In this week’s “House” thread there is a poster complaining about being “Spoiled” because somebody mentions what was shown in the preview for next week. The publicly shown on television, planned and approved by the director, producers, etc of the show, preview.
Now, I acknowledge that there is a group of people for whom this stuff matters, for whom it truly ruins the experience, and that I am at the full opposite end of the spectrum. (I’d much rather know what is going to happen so that I can enjoy the artistry of the exposition.)
As the level of bitterness that results is pretty extreme, and as there is certainly a field of grey within which to make claims of spoiler-ing (spoilage?); I think the board might benefit from an accepted definition.
I am probably the wrong person to try and define what that should be, but I think it should include the statement that trailers, previews and scenes widely shown in commercials or other promotional materials on the public airwaves are free game.
IMO, anything that’s aired before the next episode is fair game to be discussed. I feel that once the previews have aired that should be allowed to be discussed and speculating what’s going to happen in next week’s show (not just in House, but in general) should be allowed. That includes things like “I see such and and such isn’t listed on IMDB for the episode two weeks from now, I bet he’s going to die next week”
Hey, nothing’s 100% reliable other then the actual show, anything else is just guessing.
Actually, I take that back, I can see looking up who’s credited in future episodes, ‘inside info’ that you find on the internet, “I heard from a guy who claims to work on the show” etc being a bit of a gray area that may or may not be spoilered, but IMHO, previews don’t need to be. I consider them part of this week’s show.
Now, I can understand where Nunzio was coming from. House is usually pretty straight forward about their previews. What we saw is probably more or less what’s going to happen…but it didn’t really ruin much and talking/speculating about it…no, I take that back it could spoil things.
OTOH, there are shows like Soprano’s where the previews where soooo misleading they weren’t even worth watching. It was just stupid how bad they were and yet people would still freak out if you mentioned them. My favorite was when they showed two guys kneeling down and Christopher shooting them. Then when we saw the episode it was two different scenes. Chris was shooting at the ground because he was mad about something. Come to think about it, you almost have to wonder if they purposely filmed that scene just so they could create the misleading preview where it looked like he was killing someone ‘execution style.’
Also, part of the problem is that different shows are all going to be a little different and then there’s the whole ‘you can’t please everyone’ thing.
If we wanted to create a rule, I’d say “Anything that’s been aired on national TV* up to the point of the next episode starting is fair game as is any speculation based on it”
I get sick of people jumping into the middle of a thread to say “OMG that was in the commercial for next week, you can’t talk about that” Well ya know what, I’m sick of trying to keep it all straight. If you are that concerned about being spoiled for next week either don’t walk into the thread, start your own thread with your own rules (which the mods typically help enforce) or try to start THE thread for that weeks episode with the rules you want. If people like your rules it probably won’t be a problem, if they don’t, someone else will start their own.
*this could be narrowed down from “national TV” to “that show’s network” to prevent discussion based on things that happen (like actors on talk shows) on other channels or broadened to "that show’s network and website (important for Breaking Bad).
I didn’t think either comment about next week’s preview spoiled anything. One was just a one-word comment: “jeez.” How that spoils anything is beyond me. The other one merely says we get to see some powerhouse acting from Robert Sean Leonard, the lead who plays Wilson. I humbly submit that anyone who is irritated by such innocuous comments as these should simply not enter the thread. As for more specific spoilers, I’m sure most of know how, and, particularly, when, to use spoiler tags.
I’m in the “previews are not spoilers” camp and I don’t see why they can’t be discussed openly in a show thread. If that’s a problem for someone, they have the option of not taking part in the discussion or finding another place to discuss the show to their liking.
I will point out that the directors/producers actually don’t often have a lot of control over what goes into the previews, especially for a network show. The networks’ promo department puts them together after the fact and I’ve heard directors complain about them in the past.
How about a “lack of effort” rule? If you had to look something up in IMDB, and then draw a reference to a report about an actor’s next film location, then that could be “Spoilage” and should be boxed. If, on the other hand, anyone who watched this week’s episode would have had this information fall into their lap, it’s free game.
What about…But but but, I turn it off before the previews come on, and I go out of my way to not watch the commercials.
I think this is where my ‘rule’ will help draw the line. It’ll keep previews and commercials out of the gray area.
IMO, the other options are that a thread about an episode (or show) may discuss that episode as well as previous ones but nothing else. Nothing drawing from outside sources, no previews, no commercials, no nothing (unboxed)…but then we end up the a thread full of boxed spoilers.
My goal is to be able to create a thread that’s readable to someone that’s watched the episode. I can’t stand reading a thread about something that we’ve all seen just to have to open a spoiler box in almost every post to see “Well, I’m guessing that he’s going to kill her next week and then in Season 7 his wife will find out and…” and what…why is that spoiled and when that gets spoiled everyone who reads it gets confused and spoils the comments about it.
But I’ll say it again, if someone doesn’t want previews spoiled, start your own thread or be the first to start THE thread and set out your own rules. IME if you say “discussing previews must be done is spoiler boxes” the mods will usually help you keep that under control.
I am one of the first group and I say…it’s my lookout, barring a few exceptions. If I am into a show and someone makes a thread, I never ever click on it or go into it because I don’t want to be spoiled even a little bit. I avoid websites of it and discussions of it like the plague.
The only exceptions I say is people cross-posting spoilers, like if you go into a thread that says “House Episode X” on it and someone is all “Hey that’s just like what happened in that Supernatural episode, only in Supernatural they did Y!” That shouldn’t happen - don’t do that.
The person who complained shouldn’t have been reading the thread, IMO. But they did ask very nicely and didn’t really seem to be annoyed…in my mind it’s not that big of a deal to refrain from discussing the previews (I don’t watch those little bastards either, they give way too much away) but as you say it’s kind of a gray area.
But I will also say it again, if you don’t want to be spoiled (like me) stay away from all threads pertaining to it! Everyone else, just don’t put it in the header.
I read a few threads about TV shows but rarely participate. I’ve seen people flipping out about spoilers before.
I think to consider previews aired by the network to be spoilers is really pushing the limit. Sure you might have someone who turns the program off before the previews and doesn’t watch commercials until the next showing (if ever) but that subset of people (IMHO) should not get to run the show for everyone else. If you are really that upset by something someone saw in a preview then it’s possible (said 100% without snark) that discussion threads aren’t a good thing for you to read.
Thinking about this, I can understand where people would want to have previews be considered spoilers and I can understand trying to draw the line at the end of the actual show and calling anything that aired before that fair game, but since the discussion STARTS at that point and runs for a few days after that point, I think it’s difficult to draw it there.
For example, with House. Most of us saw the previews, I assume commercials have aired showing the same thing. If one person brings it up we’re going to have a whole thread of spoiler boxes OR no spoiler boxes and half the people throwing fits about all the speculation going on because they now know what’s going to happen during 3 seconds of next weeks episode.
I’m one of the Cafe Society mods. This is getting to be a big problem, I suppose due to more and more programs and movies being made from popular works of literature. This has always been the case, however. Laws, can you think of the shrieking that would have occurred in 1939 if we’d had the Internet back when the movie version of Gone with the Wind was being made?
Anyway, I really don’t think we can police for material that is aired in conjunction with the broadcast of an episode. We can and do try to keep book and movie/TV shows separate to respond to the desire not to have the viewing experience spoiled. Or, in the case where the two are commingled, an enforced spoiler policy.
Anything beyond that is like Joey says; it’s too hard to keep straight. If someone doesn’t want anything spoiled they should either A) avoid online discussions of their favorite programs, or B) read through their fingers, scanning for key words like “preview” and “next week.” Everyone can be courteous by announcing what they’re saying is based on 1. conjecture 2. spoilers 3. insider info, etc.
Personally, I’m a “read through my fingers” type; I don’t like to have things spoiled, even previews, but I deal.
It’s always been a problem, helped in no small part to many people on this board being completely unable to understand how to do simple board functions like post URLs, let alone a spoiler box. Additionally, the overuse of spoiler boxes (i.e. people putting idle speculation in spoiler boxes, having entire conversations inside spoiler boxes, etc.) has people completely flummoxed as to when and where a spoiler box is actually needed.
This has always just been a pet peeve of mine, and I brought it up pretty regularly ever since spoiler boxes became available - I’m glad it’s become even more clear that a policy needs to be formulated, even if it’s just a strongly worded sticky post that contains “suggested guidelines”.
I want to be clear that I wasn’t trying to pick on that specific poster, and s/he was actually quite polite; but it’s possible to be both polite and out of line.
This thread started because in that one I wanted to say “No, that’s not a spoiler, a spoiler is. . .” and then I realized it’s a wide, amorphous, gently sloping, field of grey. That’s why I think we need an accepted board definition to which folks can point and be pointed. Clarity prevents rancor.
I’d suggest that the “default” rule should be “Anything that aired during the episode’s time slot-commercials, flash-forwards, previews” are fair game. Anything that appeared outside or after that time-slot shouldn’t be.
That said, I don’t care and would respect a thread that had the alternate rule.
Maybe the best rule is “assume that previews are ok unless the op specifies otherwise”. Yeah, we’ll get some parallel episode threads, but not that many and really, who cares if we do?
I’m with you. I always turn the show off before the previews, and I don’t watch trailers if I can possibly avoid it. I want to watch everything unfold.
I don’t get bent out of shape over spoilers, but if I go to all of the trouble to stop watching before the previews and skip over trailers (I time-shift everything on the DVR, so that’s easy), then it’s certainly annoying when someone blurts out “are you looking forward to Sean Connery’s guest appearance on Game of Thrones next week when he kidnaps the queen?”
I’m with you. I always turn the show off before the previews, and I don’t watch trailers if I can possibly avoid it. I want to watch everything unfold.
I don’t get bent out of shape over spoilers, but if I go to all of the trouble to stop watching before the previews and skip over trailers (I time-shift everything on the DVR, so that’s easy), then it’s certainly annoying when someone blurts out “are you looking forward to Sean Connery’s guest appearance on Game of Thrones next week when he kidnaps the queen?”
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I DO watch previews, I was just making a point.
Also, please give people a hint as to what’s in the spoiler
not good:
John is going to kill Mark next week!
good:
Based on something I read at TWOP/the previews for next week/a podcast with the director/etc WRT John finding out Mark’s secret…
John is going to drain him by accident since he likes faerie blood so much
My rule of spoilers would be anything that has gone out over the air is not a spoiler. It isn’t other people’s responsibility to not let you know about something that has already been broadcast.
Can we establish a time limit on spoilers? There was a recent thread about The Hobbit where the poster felt he had to warn us that he was going to spoil the ending. I’m thinking the book was published in 1937 - it’s past the spoiler limit.
It can get really silly as some Dopers can insulate themselves from real life.
Years ago I was criticized for mentioning, in a thread about poker, the winner of the WSOP held many months prior. Apparently the final table had not yet been shown on TV and somehow a poker fan had avoided knowing the result despite the wide media coverage.
Where does that end?
“Oh, thanks for wrecking my weekend. I was planning on watching Band of Brothers but now that I know the Allies won the war…”
