Spoilers, darling.

[rogueslayer452]

Taken from the Crunchy Questions Meme:

What is your stance on spoilers? Do you think after a certain period of time, media is fair game? What about spoilery discussion on platforms that don't allow for easy filtering, such as Facebook? Do you have any other opinions surrounding spoilers?

From a personal standpoint, I don't really mind spoilers all that much anymore. I used to be somewhat cautious in the past, but nowadays I'm more or less neutral when it comes to spoilers. I do try to avoid them whenever I can, of course, since there are things I want to remain unspoiled for especially when getting into something, but if I accidentally do get spoiled it's not really the end of the world. It can be annoying sure, but I can deal with it. However, despite my neutral stance on spoilers for myself I always warn for spoilers whenever I can whenever I'm discussing about things.

I'm also of the mind that sometimes spoilers doesn't always necessarily ruin the experience of something. I will occasionally spoil myself for things simply as a precautionary measure or if a particular piece of fiction is going to be worth my time getting invested in. Other times it's just to emotionally and psychologically prepare myself for what's to come, like if a character dies or if something terrible is going to happen down the line that may make me uncomfortable. Sometimes it can be very vague, other times it's very detailed, and it doesn't always mean it ruins the experience but makes it more manageable based on my own personal preferences. And I think that's the key element here, because what counts as spoilers differs from person to person. You might not be able to count on others to not spoil you, but you can control what you're responsible for when looking things up yourself and when to disengage.

As a general rule though, I think everyone should be mindful when it comes to spoilers, both online and in real life, and it shouldn't matter whether something just came out or has been out for years or is incredibly popular and talked about everywhere. I think everyone should be responsible for how they engage in those kinds of situations, especially with online spaces where there are tools to help avoid accidentally spoiling someone and to avoid spoilers for yourself (ex: warning beforehand in posts and using spoiler cuts, using the appropriate filters, blocking certain tags, avoiding specific sites, etc).

There's also a conversation to be had when it comes to how people handle spoilers in the age of digital streaming and binge-watching, as well.

Comments

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I'm also of the mind that sometimes spoilers doesn't always necessarily ruin the experience of something. I will occasionally spoil myself for things simply as a precautionary measure or if a particular piece of fiction is going to be worth my time getting invested in. Other times it's just to emotionally and psychologically prepare myself for what's to come, like if a character dies or if something terrible is going to happen down the line that may make me uncomfortable.

I do the same thing. Honestly, spoilers can be a great way of knowing something is NOT for you. Like Marley & Me. Granted, I'm pretty genre savvy, so I called the ending before hearing anything about it because come on. The cute puppy always grows into a dog that dies or has to be mercy killed by its owner, unless it's Beethoven. But that was a kid's movie, of course the dog lived to see the light of day. (And even kids movies aren't always so generous!) My point is, it's good to know. Because I definitely can't handle things like that.

Sometimes spoilers also make it fun. Before I watched Schitt's Creek (I'm not sure if you've seen it?), I was spoiled by media frenzy for the fact that one of the main characters gets married. When we meet the character's future spouse in their first episode, I just had a feeling that was who it would be. I spoiled myself intentionally, looking it up. It was fun watching them grow into the couple I knew they were going to be.

You might not be able to count on others to not spoil you, but you can control what you're responsible for when looking things up yourself and when to disengage.

That's the thing. I'll see someone walk into a red zone for spoilers, then complain that they got spoiled. What did they expect? That's when it gets annoying.


There's also a conversation to be had when it comes to how people handle spoilers in the age of digital streaming and binge-watching, as well.

Also, notifications. I was almost spoiled for a show on Reddit, because people kept posting things that came up on my dash, for lack of a better term because I'm not sure what it's actually called. I avoided the sub itself but still got notified. I actually had to post to the subreddit kindly telling everyone to shut up. :P I guess you could argue that even going to Reddit was dangerous, though, now that I think about it. Hm. Maybe it was more on me than I realized? But still, I do go for other things.

Social media also makes it more challenging. Even LJ — I almost spoiled the entire seventh Harry Potter book for everyone because the cuts didn't work. I was mortified. (At the time, most of my flist was into Harry Potter, and this was back when you'd have people reading your posts within minutes, so it was a pretty big deal.) Thankfully I fixed it within a minute or two, but what if right after I'd posted, I went out? That being said, I did make it abundantly clear in the title and the first paragraph what the post was, so you could argue people had the responsibility to scroll. Then you have Facebook, which really doesn't have a spoiler option, although you can do stuff so the rest of the post collapses.

Going back to reddit and to forums, what do you think of spoiler policies on forums? Do you think there should be spoiler warnings for all installments, or just the most recent one?

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

That's the thing. I'll see someone walk into a red zone for spoilers, then complain that they got spoiled. What did they expect? That's when it gets annoying.

It really makes me wonder why some do this, like either they purposefully are causing issues or they genuinely weren't aware because they weren't paying attention and are embarrassed by their own mistake, but instead of owning up to that they point fingers at others instead. People in general really need to know how to behave in those situations, on all sides.

I almost spoiled the entire seventh Harry Potter book for everyone because the cuts didn't work. I was mortified.

Oh god, I've accidentally done this too numerous times over the years and it's always that panicky feeling that is the worst. This is why I always try to double and triple check after I've posted something to make sure everything is in working order, but even I can slip up or the formatting somehow doesn't work right and, yeah. It's the worst feeling, regardless whether there's even spoilers involved or not.

Going back to reddit and to forums, what do you think of spoiler policies on forums? Do you think there should be spoiler warnings for all installments, or just the most recent one?

In my opinion, I think there should be spoiler warnings for all installments.

For example, on the Critical Role subreddit people will title their threads for spoilers for both campaigns, not just the most recent one. Granted, both campaigns have hundreds of episodes and over hundreds of hours of content to get through so it is understandable that not everyone who gets involved in the show will be starting at the same place (as in chronological order, of either campaign), so people have to use the spoiler warnings regardless. But I think that is a general rule for most things, really. Some might think it's an inconvenience and pointless, but I think it's just common courtesy, imho.

Of course every place (that is moderated) has their own set of rules, I just think that in your subject titles you should still put "SPOILER" in there just in case.

[noybusiness.livejournal.com]

I guess you could argue that even going to Reddit was dangerous, though, now that I think about it. Hm. Maybe it was more on me than I realized? But still, I do go for other things.

I don't think so. People should be able to use the general pages of social media without worrying about spoilers. Those are not meant to be red zones. Nothing more annoying than when you're simply Web surfing and someone has decided to blab an important plot point on a page that's not even directly related to the work.

Or this one tweet that spoiled something about Caprica that said "Spoiler" but then had no space underneath the word to speak of, making it impossible to actually avoid the spoiler if you saw the tweet, and the originator had the nerve to complain when people complained.

[blakmagjick]

I also don't get super annoyed with spoilers...except when it's about a book I'm reading...lol

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I think I've definitely become more lenient when it comes to spoilers as I've gotten older.

[noybusiness.livejournal.com]

It depends, oftentimes I want to avoid any kind of spoilers if I'm really enjoying a work. Sometimes I want to know how they resolve a certain plot point so that I can be prepared. There are some things you'd rather not be surprised by when you see them (like whether a character is worth rooting for or not). Others I feel robbed of the chance of seeing for the first time unspoiled.

I'll assume people who are in communities about a work are familiar with everything that's been released so far except something that's only just come out. People should put that behind a cut. If I'm in a reaction community, I'll avoid giving any spoilers without marking or hiding them. Most such communities insist on it, anyway.

I generally don't mind seeing information about shows I don't actually follow and care about at the moment, and then if I do watch them years later I don't mind already knowing these things like I would mind if I had been spoiled while watching, assuming I remember all of them.
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[elizalavelle.livejournal.com]

Thank you for being considerate :)

I used to love spoilers and now I really try to avoid them. If I see something by accident it's not my favourite thing but I'm not super upset. I do get upset when people tell me spoilers after I've specifically told me not to tell me things. I've had friends who will do the "it's not a spoiler but...." and then tell me a spoiler. When I say "don't tell me anything" I really mean it.

You're right about people needing to be responsible about what the view. I'm often a day or so behind on the Marvel stuff so I just don't go on fan site, don't look at articles etc. That's on me. I can't expect everyone to adjust their excitement so I do my best to not read articles or posts when things are new and exciting for everyone.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I do get upset when people tell me spoilers after I've specifically told me not to tell me things. I've had friends who will do the "it's not a spoiler but...." and then tell me a spoiler. When I say "don't tell me anything" I really mean it.

Some people can really be assholes when it comes to that, unfortunately. I've noticed that some people, friends or not, will try to test your boundaries for shits and giggles and it's really sucky of them to do that. If someone tells you no spoilers, don't spoil them, no matter how excited you are about something respect someone's boundaries regarding that.

It's funny because I've seen people say things like, "oh this thing is sooo popular you must've seen spoilers by now!" as an excuse to spoil someone, and it's like, no. A person can go their entire life not knowing anything about a particular piece of media, even if it's something well-known or extremely popular. I've seen people recently who are just getting into things like Game of Thrones and Star Wars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer that have absolutely no idea about anything. They may have heard some things, yes, but never in full context of those references so they've remained completely unspoiled for those things. We should always keep in mind that just because something is popular and all over the place doesn't mean that everyone is aware of it. Essentially, don't be a dick, always ask first if someone has seen something and whether or not they care about spoilers. If they do care, don't be an asshole and ruin it for them. It's that simple.

[elizalavelle.livejournal.com]

One of my friends who does it also says she's been learning how to set her own boundaries from seeing me have mine set so firmly. I'm a fan of knowing my needs. Spoilers are a small thing but you're right that it's definitely a starting point for people to test to see if I mean what I say.

There's so much media out there. There's no way for anyone to have seen all of it, even the really popular things. I have a friend who started Buffy this year, she was too young for it before. Her roommate promptly spoiled her on several of the big things that were coming in later seasons. That roommate has been a jerk and tested boundaries a lot so I guess that holds up, they start with things that are less important and if they get away with it they do more.

Don't be a dick is a good rule for life. For spoilers if I love a show I'm so happy that someone I know is starting it and gets to experience the whole journey. There's no joy in ruining things. I guess there's a mean spirited entertainment if that's someone's fun but I'd rather have my friends watch a show and then we can talk about it when they're super excited :)

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

For spoilers if I love a show I'm so happy that someone I know is starting it and gets to experience the whole journey. There's no joy in ruining things.

Exactly! Having someone say that they started something because of you is one of the best feelings in the world. Why would you want to spoil anything for them when you can simply watch their genuine reactions? It's so great seeing people watch/read something that you've already consumed (and loved) and seeing what they think about it, their opinions and reactions to things happening, and then afterwards, as you said, share the excitement after they've finished.