The new and last Harry Potter book comes out this weekend. Because many (most?) readers don’t want their enjoyment spoiled by knowing critical plot elements, we’re imposing some restrictions to try to be sensitive to the situation.
Spoiling the enjoyment of others is a violation of good manners and common courtesy, and please note (from our Guideline to Etiquette):
So, we’d like to have all comments, discussions, etc limited to just one thread, at least for the first week or so after the book is unleashed. That thread is here: Harry Potter #7: (SPOILERS APLENTY): Now that you’ve read it… That’s it. Post your discussion, including spoilers, there and only there.
If you haven’t read the book and don’t want to see spoilers, keep out of that thread!
Because of prior commitments, not only can’t I get my hands on my copy until mid-morning Sunday, but I have to spend all day Saturday in the company of the public.
If I had known this would be Harry Potter weekend, I probably would have backed out of the event. Too late now.
That thread is for open(non-boxed spoilers), correct? I don’t mind a few spoiler boxes here and there, but it’s ridiculous when every post is nothing but a spoiler box for the same work.
Has anyone peeked in the thread yet? I see that there are currently (Wednesday, 1:11 pm EST) four replies and I’m curious if they’re people who are reading the photographed copy or people who legitimately have early copies.
Okay…in case it wasn’t clear, I didn’t want spoilers or anything. I was just curious to know how it was that people were reading the book before it was released. I can wait until Saturday evening to find that out though.
In my experience, some people who post spoilers do so explicitly to spoil things for others. Not talking about eager readers discussing the book and using spoilers, but the kind of folks who shout “Darth Vader is Luke’s father!” as they leave the theater.
Is there any mechanism to prevent those people from posting a thread with the TITLE spoiling the book? For example, posting a thread (regardless of content) with the TITLE being “Dumblebdore is Harry’s father!”. Everyone looking at the SDMB index would see the title without being able to avoid it by not clicking.
The administration can moderate new threads (meaning they have to approve every single thread before it gets posted), but that’s a ton of work for even the most vigilant moderation staff.
If I were really wanting to avoid all spoilers, I would simply stay off the internet until you read the book. I do this all the time with TV shows (if I can’t watch an episode until the next day). It’s an inconvenience, but better safe than sorry.
Edit: That happened with the last book, ivylass. If you see any dipshit looking teenagers in a minivan with a video camera - run like hell.
I believe the Ministry has temporarily suspended the ban on the Cruciatus Curse as well as most of the Act for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Magic for the occasion.
I’d like there to be a non spoiler (not even boxed) thread with general reviews.
I wait for the paperback, and while I can’t avoid all spoilers for that long, I try my darndest. Initially I will not open threads in which I think there may be spoilers.
We’ll see how long I last…
I took a look before I understood the purpose of the thread. The first few posts are basically just getting the ground rules of the thread cleared up. There were no actual spoilers in those first four posts. Well, apart from the one about Harry actually being an alien robot from another dimension, but I think everyone already knew about that one already.
Well, as soon as any of the mods saw that (which would be before most posters saw it, what with reporting), the thread would be removed or retitled, and if it was clear that the OP’s purpose was specifically to spoil the work, e would likely be banned. Hopefully that’s enough of a disincentive against anyone considering it.
It’s probably also possible in principle to automatically reject titles containing certain words, and it’s conceivable that vB has such a capability built-in, but even if Jerry were to set it up, it’d be pretty easy for someone ill-intentioned to circumvent it. It would also have the side effect of blocking threads like “Who’s next in line for the throne after Harry”, or “Recommend me a potter’s wheel”.
Not to mention the possibility of thread titles using no problematic words yet still conveying the information, similar to “He’s got Padfoot at the place where it’s hidden!”
I’m one of those who gets the book at midnight and reads straight through. Therefore, I am done with the book before most people are even up. I would hate to spoil someone inadvertently (I would never do it on purpose). It’s great to have a thread where I don’t have to worry about what I say.
Is it just me or has this been a really long week already?
