Issues Regarding Spoilers

There have been some issues behind the use of spoiler tags - when they should and should not be used, with some posters abusing this in both the Film and TV forums. There should be clearly defined guidelines for users to follow. So I propose an adaptation of these rules to something like the following:

If you are talking about specific TV shows in a single thread (take, for instance Broadwalk Empire, then spoiler tags are not needed, as long as something along the lines of ***SPOILERS*** are added to the title. However, any future references should be spoilered.

If you are talking about a specific movie, before the release date, posts regarding the movie details should be spoilered, however after the release date, this does not need to be the case, as long as ***SPOILERS*** is added to the title.

However, with regard to threads that would feature multiple TV shows and Movies, each possible spoiler should have the spoiler tags attached, since there is no possible way to guarantee that everyone has seen every movie or TV show. These threads could be along the lines of Favourite Plotholes.

Thoughts/opinions/objections?

Sad Professor

I'd mostly agree with that, but I think both the Film and Television charters are already pretty clear about the use of spoilers tags or warnings in the thread titles. The problem is how you define a spoiler. Some forums are more strict than others. And a certain amount of common sense has to apply.

Personally I'm not a huge fan of spoiler tags as I think long passages of blacked out text aren't conducive to discussion. Unfortunately they are a necessary evil in the Film forum. Where possible I'd rather see a thread with a warning in the title, but there's rarely much need for this in Films.

Of course, as the "Favourite Plotholes" thread recently showed, you can't just slap "spoilers" in the title and expect that to cover every film ever made. Maybe we should clarify this in the charter, but I don't see the need. It's common sense. That was just a lazy, pointless thread and was probably gonna end up locked anyway.

Sad Professor

Sad Professor wrote: »

I'd mostly agree with that, but I think both the Film and Television charters are already pretty clear about the use of spoilers tags or warnings in the thread titles. The problem is how you define a spoiler. Some forums are more strict than others. And a certain amount of common sense has to apply.

Personally I'm not a huge fan of spoiler tags as I think long passages of blacked out text aren't conducive to discussion. Unfortunately they are a necessary evil in the Film forum. Where possible I'd rather see a thread with a warning in the title, but there's rarely much need for this in Films.

Of course, as the "Favourite Plotholes" thread recently showed, you can't just slap "spoilers" in the title and expect that to cover every film ever made. Maybe we should clarify this in the charter, but I don't see the need. It's common sense. That was just a lazy, pointless thread and was probably gonna end up locked anyway.

It should probably be added to the charters, just to cover it completely. There are going to be people who just don't have common sense, so if they still breach these rules as stated in the charter, these posters won't be able to debate them.

johnny_ultimate

Sorry, little late adding to this!

We did add a small spoiler clause to the film charter during its recent revision, and there has been at least one infraction issued since for purposeful spoiler usage. Spoiler tags aren't great, I agree, and often skip them myself, although tbh as Sad Professor said are a necessary evil.

What I'd like to start doing is adding spoiler warnings in the titles of particularly spoiler heavy threads. For example, we did it with Inception after a few days on general release, which freed up the discussion. There is a fine balance between allowing those who have seen it a chance to discuss it freely, and those who pop in to see what kind of feedback it is getting. For specific films, adding a general 'spoilers within' tag is far more efficient though once the film has been out for a significant time.

General threads are far more difficult, and tbh I think we have to stick with spoiler tags. A thread on plot twists isn't going to work without them.

Spoilers in general are an internet danger, and there's no perfect solution. I've had a handful of films spoiled on me through posts that have been reported etc... and it's always a kick in the nuts. But yes: general spoiler warnings are something I welcome as opposed to cumbersome tags.