs a CW, others think Topic Y does.

There's no right answer; everything depends on context. Do whatever feels right to you and the people you think are likely to read your posts.

Show threadsquirt bacharachAug 16, 2018
@nolan you forgot to mention that CW stands for Cookie Wizard
Show threadNolan LawsonAug 16, 2018
@toilettrouble is the Cookie Wizard the one who summoned the Cookie Monster?
Show threadsquirt bacharachAug 16, 2018
@nolan i think so, Cookie Monster is the Cookie Wizard's golem
Show threadMs. JenAug 16, 2018
@nolan What is the protocol - start the toot with a #cw or 'CW..."?
Show threadNolan LawsonAug 16, 2018
@msjen Click the "CW" button and you can write into the field that says "Write your warning here." Other Mastodon clients may show it differently. (On Pinafore it's a âš .)
Show threadMs. JenAug 16, 2018
@nolan Thanks! You may stick a n00b notice on my forehead... ;o)
Show threadNolan LawsonAug 16, 2018
@msjen Heh, no problem! :) You might check out https://github.com/joyeusenoelle/GuideToMastodon/
or https://github.com/nolanlawson/resources-for-mastodon-newbies for some tips on getting started.