A question about spoilers.

[Mr. Obsession]

I've been wondering about this, but where do we draw the line?

I was just replying to a thread about MotP which contained a spoiler warning in the title. I can understand this for a topic about RotJ Uncut since it's technically not yet commercially available. But MotP? Come on, it's been out for almost ten years.

Personally I think putting a spoiler warning on anything from BTAS is just silly. TNBSA doesn't really need any either, except maybe Legacy because it's possibly the least aired and one of the most important Superman eps. And maybe season 3 of BB and RotJ uncut.


Sorry for the rant, this is just starting to bug me.

[Divv]

I only started watching B:TAS a few weeks ago when Sky One started showing it over here in the UK. So I for one apreciate the spoiler messages as I intend to watch al episodes in chronological order, including MOTP. Maybe to people who have been watching the show for years it seems strange but us newbie's deserve the chance to watch the show innocently for the first time round as well.

[Clayface]

yeah, this discussion has been an ongoing one for a long time. The mods are working on writing up an official policy for people here to read.

In general, its just kind of considered common courtesy to stick a spoiler warning in the thread title. That way, anyone that hasn't seen an episode or movie has fair warning not to enter the thread, and the rest of the posters can post spoilers freely inside the thread without using the spoiler boxes.

[Calhoun07]

I am of the opininion after a movie has been out on home video for more than six months, it's fair game to talk about that movie or show without worrying about spoiler warnings. This really does have to be a two way street here, where compromises are to be expected and met. I think if you as a newbie to a certain show or movie doesn't want to read spoilers, then DON'T READ ANYTHING ABOUT THE SHOW! Unless it's a review, which should remain spoiler free unless the reviewer is just a lame brain, then spoilers, whether intended or not are to be expected.

So, while I think people posting information have a responsiblity to post warnings of spoilers, readers also have a responsiblity to just have the will power to avoid reading things about what they don't want to read spoilers on. I have used the example of the Sopranos before, as I have to wait for the DVD releases and I don't have access to HBO. Well, I don't believe for one minute that people who want to write about the HBO series should edit themselves or not talk about things because people like me haven't seen those episodes yet. I need to have enough common sense to know if I see an article on the Sopranos it may contain information that would ruin any surprises for me and therefore I should not read it.

[Mr. Obsession]

I've got to side with Cal on this. No offence to Divv, but I think it's asking a bit too much to say that for the majority of the posters on the boards (who have seen these episodes for years) to put a spoiler warning in the thread title simply because one or two people haven't seen it yet. I would think that common sense would lead one to believe that if a thread is directly about MotP, or Two-Face, or P.O.V., or Over the Edge it is going to contain spoilers for those who haven't seen the episode or movie yet. I would think that if you go into the JL board you should expect spoilers on a talkback thread about an episode and as such a spoiler warning shouldn't be necessary. But if you're posting a thread about news of an upcoming episode or episode rumors that should get a spoiler warning.

Asking us to post spoiler warnings in the in thread titles for eps that have been available for almost 10 years now for most of us is kind of like asking me to post a spoiler warning if I want to create a thread in AniGen to talk about Star Trek: TOS, just because one or two people may not have seen it yet.

[Clayface]

Originally posted by Mr. Obsession

Asking us to post spoiler warnings in the in thread titles for eps that have been available for almost 10 years now for most of us is kind of like asking me to post a spoiler warning if I want to create a thread in AniGen to talk about Star Trek: TOS, just because one or two people may not have seen it yet.

I agree and I disagree for a number of reasons. I agree, because, like you, I've seen all the episodes and movies, so I don't have to worry about spoilers. And I also agree that if you're really worried about spoilers, you should put forth an effort to see the episodes before you go reading anything about them on boards. But on the other hand:

1) There are constantly more and more new fans joining this board, and just beginning to see the original show for the first time. Its a lot more than one or two people that haven't seen it.

2) The post that started this question was about MoTP - a movie. Though new fans may be seeing the episodes on TV, many have never heard of the movie, and its not played regularly on TV. New fans may not have had the opportunity to learn about the movie, or seek it out to view it, so I think spoiler warnings are more appropriate for the movie than for the TV episodes. In addition, seeing episodes of ST:TNG is a hell of a lot easier than seeing episodes of Batman - ST:TNG is run over and over and over. Batman is only on here and there.

3) Its only 7 more letters to type into your title. Will it cause that much more trouble for you type one word? Will it tire your eyes too much to read one more word? I don't think so. There's really no excuse to not take the extra 1/2 second to type the word in, other than laziness or disregard for those that haven't had the opportunities you have to see the episode or movie. "I don't want to be bothered with it" is sort of a lame excuse not to do it.

[Mr. Obsession]

Actually I just don't want to get chewed out for not putting a spoiler warning in the title of thread about On Leather Wings if I forget. :)

I still think that common sense should dictate that if a thread is named "Mask of the Phantasm Talkback" it's going to contain spoilers regardless of whether you put a spoiler warning on the title or not.

We need an official stance on this from the board admins.

[Clayface]

Originally posted by Mr. Obsession

I still think that common sense should dictate that if a thread is named "Mask of the Phantasm Talkback" it's going to contain spoilers regardless of whether you put a spoiler warning on the title or not.



I agree. Unfortunately, the world is full of people that don't use common sense. And they read spoilers in posts, and then they write the mods and complain and complain and complain...




We need an official stance on this from the board admins.


Yep. Like I said, the last time this came up the mods announced that they were working on writing something up. But they're so busy around here that I don't think they've gotten around to finishing it up yet.

[Ruffian]

Originally posted by Clayface



Unfortunately, the world is full of people that don't use common sense.
[/B]

"Common sense ain't so common." I forgot where I heard that from. :p

[Mattashell]

I haven't seen RoTJ yet because I'm not letting myself watch it untill the original cut comes out. I do avoid reading threads with RoTJ in the title, however I recently opened a thread that didn't say anything about that. It was called "Hi, first time posting at B,S&B. So am I the last person on earth to notice……?" and it turned out to be about RoTJ and before I even realized what I was reading, I learned something I did not want to know. I think we need an official stance on this from the board admins.

Mattas

[Mr. Obsession]

Mattashell, I completely agree with you there. There should have been a spoiler warning in the tread title because it wasn't obvious that the thread was about RotJ Uncut, which a lot of people haven't seen yet.

That I have no problem with. My problem is that we shouldn't be expected to post spoiler warnings in the title if it's obvious that thread is going to contain spoilers if you start reading it.

In a title like: "If Your So Smart Then Why Aren't You Rich? Talk back" or "Were Mr. Freeze's actions in Heart of Ice justified?" it should be obvious that the thread, by it's very nature will contain spoilers for those who haven't seen the ep or movie.

But "Dang! The Joker's Evil!" for a thread about RotJ should most defiantly contain a spoiler warning, until it's been available for quite some time.

[Divv]

I can clearly se where you guys are coming from, since you have seen the episodes years ago then why not talk about them freely. But if someone puts 'Spoilers' in the title I can assure you that I for one appreciate it. I do look in the thread title to see if it contains spoilers but that is not always possible as said above.

Someone said that after 6 months of an episode airing people should feel free to talk about it without putting in a spoiler message that's fair enough if you live in the States where it has aired. But what about us here in other countries where TNBA are only about to get their first airing in this country in April?

Anyway, I'm not too bothered as I can usually decide for myself what posts to look at and which ones not to, but whenever a spoiler message is included in the thread title is appreciated.

[Terminatah]

Mr. Obsession, I don't see why you brought this up in the original MOTP thread or why you started another thread devoted to it, but the title of that original thread said "spoilers for those who haven't seen it". I don't see anything wrong with this statement, and while it may seem unnecessary to you, I don't think you should worry about it so much.

-Terminatah

[Mr. Obsession]

Originally posted by Terminatah
Mr. Obsession, I don't see why you brought this up in the original MOTP thread or why you started another thread devoted to it, but the title of that original thread said "spoilers for those who haven't seen it". I don't see anything wrong with this statement, and while it may seem unnecessary to you, I don't think you should worry about it so much.

-Terminatah I brought it up in the MotP thread because I felt (and still do) that it wasn't necessary to put a spoiler warning in the title since I believe that since MotP has been commercially available for almost 10 years now you're not spoiling anything for the majority of the board. And for those who haven't seen it I still stand that common sense should dictate that if you haven't seen the movie and it says MotP in the title then there will be spoilers through out the thread.

I created this thread because I want DG and the other WF admins to put their collective foot down and give us an official stance on spoilers.


Divv, it may not sound like it but I do have sympathy for your case. If I was watching the episodes for the first time I too wouldn't want spoilers. But I'd also recognize that if a thread title contains an episode title odds are going to be fairly high that there are going to be spoilers throughout the thread.

However if it's not obvious that a thread is about a specific episode, movie, or character actions that would contain a huge spoiler, then either a spoiler warning should be put in the title or in the first post there should be a spoiler warning followed by a good long space so that those who want to avoid spoilers can get out of the thread while the get'ns good.

[James Harvey]

Originally posted by Mr. Obsession
I created this thread because I want DG and the other WF admins to put their collective foot down and give us an official stance on spoilers.


Trust me, man - we're working on it. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get something like this fine tuned and tweaked - but we're working on it. We also have alot of others things on our plate so it won't be some instant diecision made in the blink of an eye. It's gonna take some time. Until then, use some common sense and your best judgment. That's all I can say until we get the spoiler rules finalized (which we are really close to doing).

[Naraht]

Originally posted by Jim Harvey

That's all I can say until we get the spoiler rules finalized (which we are really close to doing).

Mod Meeting Minutes
Mod #1 - Ok, it looks like the next thing on the agenda is setting up Spoiler Rules
Mod #2 - Yeah, that'd be good and all...but what about we order some pizza first?
Mod #3 - Yeah! Pizza sounds good!
Mod #1 - Ok, All those in Favor of Pizza?
Mods - Aye!
Mod #1 - Ok, what kind of Pizza?
Meeting disolves into anarchy


J/K..I'm sure the mods really are working on it...honest...

No offense was intended, this was a parody soley fo the amusement of those of us on the boards...

Please don't ban me!



This has been a Presentation of "Please Don't Ban Me" Productions

[James Harvey]

Originally posted by naraht

No offense was intended, this was a parody soley fo the amusement of those of us on the boards...

Please don't ban me!

Don't worry man, it gave me a good laugh. We got some preliminary ideas for spoiler guidelines that I guess I can share:

<li>After an episode has been aired twice, there is no need for *spoiler* warnings.

<li>Six months after an episode and/or movie has premiered, there is no need for *spoiler* warnings.

Those are some of the ideas we have right now. So just be patient and we'll get things ironed out soon.

[Maxie Zeus]

Originally posted by naraht

Mod Meeting Minutes
Mod #1 - Ok, it looks like the next thing on the agenda is setting up Spoiler Rules
Mod #2 - Yeah, that'd be good and all...but what about we order some pizza first?
Mod #3 - Yeah! Pizza sounds good!
Mod #1 - Ok, All those in Favor of Pizza?
Mods - Aye!
Mod #1 - Ok, what kind of Pizza?
Meeting disolves into anarchy


Dang. I'd go to more Mod Meetings if it were really like that! :p

[Mr. Obsession]

naraht, LOL


Originally posted by naraht
This has been a Presentation of "Please Don't Ban Me" Productions

*gasp* I think I just found a quote for my signature, that is if you don't mind me using it naraht. :)




Originally posted by Jim Harvey


Don't worry man, it gave me a good laugh. We got some preliminary ideas for spoiler guidelines that I guess I can share:

<li>After an episode has been aired twice, there is no need for *spoiler* warnings.

<li>Six months after an episode and/or movie has premiered, there is no need for *spoiler* warnings.

Those are some of the ideas we have right now. So just be patient and we'll get things ironed out soon.

Those sound very reasonable to me. Especially considering that's what I've been arguing for from the beginning. :D

[Naraht]

Originally posted by Mr. Obsession
naraht, LOL
*gasp* I think I just found a quote for my signature, that is if you don't mind me using it naraht. :)


sure, be my guest

[James Harvey]

If there are any suggestions for spoilers rules, then feel free to give us a shout. We're trying to get everything planned out so we'll have a nice set of rules. Spoilers are mostly common sense when it gets down to it, but I guess everything needs guidelines. We'll keep ya updated, folks.

[Jack Napier]

I think puting a spoiler message up doesn't hurt anyone...

Just go with it...

Jack Napier