# Can we Define "Spoiler" Please? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 24, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-define-spoiler-please/619820 "2012-04-24T17:12:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-define-spoiler-please/619820/61 "2012-04-30T16:27:49Z")
No, no, no. Darth Vader was gay for the guy who stole his wandsabre. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-define-spoiler-please/619820/62 "2012-04-30T16:48:01Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > No, no, no. Darth Vader was gay for the guy who stole his wandsabre. Yeah, but it was really a sled. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-define-spoiler-please/619820/63 "2012-05-02T10:01:20Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I’m not a huge TV fan (due to time as much as anything else), but it’s worth bearing in mind that these shows air in “other countries” as well as the US, often some time (months or years) after they aired in the US. > > It’s for that reason I almost never participate in TV show discussion threads here - I don’t want my enjoyment of a new series spoiled before the show even gets on TV here, and by the time it does, it’s old hat in the US and no-one on the boards is interested in discussing it anymore. > > Now, it’s clearly not reasonable to say “You can’t discuss this episode until it’s aired in Upper Obscurania,” but the general idea (that it might be better to err on the side of caution wrt spoilers in really popular shows) was worth at least mentioning. > [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Just a reminder, that this is NOT just a US time zone issue. TV shown in the US may not be shown in Europe/Asia/Australia/wherever for several months, and (importantly) vice versa. Shows released in the UK often don’t get to the US for months; and many US viewers would be annoyed if that was all treated as “open knowledge.” > > The fact that a show has been aired (or a movie released) in one location doesn’t mean that the material is “open knowledge.” > > At the same time, those who want to scrupulously (or obsessively) avoid spoilers should NOT READ THE THREADS about those items. To extend upon these similar points (and the other post where someone pointed out that Dr Who works the other way), there are two points to be made: Firstly, yes it does still happen that it can take months for a show to arrive. It also sometimes takes just a matter of days. The US saw this with Dr Who, where BBC America was showing it just a few days after it was shown in the UK. In the UK there is now a satellite channel called “Sky Atlantic” that specialises in US shows and often shows them very close to the US air date. As an example, the most popular show by far has been “Game of Thrones”, for which every episode of season one was aired the day after the US: > **[Sky Atlantic | Most watched programmes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Atlantic#Most_watched_programmes)** > > The following is a list of the ten most watched programmes on Sky Atlantic (all of them being episodes of Game of Thrones), based on Live +7 data supplied by BARB up to 20 May 2019. The number of viewers does not include repeats or Irish ratings. Additionally, all of these episodes were the most viewed programme of the week on non-terrestrial television in the UK. Game of Thrones is Sky's most popular show. > **[List of Game of Thrones episodes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Game_of_Thrones_episodes)** > > Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. The series is based on George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire. The series takes place on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos, and chronicles the power struggles among noble families as they fight for control of the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms. The series starts when House Stark, led by Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark (Sean Bean), is drawn into sch... It is quite possible that the people watching these shows have not been subjected to the same previews and other media that those in the US have. I find it frustrating when an American says “the previews have been on constantly” when I simply can say back to them “where you live, maybe”. Do Canadians have the same problem, maybe? Secondly, we live in a world where not everyone gets their TV via the actual television any more. There are both legal and not so legal ways to get the shows very close (if not at the same time) to when they are aired. There are people that do this exclusively and hence would not be subject to all these previews that “previews are not spoilers” people tend to say are pretty much unmissable. I guess what I am saying is that it is very, very easy to be up to date with the shows and not have been subjected to all the previews, media interviews and whatnot. So, in my opinion, anything related to an episode that has not aired, be it a preview, interview or whatever, is a spoiler and should be treated as such. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-define-spoiler-please/619820/64 "2012-05-02T16:27:18Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > I guess what I am saying is that it is very, very easy to be up to date with the shows and not have been subjected to all the previews, media interviews and whatnot. So, in my opinion, anything related to an episode that has not aired, be it a preview, interview or whatever, is a spoiler and should be treated as such. Or you could, you know – just not read the thread. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-define-spoiler-please/619820/65 "2012-05-02T23:20:52Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Or you could, you know – just not read the thread. Which, funnily enough, is something I very often end up doing. Pity really, as I wouldn’t have minded discussing the show I had just watched. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-define-spoiler-please/619820/66 "2012-05-03T00:44:24Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Which, funnily enough, is something I very often end up doing. Pity really, as I wouldn’t have minded discussing the show I had just watched. Then jump in. I don’t read every single show thread, but in the ones I do read, there’s very little discussion of previews (which are misleading and useless anyway), interviews, podcasts, etc. And when there **is** mention of an interview or a podcast, there’s generally going to be a link and no actual discussion. You might read that the show has been renewed or cancelled, or that someone has been cast in a role, but the non-show stuff is almost never spoilery. And when a casting change might be a spoiler, it’ll be in a box. I’ve found 99% of posters in show threads to be very considerate, even for shows that are years old. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-define-spoiler-please/619820/67 "2012-05-03T04:08:42Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Actually, I said just this back in post #27: > > **Ellen Cherry** and **Marley23** have indicated on the mod loop that they are happy to let this be the final statement by the current Cafe Society mods. Except didn’t they just come up with a special rule for Game of Thrones?😕 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-define-spoiler-please/619820/68 "2012-05-03T15:32:04Z")
Which is also addressed in post #27. We tried that as an experiment, it’s been a total PITA, and we’re not going to do it with any other show/book combo. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-define-spoiler-please/619820/69 "2012-05-03T15:45:48Z")
That’s just what I was trying to solve. If we have a basic definition, plus 2-3 accepted levels, then the thread intro’s are not so complicated and there’s no misunderstanding (At least among the steady population.) Not arguing though, Modding is a hard enough job, and if you don’t think it will help then it’s moot. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-define-spoiler-please/619820/70 "2012-05-03T18:02:46Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Except didn’t they just come up with a special rule for Game of Thrones?😕 It’s a special case, because the TV series is based on series of contemporary popular books. If not for the books and the books being contemporary, it wouldn’t be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-define-spoiler-please/619820/71 "2012-05-03T19:05:52Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > It’s a special case, because the TV series is based on series of contemporary popular books. If not for the books and the books being contemporary, it wouldn’t be a problem. Well, and it’s also a series uniquely suited the Geekdom that is the SDMB. LOL! But yeah, if The Hobbit weren’t so old I’d expect a similar treatment. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-define-spoiler-please/619820/72 "2012-05-04T01:59:59Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > It’s a special case, because the TV series is based on series of contemporary popular books. If not for the books and the books being contemporary, it wouldn’t be a problem. Hardly. Look, I know the first series of threads about the first few epis did degenerate into a trainwreck, but that wasn’t so much about the book/series issue as it was about personalities. That can happen in any thread about just about anything around here. sbt.☹ I am glad that the Staff now agree that it is a PITA, and not to be repeated. Altho my hat is off to **Gukumatz** for the very hard work:cool:, I think we can stop that experiment already, and in fact I am not sure it was nessesary this time around. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-define-spoiler-please/619820.md?page=3)