I ditto this–I’ve walked into threads not in Cafe Society, and someone will bring up an anecdote that they find relevant from a movie only a week old, giving away much more than you’d find in any trailer or review.
I think everyone knows what to expect and I’ve only seen a handful of complaints where people bitched because something was spoiled in a thread where they really should’ve known better–more often, people who are being cautious go into innocuous or unrelated threads, and blabbermouths who assume everyone (1) lives in the US, or (2) sees popular movies opening weekends start giving out spoiler information right & left, completely oblivious.
Our Enterprise threads in Cafe are labled as spoilers, yet we sometimes use spoiler boxes for dicussing surprises and really deep stuffs before most of us have seen the show because we tend to ramble free form between actual discussion posts.
In a recent ep that featured a very special fuck up by a recurring character that led to a suicide, we kept that in spoiler boxes until all the regular Trek Dopers had seen the ep.
Ah yes, since in these modern times everyone is BORN already having seen “Empire,” and already having read “Catch-22,” and already knowing the surprise at the end of “Citizen Kane.” Is that what you mean?
C’mon, everyone sees “Kane” for the first time at some point. I’m still pissed that that stupid Julie Brown song spoiled it for me. I’m still really, really glad that nothing spoiled the ending of “Psycho” before I saw it at age 19 or so. And I’m still pissed that the Simpsons spoiled “The Crying Game” for me.
I agree with the OP; if there’s a movie coming out that I want to see, I don’t read threads about it (or reviews or anything else I can avoid). But putting a “Kane” spoiler in a thread title is just as assholish as putting a “Survivor” spoiler. In fact, I’d say it’s more so; no one’s going to be ranting about “Survivor’s” brilliance in 60 years, and everyone should have the chance to see “Kane” for the first time without knowing what’s coming.
Agreed. I understand that the unrelated spoiler mistake is harder to avoid (because who knows what others have or have not conceivably read, watched or even performed), but it would be nice to see those go, too.
That said, I’d be happy with just the future episode spoilers gettin’ kicked in da’ booty.
Not everyone on these boards, who reads threads in Cafe Society, was born when you were. They’ve not all had the chance to experience a given movie, book, stage play, or whatever.
When we’re talking about an honest spoiler, where foreknowledge of the point under discussion will ruin the experience for those seeing it for the first time, then yeah, it’s a big deal to them. And to me too, actually. I love watching a flick with someone who’s never seen it before, when it gets to the twist/surprise bit, and thier jaw hits the floor. I get back a little bit of that “Holy shit, did I just see that?” from when I saw it first.
I’m fully on the bandwagon that Spoilers! in the thread title precludes the need for spoiler tags in the thread itself; that bringing it up in an unrelated thread merits use of the black box of silence; also, that if it’s not really gonna ruin the story, you can let the secret slip, and damn the whiners, full spoilers ahead.
In a film about WWII, it’s not a spoiler (for anyone over the age of about 10) to reveal that the Germans/Japanese lose the war. It is a spoiler to reveal that the lead in the story is gonna die, ten minutes before the end of the flick.
Please, gang, don’t assume that everyone else has seen everything that’s come out of Hollywood since 1945, just because you have.
I know my spoiler threshold is lower than other’s (and was told so very politely in a thread once :rolleyes: ), but what would be the problem with just using the title of the movie (for current ones) as the thread title, or else the title of the TV show and the airdate? That way, spoilers in the thread title would be completely avoided.
Ferrous, I hope I’m getting whooshed by your post here. Surely you see the difference between spoiling the ending of “Romeo and Juliet” (which, yes, some people have not seen) and saying, “My roommate and his girlfriend were loudly making the beast with two backs until 3 a.m. this morning”?
Or you can just get “off” it. 'Cause, um… that’d work, too.
Sure, sure: I checked to make sure I was channeling Chick with my laughs at the end, but I couldn’t be bothered enough to spell a three-letter word correctly. :o
What I’m suggesting, jackelope, is that we need some sort of statute of limitations for spoilers. Sure, one shouldn’t blithely give away plot points from the latest movie, or this week’s epsiode of whatever TV show, but to expect people to not refer to classic literature and movies is, IMO, going too far.
Hmm. You’re right that people will refer to Hamlet’s death without a thought; I do it too.
So where’s the boundary? Posting on a public message board about Rosebud could be considered alluding to a classic, but at the same time there are lots of people who haven’t seen “Kane,” no doubt including some on this board, and I certainly wish I’d been surprised by the ending the first time I saw it.
The problem seems to be the general idea that everyone has already seen/read the classics; this is useful in that they’re classics for a reason and are worthy of discussion and scrutiny. But it’s a problem because it makes them seem like something outside the realm of entertainment, as if they’re up on some pedestal and inaccessible to the common reader.
I’m speaking mainly of classic literature, as I used to teach English Lit to college students. But heck, I also used to work in a video store; the “classics” section had far, far more brilliance in it than the new-release wall, but the new releases are what everyone rents.
Let’s see, I know I had a point around here somewhere…
Well shit, jackelope, you would have to be reasonable, wouldn’t you? It’s not often I get into a good knock-down-drag-out in the Pit, and I was gearing up for a good one.
I was going to say something along the lines of: “If you want to live your life in such a way as to never be exposed to bits of books or movies that you haven’t personally read or seen, I wish you luck. But don’t expect the rest of the world to cooperate.”
But then when I start arguing like that, I always tend to stray farther away from the side I’m arguing against, even if I was sort of in the middle before.
But see, Ferrous, since what we’re actually discussing here is threads in the SDMB forum Café Society, specifically those that without proper warning reveal plot points which will, when revealed, spoil the enjoyment of said plot, for those who haven’t yet seen or read the thing under discussion, and not just literary or “classic” movie references in general discussion, here on the boards or elsewhere…
Y’know what? Forget it. I’ve already got a headache, and I just know I’m banging my head against a wall with this. Some folks see it one way, some see it another, and rarely do the two ever reach much of a consensus.
Whoever’s keeping the tally, just put a checkmark in the “Spoilers in Thread titles is a bad thing” column for me, wouldja please?
Am I the only person in the world who doesn’t care a single whit about spoilers? I enjoy the movie/book/whatever just as much if I know what’s going to happen, as if I don’t. But I am really curious and always want to know NOW NOW NOW.
