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I'm wondering, what's considered a spoiler in everyone's opinion? IMO sure enough you should be able to discuss events in an episode that already aired, right? It seems people are too cautious about spoiling anything and in fact with the overuse of spoiler-tags there's somewhat the opposite effect: when you need to click-open every damn post to take part in a conversation you'll easily open a post that actually contains something that's going to happen in the future and you didn't want to know of. It's already happened to me, too.
I'd suggest keeping spoiler tags to a minimum but I understand if anyone feels otherwise. Say with movies I think it's a bit different because I might want to check a thread about a movie and hear about it in general to decide if I should see it or not, but TV shows spanning several years I think it's a bit ridiculous to consider everything about them a spoiler - especially when a thread is already said to include "spoilers" in its title...
I'd say that if you haven't seen an episode yet then any detail in it is potentially a spoiler. If you ain't seen it and it's plot critical then you'll be kicking yourself for ruining it, so it's best to avoid seeing anything about it : although I sometimes like seeing how a season ends so I can understand the build up to the climax (but that's just me!)
"Plot critical", that's the point. None of the options above are applicable. I actually consider them irrelevant to the question.
For me, it isn't about whether the episode has aired yet, or not. It's not about things that have happened or will happen. In fact, events which have not aired anywhere yet are almost always "unverifiable" and therefore "rummers" not spoilers.
No, discussing how great it was when so-and-so snapped back that awesome quip with thingamy-bob is fine, and that bit where the car did the that thing and ended up in such-and-such is no problem, the CGI effects when they where going into that thing being (good, lame, over the top, etc.) is also usually fine.
So long as it doesn't spoil the apprehension for people whose networks air later, or are planning to use catch-up, or won't have the show aired at all locally, and have to resort to downloads etc. If it would prevent us investing as much in a character earlier on (because they're going to die, or turn bad, or kill someone else we like etc.) then it's a spoiler.
Just imagine how the knowledge of this fact would have affected your viewing experience if you had known it when you started this season, or before you went into the theatre. If the difference between that, and your actual experience is significant, then spoiler it. ^_^
From what I can tell (and I've not watched more than one episode, bored out of my skull) series like Breaking Bad make this very difficult, because almost everything that happens on screen would completely ruin your experience of earlier episodes if you knew them in advance. (probably why I found BB so boring, I saw an episode somewhere in the middle of season 3 having never heard of it before)
Soap operas will be somewhere in-between. You could discuss small interpersonal interactions, provided they don't involve major break-ups or departures etc.
If you discussed every detail of every episode of a classic series like Quantum Leap with someone who'd missed it, it would spoil nothing and they could still enjoy watching it again, if that's their kind of thing. XD
Let's look at Star Trek. Most people know something about those, and they are all so old now there's not much to give away for anyone who cares. Even so...
Most of the Star Trek series where like this, nothing to spoil, with the exception of Deep Space 9, which had a distinct running plot line which had to be followed in, vaguely, the right order. Knowing that Odo was part of a race of goo people who where considered as Gods by the Dominion and would fuel the war would be a massive spoiler when you started the series. Knowing that Nog was going to join Star-Fleet under O'Brien would also spoil a lot. Not to mention all the Dax vs. Dr. Bashire vs. Cisco stuff and the Parr Wraiths vs. Emissary bits. You'd be okay so long as you weren't talking about events an entire season ahead of someone else. (and, here in the UK, we where a season, to a season and a half behind the US audience!!)
Voyager had a running plot too but, strangely, the events which lead to major changes (the arrival of a Borg science officer to the crew, for example, or even the departure of Cess, or Belanas' baby) where not ones which lead to large changes in emotional attachment to characters. The, now well documented, death of chief security officer Tasha Yarr, in the Next Generation, would certainly have spoiled that if you hadn't seen the series at all however.
I can't think of anything in the Classic or Enterprise series which would be even slightly controversial other than Rikers beard. ^_^ (though some of the deviations from known Star Trek history in Enterprise where quite strange)
Many readers here are too young to remember, and may want to marathon some of this classic stuff on NetFlix or such... I know I did with classic Doctor Who, and Star Trek, and The Munsters, and Bewitched, and The Prisoner [original series] etc.
You see, nothing to do with how old it is. Everything to do with how critical those plot devices are to the overall narrative.
If it hasn't aired yet, its a spoiler. If it was, then you shouldn't use spoiler tags.
Really pisses me off when people do as like you say Nagata, checking a thread after you've watched the latest ep (which is normally when people read the threads) and people are posting spoilers about future eps, you are likely to click thinking it's ok.
Keep them to a minimum. I used to not post them at all until someone moaned and groaned to me. If you haven't seen the latest episode, don't go into a thread that's been active directly after the previous episode...
I often don't start to watch a series till it's in the third season. I'd usually read a thread to see if I want to go back to the start of season 1 to start it.
Reason? I've been broken hearted too many times with great shows which stop half-way through season 1 and don't have time for that crap any more. If it makes season 3, I may start to watch from the beginning. So what does "if it has aired" have to do with anything? Additionally, aired where? Air dates can easily be 6 to 18 month different around the world, and this is a global forum. (for English speakers)
A friend of mine used to get *so* annoyed that magazines would print articles on the last season of Smallville "to air", when the latest episode available to him was 2 seasons behind that. The magazines where international, his TV reception is local and domestic.
I wonder, though. If you're planning to start a series that is on its 3rd season already, what exactly is it you're looking for in a thread discussing the series? There's very little I'd want to discuss about that has nothing to do with what's going on in the latest couple of episodes which means 99 out of 100 posts need to be spoilertagged for what seems to me like not much of a good reason at all. I understand this is just how I feel about it from my perspective so I totally respect other views on it. For someone like me, though, the spoiler tags pretty much make the whole section uninteresting to me - just too much hassle.
That's a shame. I consider them pretty essential, and not difficult to use at all. In fact, I use them all over the forums, because I generally tl;dr a lot. I can post the basics openly and [spoiler]If you want to know more, or are struggling with the terms / concepts in the basic post, you can read through this waffle that most people either know already or just CBFA to read because they don't care enough to find out.[/spoiler]
Features like that are the reason I will use forums and Wikis over a good text book / magazine. Even if the quality of authorship and editorial oversight is not so great.
I am interested to know a little bit about the background of the characters, why people like them, what gets people excited about the series, etc. The sort of things I would tell a friend about a series I love which they have never started. My IRL friends and I do this all the time, so I'm not sure why it's such a hard concept for people to grasp. However, I can imagine that other people do not look far beyond what the channels they and their friends are watching, right now, are pushing them all to watch. In that situation, I imagine you and all your friends are already watching exactly the same thing, without needing to be told anything about it by anyone else.
My problem with that is, if you and your friends all watch the exact same thing on TV, at the exact same time, what do you need to discuss? It's a bit like force-fed chickens discussing the quality of the food. XD But, as
I often don't start to watch a series till it's in the third season. I'd usually read a thread to see if I want to go back to the start of season 1 to start it.
Reason? I've been broken hearted too many times with great shows which stop half-way through season 1 and don't have time for that crap any more. If it makes season 3, I may start to watch from the beginning. So what does "if it has aired" have to do with anything? Additionally, aired where? Air dates can easily be 6 to 18 month different around the world, and this is a global forum. (for English speakers)
A friend of mine used to get *so* annoyed that magazines would print articles on the last season of Smallville "to air", when the latest episode available to him was 2 seasons behind that. The magazines where international, his TV reception is local and domestic.
If you usually start watching series after or at the beginning of a third season, then I can assume that you have heard at least a few positive things about the show, which provoked you to watch it. Whether you look it up online is your own choice, but the fact that almost every post in this forum section (at least pertaining to television shows) has a spoiler wrapped around it. In the long run, it becomes tedious to open every one.
My two cents is that a TV series discussion thread should already have a
tag in the title. That way, everyone who clicks on it is liable for their own actions; whether they see a spoiler is not is completely reliant on them. It's a damn discussion thread, I don't know what anyone else would expect. Here's an example: I follow a lot of TV series sub-reddits, and whenever a new episode airs, the title of the thread is usually
"TV Show Episode # Discussion Thread" with the proper blanks filled in. That's as much as anyone needs to see to get the hint.
Like I said previously, if you can see that a thread is more active after the most recent episode aired, then there's a good chance that there's a spoiler in there somewhere. So, just wait until you watch it to read. With the constant
tags in this section, it is hard to decipher what to open, it's a complete 50/50 chance that someone may be talking about what I've already seen (in past episodes) or talking about what I haven't seen (most recent episode). The spoiler tags should only be for something that hasn't aired, or for an episode that has just aired. We all have common sense, we all should be able to judge how long is too long to keep using spoiler tags.
Hopefully that came out as clear as it did in my mind.
That's a shame. I consider them pretty essential, and not difficult to use at all. In fact, I use them all over the forums, because I generally tl;dr a lot. I can post the basics openly and [spoiler]If you want to know more, or are struggling with the terms / concepts in the basic post, you can read through this waffle that most people either know already or just CBFA to read because they don't care enough to find out.[/spoiler]
Well you know, today I feel like they're not such a big deal and maybe it's just the overuse of them. Like I said initially, using them all the time even with things that are free to discuss it both hides legit discussion for someone who's just interested in seeing if everyone thinks it's a good show to watch and makes it bit more of a burden on people who want to talk about the latest episode.
My problem with that is, if you and your friends all watch the exact same thing on TV, at the exact same time, what do you need to discuss? It's a bit like force-fed chickens discussing the quality of the food. XD But, as
Uh. If you put it like that then what's the point in discussing the latest episode of a series on the forum - or anything at all about a series for that matter.
I get the reasoning though. Maybe the thing that really bothers me is stupidity in general which shows its ugly head in the form of useless spoiler tags like [spoiler]I think John Smith was totally the wrong pick for the role of Banana Split here! I hate his expressionless face draining life out of the show...[/spoiler]
Maybe the thing that really bothers me is stupidity in general which shows its ugly head in the form of useless spoiler tags like [spoiler]I think John Smith was totally the wrong pick for the role of Banana Split here! I hate his expressionless face draining life out of the show...[/spoiler]
looooooooool! Yes, that's exactly the sort of thing that doesn't need spoilering, and the kind of discussion I'm happy to have about shows before I start them. I don't think I ever do hear much before I watch stuff. All most people seem to talk about on TV is who they want to get through on Britains Got Talent or last nights Panorama.
If a thread is tagged [SPOILERS] then there's considerably less need for taggage in posts. In fact, unless you have seen a pre-air episode, I don't think there's any need at all. But threads which aren't tagged, should have plot-line tells wrapped. Discussion about actual story content, I feel, should be predominantly kept in [SPOILERS] threads. So the hidden text should only appear in non-spoiler threads where you need to justify, or give an example of how your "behind the scenes" discussion affects what is seen on-screen.
There's also mini-spoils, which I hope nobody is too concerned about. For example, it's not devastating to learn that the actor who plays you favourite character will be leaving the cast this season. (or even next episode) It tells you that the character will either die off or leave in some manner. (unless they can find a way to replace the actor *and* keep the character) Learning exactly how that character is going to exit the show is quite different. The knowledge that they will leave can actually create a sense of appropriation. All the way through you're thinking "Oh no! This is it, they're gonna get splatter!? No way!" and then they get away, so you're thinking "You b*sterds! So how are you gonna get rid of them?" XD
The poll is confusing. Shouldn't it be that both of them be considered spoiler? For TV series, film series, or animes, it actually depends on the viewer. Instead of tagging
alert on a thread title, why not just indicate the episode number, that for you to join this discussion, you should have at least watched this nth episode of this series.
And in the case of [spoiler ][ /spoiler] tags, I think it should only be used when you're on a non-spoiler thread and that you're about to post an event which made a huge impact on the story.
The poll is confusing. Shouldn't it be that both of them be considered spoiler? For TV series, film series, or animes, it actually depends on the viewer. Instead of tagging
alert on a thread title, why not just indicate the episode number, that for you to join this discussion, you should have at least watched this nth episode of this series.
And in the case of [spoiler ][ /spoiler] tags, I think it should only be used when you're on a non-spoiler thread and that you're about to post an event which made a huge impact on the story.
: although I sometimes like seeing how a season ends so I can understand the build up to the climax (but that's just me!)
