# How does one read the spoilers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 8, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-read-the-spoilers/167427 "2003-04-08T23:04:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-read-the-spoilers/167427/1 "2003-04-08T23:04:21Z")
Occasionally I see a message in this board which contains a big black block, which is indicated to be a spoiler. Presumably, there is some mechanism by which the spoiler is revealed. What is it? Thanks, Ed ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-read-the-spoilers/167427/2 "2003-04-08T23:06:53Z")
Highlight the contents of the box. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-read-the-spoilers/167427/3 "2003-04-08T23:07:02Z")
Click in the far bottom-right corner (inside) and drag to the upper left. This will select the text, enabling you to see it See? ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-read-the-spoilers/167427/4 "2003-04-08T23:07:44Z")
Drag your mouse over the box with the left button pressed - just as you would to highlight text. The contents will appear as if by magic. ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-read-the-spoilers/167427/5 "2003-04-08T23:08:40Z")
Sorry. That wasn’t very explicit, was it? Highlight the contents, using your mouse, as if you were planning to copy-and-paste the text. When it’s highlighted, the text will show up, due to the color change. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-read-the-spoilers/167427/6 "2003-04-08T23:09:43Z")
I got it, thanks! So simple, yet it had been puzzling me for months! Ed ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-read-the-spoilers/167427/7 "2003-04-08T23:10:23Z")
Cecil, and a few of the moderators probably have special glasses that filter out the “black light” from the box and render the text visible, but the rest of us just select the text in the spoiler box with our cursors. This highlights it and makes it visible. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-read-the-spoilers/167427/8 "2003-04-08T23:10:48Z")
Now for the other 30,000 or so dopers to answer this OP’s question… Joking¿ ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-read-the-spoilers/167427/9 "2003-04-08T23:14:40Z")
and here’s how to make one -" put your spoiler text here " (without the quotes) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-read-the-spoilers/167427/10 "2003-04-09T00:06:29Z")
If your mouse pointer is being belligerent, or the spoiler is very long, try hitting Ctrl-A to select all the text on the page in one go.