Edit: updated to include the recent addition of tag filtering/muffling! ‡
I'm a veteran adult artist, and I'm also a writer who takes sex-positivity kinda seriously in regards to how I make and share my content. I'm seeing a lot of inconsistent tagging and CW practices on NSFW content on Cohost so far, so I wanted to write this little guide on how to use tags and content warnings, ideally so that your content:
-
gets seen by the people who want to see it, and
-
doesn't get seen by the people who don't.
The end result of this is more eyes on your work, not less, because proper tags and CWs actually result in more people finding and accessing your work.
Note: this post is written primarily from the perspective of drawing erotic or pornographic images, but you can adapt these points for writing, photography, or for other types of drawn images as well.
Let's define some terms
"What's a tag?"
A tag (or hashtag/keyword/etc) helps people find, sort, or hide your work. Cohost doesn't have an algorithm that puts random posts in front of your face, so effective tagging is essential to people finding your work. Cohost supports tags with spaces in them - be sure to format them this way. If you tag your work with #AdultArtistsOnCohost, you will not be found by people searching the (much more active) tag #Adult Artists On Cohost.
You want to tag descriptively and concisely. If there's a penis in your art, add the #penis tag. Is there sex (#penetrative sex #oral sex)? What position (#missionary position #doggy style)#? Is there a commonly used kink descriptor that applies (#teratophilia #furry porn)? Describe in the tags with keywords. There's no limit on tags (I think?) so describe as much as you think is relevant.
I don't think you need to go through and add every single possible applicable tag like a fuckin e6 post, but hey, if that works for you, by all means go for it. There's no "agreed upon" metric for how many tags are too little or too much. When I post NSFW art, I try to look for maybe around 10 of the most prevalent elements of the image and tag for those, prioritizing things that people most commonly do or don't want to see.
‡ Great news! Cohost supports creating a blocklist based on tags. Go to your settings and scroll down to "filtered tags" and add tags there. If someone posts anything, even if it is marked "adult content", and you have filtered one of the tags on their post, it will "muffle" the post by hiding the post behind a CW using that tag. It will also show you the other tags used by that post so you can safely and easily determine whether you want to click it or not. Yahoo! Now you no longer need to use a CW for completely innocuous things like "nude" or "nsfw"! Just use the "adult content" checkbox and tag descriptively. Your followers' tag filtering blocklist will do the rest.
"What's a CW?"
A CW (content warning) blocks the viewer from seeing the post by default, with a short message (generally composed of a tag or two) describing what is hidden behind the warning. These are essential when drawing kink art or less-common fetishes.
You should be able to rely on one or two very concise CWs for your art. Adding a bunch of complex CWs not only makes it harder for viewers to get to your art, but it makes the purpose of CWs less useful, as it fragments your posts and makes blocklists non-functional.
Good CW usage:
Bad CW usage:
I don't know how other people choose whether or not to add a CW, but I generally use a system based on three particlar aspects: viscerality, sensitivity, and intensity.
- Viscerality: Viscerality describes a strong effect on the basic human senses. For example: body horror, violence, appearance of illness or injury, imagery involving the teeth or eyes or mouth, or any imagery that has a strong physical affect upon the viewer - the human brain wants to physically relate to whatever you're looking at. That's just how brains work. If you see a really well-rendered and evocative drawing of someone stubbing their toe, people who see it may be viscerally reminded of what it feels like to stub their toe.
- Sensitivity: Sensitivity describes themes that people are likely to have an emotional or aesthetic aversion or distaste towards. Maybe it's a kink that's entirely fictional (inflation, vore, transformation) or maybe it's got elements that people are more likely to have have some negative real-life association with (handcuffs, blood, humiliation). If you think it falls outside the realm of common sexual experiences in a way that people might be sensitive towards, it might be good to add a descriptive CW.
- Intensity: This aspect is based less on what you draw, and more about how you draw it, and pertains most importantly to animated content. If you use a lot of high contrast, patterns, and shapes that might cause eyestrain, motion or flashing elements, or even just very dynamic/uncanny visuals, it might be good to put a CW on it. Even just "intense visuals" or "eyestrain". This gives people the opportunity to prepare themselves for something that might be initially intense for them to see. For example, I found this on DeviantArt (appropriately titled "eye strain 101"). You could think of common visual discomforts (trypophobia, fractaphobia) as fitting this category. Certain things (flashing lights and imagery in particular) are VERY important to tag, as epileptic seizures are no joke. Other things (like patterns and "eyestrain" art) are merely a matter of comfort and taste.
That's the system I use when deciding to add a CW or not! You can use it or adapt it for your needs. I hope it's useful to you and your followers.
Some people have sensitivities that mean they won't want to see certain things. They can add Content Warnings to their blocklist, and if you put a Content Warning on a piece of art using that Content Warning, they won't see it! If your followers can reliably depend on you using Content Warnings well, they'll be able to follow you and share your art, even if you sometimes draw some things that they don't want to see. That works great for everyone. Please be sure to use Content Warnings where applicable, and use them consistently, so that people can depend on their blocklist.
In addition to that, as mentioned earlier, people can add various tags to their "tag filtering" section in their profile settings, which will create a CW on your post if they have that tag filtered. Please tag concisely and descriptively!
Myths and Facts
Myth: CWs keep people away from your work. ❌
Fact: CWs invite people into your work. ✅
Not only can a good CW entice people to click your art, but it will show your audience that you respect them and their sensibilities. It gives them autonomy and control. If you don't give them control by providing a CW, then they might just take control by unfollowing you! It works in your favor to provide good tags and CWs.
Myth: Every NSFW post should have a "NSFW" content warning. ❓
Fact: If you click the "adult content?" checkbox at the top of your post, you are adding Cohost's built-in general-purpose CW to your post. There is no need to add another CW that just says "adult art" or "nsfw". Only add an additional CW if it there's an additional reason to warn your audience of the content (as described above). If you tag descriptively and concisely, people who have added tags to their "tag filtering" blocklist will receive an additional CW to hide your post. Please use the "adult content" checkbox, and tag descriptively! ✅
Myth: People need to CW everything they post. 😡
Fact: No, they don't. Nobody owes you a CW. It's their profile, it's their posts, they can post whatever they want. And you are free to unfollow them! When it comes to CW usage, mutual respect and communication is more important than arbitrary rules. 😌
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Can I ask an artist to add CWs?
A. Sure! There's no harm in asking. They might not have known that some of their viewers need that CW, and they'll be glad to know, and happy to add it. But, just remember: they also might say no. After all, it's their page, and they're allowed to decide how they work is presented (within the rules of the site, at least). You can choose to unfollow them, or just risk it. There's nothing wrong with asking, and there's no wrong answer.
Q. What if I don't want to add CWs?
A. It's your choice! You're allowed to choose how your audience can interact with your content. But I also think it comes with a tradeoff, one way or the other. It's good to be familiar with and comfortable with the idea of adding CWs so that you're always ready to add them in the future, if needed.
Q. Should I add the NSFW tag, even though I checked the "adult content" box?
A. Yes! Tags are for searching and discoverability. The "adult content" checkbox is a system-default Content Warning. You always want to add "NSFW" or "NSFW art" as a tag so that people can find your art, as the "adult content" checkbox does not add a tag or affect discoverability.
I'm no expert, of course, and this guide is not meant to be exhaustive, but if anyone has any other questions or suggestions for things I can add, please leave a comment below!
