I've noticed inconsistent use of trigger warnings on Susan's, and I think it might be helpful if posters were more aware of when a trigger warning is appropriate and what formats are generally useful.

For those of you unaware of what exactly a trigger warning is, it is basically a visible "heads up" of content that could be emotionally disturbing or triggering in some way to certain readers. This way, people with certain triggers do not need to avoid content unnecessarily and miss out on support and resources Susan's has to offer, and either avoid triggering content or proceed cautiously and with forewarning.

Examples of content that should have a trigger warning include (but are not limited to):

- sexual assault
- abuse
- self-injury
- suicide
- eating disorders
- drug/alcohol abuse
- depression/mental illness
- sexism
- racism
- fat-phobia, neurotypicism, slut-shame, ageism, ableism

Especially relevant to this forum are potential dysphoria triggers including (but not limited to):

- detailed descriptions of intense dysphoria and/or physical attributes that cause dysphoria
- menstruation
- homophobia, transphobia, cissexism, transmisogyny
- hateful misgendering

This is by no means a comprehensive list, and the most important thing is to be aware of content that could be triggering for other readers, regardless of whether or not it is disturbing to you personally. Use discretion.

How to use trigger warnings:
If possible, put a trigger warning in both the subject and the first line of the post. If not, write in the first line of the post.

For the subject write [TW: type of trigger here] AFTER the subject. Make sure that the title itself does not contain triggering content.

example: bad day [TW: self-injury]

For the first line of text, write [Trigger Warning: type of trigger here] preferably bolded and with at least one extra space between the warning and the body of your post. The point here is visibility, not format: this is just a suggestion.

The point of all this is not format or being politically correct: the point is making this forum a safer place and being considerate. Please, consider using trigger warnings in your posts.

I believe every post on this entire forum should have a trigger warning if this is the case; there are plenty of subjects, even the topic of transsexualism itself, that evoke depression in people. Notably, when I read stories about sexual encounters, positive life experiences, religion, ect ect, it is a trigger for me and causes me to be depressed. However, no one looks out for my triggers because those things are considered "positive" to the people who are lucky enough to experience those positives. Hearing stories about people going through struggle both empowers me to feel less alone and to fix the world's problems, while positive stories make me go "Why can't that be me? *Drinks a big old bottle of something or other.*" However, again, no one cares.

So I do not realize why I should warn anyone else about depressing subjects when no one else would classify a subject of "Oh looky, my parents accept my transition 100% and love me for who I am." as a trigger, though it is for me because I was physically abused by my parents for being trans and first gay, and hearing that other people have lovely parents is extremely emotional to me. But even beyond that, I do think I'll take the responsibility and put a trigger warning as my signature, because nothing I ever post is extraordinarily happy; if someone on this forum wants to make me happy, give me about $400 so I can afford my tests and medications! 

I can relate to being triggered by positive events: hearing about guys being on T or getting surgery can throw me into a funk, even though I am happy for them. It's not possible to warn people for every trigger people can have. But I do think that some content is triggering for a fair amount of people and a single line isn't that much work to be considerate.

For example, I have dysphoria related self-injury issues. Susan's is often the only place that I can talk to other trans people who relate, but I avoid logging on at these times because I have been triggered too many times by self-injury posts. It makes finding support difficult. I have also seen other people on Susan's inadvertently be triggered by descriptions of sexual assault while trying to offer support for survivors, several times actually. I don't expect people to use trigger warnings for every little thing, but I think that discretion and consideration dictate warnings for some content.