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Spoilers etiquette.


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Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 2651
Location: Colorado, USA
PostPosted: Wed May 28, 2014 4:31 pm Reply with quote
Tony K. wrote:
But the real question is: once we get all this etiquette ironed out, what then? If a user reports a post for failing to insert some spoiler tags, should there be any admonishment or ultimatums?

I think that it should be just a request to follow the suggested etiquette and a link to the post with the "rules" if we get one made.
If it seems like somebody is being rude just to annoy and provoke people then that would be a different situation.

What we are talking about here is just etiquette. It would probably be rather draconian to try to force people to be polite and courteous.
I think that rudeness usually gets corrected naturally by the community.
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Violynne



Joined: 09 May 2014
Posts: 128
PostPosted: Wed May 28, 2014 8:50 pm Reply with quote
Touma wrote:
@Violynne,
Is there some reason why the episode numbers should not be at the start of the post?
Do you see a problem with it?

I wouldn't see any harm in it, but I have to agree with leatherhead333's position. This wouldn't make a difference as posts progress.

A few things slip out people aren't aware of. I may read a few pages of a specific character, leap forward a bit, and realize either the character is no longer discussed or is used in the past tense. There isn't much left to the imagination to realize something happened to the character.

I can only blame myself if I enter an ongoing discussion and find a spoiler. I don't understand why other users feel the blame belongs to the one who spoiled. It doesn't make sense to me.

I think there's a difference between talking about the "purple wedding" versus "Bruce Willis is a ghost" when it comes to spoilers, and the discussions in the anime forum are more to the "purple wedding" than someone intentionally trying to ruin the series.

An episode number may be helpful, but if it doesn't work out because spoiler tags are no longer used, it would be disappointing the reader blames the poster for the spoiler.

I'd like to see people post freely about the series than tip-toe for the few who took the risk and find themselves upset for their choice to enter the discussion.

*SPOILERS* in the title is the best option. Enter the discussion at your own risk.
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Polycell



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 4623
PostPosted: Thu May 29, 2014 10:45 am Reply with quote
Episode numbers are extremely useful for someone working their way through a series and following the discussion at the same time; as mentioned numerous times, it also helps those whose chosen sources are delayed. Drawing the line leaves little need to tiptoe around spoilers for that episode.
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Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 2651
Location: Colorado, USA
PostPosted: Thu May 29, 2014 4:42 pm Reply with quote
Violynne wrote:
An episode number may be helpful, but if it doesn't work out because spoiler tags are no longer used, it would be disappointing the reader blames the poster for the spoiler.

How would it be any less disappointing to the reader if episode numbers were not used?
All that the episode number does is tell the reader if the post is about an episode that he has watched, or not.
I really cannot see anything negative about that.

Quote:
I'd like to see people post freely about the series than tip-toe for the few who took the risk and find themselves upset for their choice to enter the discussion.

How would using episode numbers keep you from posting freely?
And why would you need to tiptoe?

Quote:
*SPOILERS* in the title is the best option. Enter the discussion at your own risk.

That is not a bad idea. I certainly have no objection to it.
But if you do only that then a person would need to decide whether or not to read the thread as a whole. It would be all or nothing.

With the episode numbers a person can read posts about episodes that he has seen and not read posts about episodes that he has not seen.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11290
PostPosted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 5:42 pm Reply with quote
This thread seems to have died. Was any agreement reached or codified?

I think beginning posts with the episode number is reasonable myself, but having tried it in the past with spoiler warnings, and having the post moderated and getting chastised in subsequent posts for not actually hiding the text, I've just taken to tagging anything of any substance at all.

Since I'm tired of reading discussion threads that look like classified documents, I would really like to see some sort of consensus on this. But I know some people are more prickly about it than others (I've been criticized for not explaining the work I'm trying to talk about, then criticized by the same people for spoilers when I explained the premise in somewhat more detail as they asked me to. Damned if you do...) so a true consensus may not be possible.

But I'm still not clear on what the official policy is as of now since it seems to keep changing or be according to the interpretation of various moderators. A more recent post was referred back to here and Teh Rules hasn't been updated since 2006, so I don't know where else to look if anything's been agreed on.
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
Posts: 11250
Location: Frisco, TX
PostPosted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 6:04 pm Reply with quote
The courtesy of spoiler tags or some kind of notifier is completely dependent on the user posting the spoilers. So really, it just comes down to your own personal definition of what qualifies as "courteous."

I suppose it if became a problem for certain users to who *constantly* spoil things with total disregard could be placed on Moderation or something. But at this point, I suppose just being "more considerate" is all we've really established and continue to ask for.
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Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 2651
Location: Colorado, USA
PostPosted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:10 pm Reply with quote
I am reviving this thread because of the new discussion about updating the rules.

To summarize my views:
Spoiler tags are not needed in series discussion threads, but the episode being discussed must be clearly identified at the beginning of the post.

Spoiler tags should be used in other situations.
People will have to use their own judgement about what might be a spoiler.

Spoiler tags should be used sparingly. Huge blocks of black lines can be more annoying than spoilers. Tag only the things that are actually spoilers.
Always have something outside of the tags to tell people something about what is hidden.

If there are complaints about untagged spoilers then tags can be added by the original poster or a moderator.

Spoiler tags are a courtesy. As such the failure to use spoiler tags should not be treated a punishable offense unless a moderator determines that the poster is deliberately posting spoilers to annoy people.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 2:22 pm Reply with quote
Touma wrote:
Always have something outside of the tags to tell people something about what is hidden.


Yes. Yes yes yes. Huge pet peeve of mine when people fail to do this. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a spoiler tag but the series name is under the tag so it's impossible to determine if it's safe for me to look under the tag without first looking under the tag!

Touma wrote:
Tag only the things that are actually spoilers.


I agree, but I'll add that people need to use their common sense about this. Veils of black are annoying and should be avoided, but going too far the other way can also be irksome. Extreme example: if a user says "I was really sad when Character A of Anime X spoiler[died]", then it is so obvious what is underneath the tag that the tag is actually useless.

Mods can fix up the tags if someone does mess up tagging something, but it is no comfort for anyone who saw it before the offending post got modified. So be sensible people.
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nobahn
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Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 5120
PostPosted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 4:17 pm Reply with quote
^
Let's not forget this useful post.....
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