Okay, let's begin.
So hi.
I will attempt to seize the middle ground here, or at least explain and contrast the points of view.
I guess to start I'd like to note that while I am for Trigger warnings, perhaps better named content warnings, with an opt-out system, I do understand Clockmaker's point of view.
It seems that one of the main problems Clockmaker has with the trigger warning categories is the issue of choice. quintopia rebuts saying while the content is under the control of the author, the site is not. Now, this is only half true. E2 has a long standing history of having users voices heard in the making of decisions and a culture based around users developing and controlling the site to a large extent. Aerobe has stated that the categories are in fact up for discussion but admittedly, that was not as clearly conveyed as it could have been. Without that explicit mention, it seems very much like something that will be instituted, with or without user consent. quintopia notes that the E2 community as a whole decides things, but as Clockmaker certainly noted, when was the voting? What Clockmaker seems to be asking for is a community discussion on both if trigger warning categories should be instituted as well as on what constitutes a trigger.
*addition - Clockmaker is also asking that the categories be opt-in for everyone, including retired/fled noders, and that the categories stay as simple categories maintained by Aerobe and not an official part of site policy.
* additions - I forgot about the Virgil writeup on them! Now that in my opinion was a bit of an interesting move. It certainly makes it feel more official, and less open to discussion. Aerobe mentioned in the catbox that she made the Virgil page to help educate new users on the subject. However, this does strongly imply that the trigger warnings will be implemented. I disagree with the Virgil page since the trigger warnings are new and still being discussed. If a Virgil page is to be made, it should wait until everything has been hashed out. Oh, and it also makes it more official than just a category and makes it a part of site policy which at this moment is unclear since Aerobe is a user as well as an admin.
I'd like to node that quintopia describes E2 as a democratic republic with editors and admins as our representatives. This is of course not entirely true since they aren't voted in.
On a side bit of fun, Aerobe didn't really have to do any of this as an admin. I mean, as I understand it, anyone can make just about any kind of category they want and just add stuff to it. But that moves us nicely to a term we have to define in this discussion.
Category. I feel as though instead of a category, Clockmaker sees the trigger warnings as more of a Label. Labels make people uncomfortable.
quintopia states, "We should take it as a given that the possibility of triggering susceptible individuals overrides any and all claims of having control over one's own data. That privilege to control ends where it starts to make other people intensely unhappy."
But this is an assumption. You do not have a right to not be offended. But it gets tricky because this is not in fact about being offensive. Still, the principle is at least partially applicable. Taking quintopia's metaphor, one view is that the right to swing fists ends at someone's nose, therefore we should tell people that fists are swinging, which is a valid standpoint. On the other hand, I believe that Clockmaker is trying to say that fists are swinging in general, within everything2, and it is a person's own responsibility to avoid those fists, which is also a valid standpoint.
Currently, Aerobe has made a public statement that users can opt out of the trigger warning categories which is certainly the best way to institute them since given out large userbase and long list of retired and fled noders, asking for permission from each beforehand is extremely difficult if not impossible. However, what Clockmaker is asking for is not only for users to be able to opt out but whether or not the categories should be instituted at all and who should decide on what is put in them.
I feel like I summed it up. But for fun, I will be making a user poll about this so keep an eye out for it.