# Nerdy LOTR Request Re: Spoilers
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 23, 2002, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308 "2002-11-23T04:37:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Wrong_Girl)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/1 "2002-11-23T04:37:04Z")
Part of me thinks this thread might be unnecessary, but I’d like to get some sort of official comment on it anyway.
I know tons of people here are really excited about the Two Towers, and I anticipate tons of threads about the movie when it finally comes out, and hope to participate in a bunch.
But, are we going to have some sort of policy on the Two Towers spoilers? Is the general attitude going to be similar to Fellowship of the Ring, where people said things like “I can’t wait to see how they presented [spoiler tags]” or, since it’s the middle of a trilogy, will it be open season on a spoiler?
I mean, my world won’t end if I find out something that happens in Return of the King (I haven’t read any of the books yet), but can we make some sort of official policy or something? I hope I’m articulating this decently–I just want to make sure people don’t start being snarky about spoilers. Myself included, I guess.
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### Author:  [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/2 "2002-11-23T05:03:29Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I mean, my world won’t end if I find out something that happens in Return of the King (I haven’t read any of the books yet)
Gollum is Frodo’s father.
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### Author:  [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/3 "2002-11-23T05:14:12Z")
One issue that has been raised before with regard to LOTR spoilers is that the books have been around for an awfully long time. There are some people who feel that the basic elements of the story are not spoilers since they were set down by Tolkein almost 50 years ago.
I realize that this doesn’t help you, since you haven’t read the books (or me, since it hasn’t been about 25 years since I read them), but it’s the argument that has been made in the past.
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### Author:  [@Spiratu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiratu)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/4 "2002-11-23T05:14:13Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \*
> \*\*Gollum is Frodo’s father. \*\*
Well, he might be related through the Sackville-Bagginses; they’re both always trying to get their hands on Bilbo’s stuff.
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### Author:  [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/5 "2002-11-23T08:28:56Z")
By the same token (no pun, really) despite the books being 50 years old, not all of the fans of the movies are.
Yeah, some of us have had a whole lotta years to read the books (10 and 20 and 50 times, for some die-hards) but some ain’t.
A spoiler warning in a thread _ **title** _ where such is present (or where it can safely be assumed that there’s going to be spoilers in the responses to the OP) isn’t a whole lot to ask.
(OTOH, the way this seems to break down, the safest course is to just avoid threads on the subject until you’ve seen the flick. YMMV.)
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### Author:  [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/6 "2002-11-23T10:18:18Z")
Gimli shot Mr. Burns
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### Author:  [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/7 "2002-11-23T11:37:22Z")
Isildur’s bane was his sled.
But seriously, folks …
We won’t have any _“official”_ policy on this but will deal with it on a case by case basis. There are still a lot of people who have never read the books and are just going by the movies, so we’ll ask for some understanding as far as revealing spoilers is concerned.
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### Author:  [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/8 "2002-11-23T14:49:16Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by SpoilerVirgin \*
> **One issue that has been raised before with regard to LOTR spoilers is that the books have been around for an awfully long time. There are some people who feel that the basic elements of the story are not spoilers since they were set down by Tolkein almost 50 years ago.**
This argument by some Tolkien fans bothers me because it sounds like an assumption that, if you _haven’t_ read the books by now (no matter if you’re 16 or 60) then you don’t particularly matter. Beyond that, spoilers could very well KEEP people from reading the book.
I had never read the books before seeing the movie. After the movie, I read the books because **I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED NEXT**. I just had to know. I HAD TO! If I’d casually come across what happens in a thread not marked **SPOILERS** , that itch to know would have been scratched and I might not have read the books, at least not as soon as I did.
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### Author:  [@The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Wrong_Girl)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/9 "2002-11-23T15:09:26Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Eutychus \*
> \*\*We won’t have any _“official”_ policy on this but will deal with it on a case by case basis. There are still a lot of people who have never read the books and are just going by the movies, so we’ll ask for some understanding as far as revealing spoilers is concerned. \*\*
Sounds good to me. On further reflection, the OP might have come off as a little self-absorbed–you know, god forbid **I** find out any spoilers. I was just thinking about what would happen in TTT threads if people referenced ROTK, that sort of thing. Like I said, the world won’t end, but I just wanted to see what people thought before the massive onslaught of Two Towers threads.
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### Author:  [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/10 "2002-11-23T15:17:54Z")
Then there are the people who simply don’t like to read books of that genre, but love the movies and want to know what’s going to happen next. If they have no interest or intention of reading TTT or ROTK, then the argument of “well you should know this already, it’s in the books” isn’t fair to them.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/11 "2002-11-23T21:54:10Z")
The only fair policy is one that places responsibility where it belongs. If you are a person who’s LOTR experience might be spoiled by learning details beyond your current level of understanding, you should not ready threads about LOTR. Simple.
For example, I enjoy watching Survivor. But I live in Alaska, and due to the 4 hour time difference, the first Suvivor threads, complete with spoilers, are posted long before it ever starts here. Is it fair of me to ask other Survivior fans to refrain from discussing the juicy details before I have a chance to see the episode? Of course not; I just **don’t open the threads**.
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### Author:  [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/12 "2002-11-23T22:13:57Z")
Um… **Fear Itself** , what about when the spoiler is in the title? There’s no way to avoid it.
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### Author:  [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/13 "2002-11-23T23:31:31Z")
Good point **dantheman**. While one should always assume there may be spoilers in any **LOtR** thread , it is very difficult to avoid reading thread titles. I guess the admins are going to have to make _Posting **LOtR** Spoilers in thread titles a bannable offense._ 🙂
Although as I think about it, the major spoiler in **TTT** is about umm- **Olorin** , and we Tolkien geeks are not very likely to start a thread that spoils **Olorin** , post in it yes, start it–no.
BTW The entire Third Age was really just a dream.
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### Author:  [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/14 "2002-11-23T23:35:07Z")
Aragorn was Kaiser Sose.
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### Author:  [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2002, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/15 "2002-11-23T23:56:04Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Fear Itself \*
> But I live in Alaska, and due to the 4 hour time difference, the first Suvivor threads, complete with spoilers, are posted long before it ever starts here. Is it fair of me to ask other Survivior fans to refrain from discussing the juicy details before I have a chance to see the episode?
Okay, but you only had to wait four hours. People who haven’t seen or read ROTK yet will have to wait a year before they can open those threads. I think it would be nice (not as official policy, of course) to have two classes of spoilers, TTT and ROTK, and you can specify which are okay in the thread title. Like this:
**LOTR question (TTT spoilers only)**
vs.
**LOTR question (ROTK spoilers OK)**
Oh, and Legolas Greenleaf kills Mr. Boddy.
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### Author:  [@The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Wrong_Girl)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2002, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/16 "2002-11-24T00:01:27Z")
Exactly, **Achernar**. I just felt that with the second movie out, people might be more likely to talk about how it relates to the third movie or something. I like your idea a lot. 🙂
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### Author:  [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2002, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/17 "2002-11-24T00:56:42Z")
> [@](#):
>
> BTW The entire Third Age was really just a dream.
Thank you very much for the mental image of Gandalf and Suzanne Pleshette in bed together together.
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### Author:  [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2002, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/18 "2002-11-24T02:58:23Z")
Actually, I was thinking Gandalf was in the shower with Bobby …
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### Author:  [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2002, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/19 "2002-11-24T03:22:13Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by 5 time champ \*
> \*\*Although as I think about it, the major spoiler in **TTT** is about umm- **Olorin** , and we Tolkien geeks are not very likely to start a thread that spoils **Olorin** , post in it yes, start it–no.
>
> \*\*
Actually this par was spoiled essentially as soon as the fellowship was released. And there has been many people complaining (rightly so, IMO) about that. I doubt it will come as a surprise to any doper who didn’t live in a desert island during the last year…
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2002, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nerdy-lotr-request-re-spoilers/138308/20 "2002-11-25T00:05:19Z")
To expand: When is it safe to post “outside the box”, so to speak? For instance, suppose we have a thread titled “Tolkien question”, or something similarly vague (no spoilers nor spoiler warnings in the title). The OP then proceeds to ask about material from _The Silmarillion_ (not particularly spoilers there, either, though). If I read that thread (and I will, of course: I read every Tolkien thread I see), I’m going to assume that I’m in the company of other nerds who have read _at least_ the four prehumous books, and am thus not going to bother with spoiler warnings. Is this justified?
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