Spoilers, darling.
Apr. 8th, 2021 01:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452Taken 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.
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.
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no subject
Date: 2021-04-14 07:32 pm (UTC)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.
no subject
Date: 2021-04-14 08:07 pm (UTC)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 :)
no subject
Date: 2021-04-19 07:16 pm (UTC)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.