# Spoilers

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoilers/449941>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [May 20, 2008, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoilers/449941 "2008-05-20T05:27:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoilers/449941/1 "2008-05-20T05:27:28Z")

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Wow, I feel stupid. Almost every CS thread contains spoilers (you know, black text on a black box, labels ‘Spoilers,’) but just when I needed the Spoiler mojo, I couldn’t find it. FAQ and a search of ATMB reveals nothing. So, what’s the code for spoiler boxes?

(Could probably figure it out by trial and error, but creating a thread for future searchers.)

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**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoilers/449941/2 "2008-05-20T05:30:58Z")

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\<spoiler\> \</spoiler\>

Just replace \<\> with

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**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoilers/449941/3 "2008-05-20T05:38:01Z")

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A general tip for figuring out codes – find a post that has the code you’re interested in (like someone with a spoiler box), click on “reply,” and you’ll get their post as it looks before submission (i.e. with the codes intact). Click the reply button on this post and you’ll see how I coded this spoiler box. Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s dad!

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**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoilers/449941/4 "2008-05-20T11:50:10Z")

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…or, you could read the [Guidelines and Etiquette for Posting on the Straight Dope Message Boards](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=384745) and note especially [Post #6: Use of Spoiler Tags](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7697117#post7697117)

Or you could read [Technical Issues for Posting](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=384827) and note [Post #7](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7698936#post7698936), which describes various coding, including spoiler tags.

There’s other good reading in those threads, too. And there’s also interesting reading in [Rules for Posting on the Straight Dope Message Boards](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=384736)

All that stuff is found right here, in this very forum! And, by the way, in Cafe Society, there’s even more stuff on spoiler tags in [Forum Rules](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=343601), Post #4.

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**Author:** ![Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoilers/449941/5 "2008-05-20T15:29:52Z")

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Additionally, if you, like me, frequently browse the SDMB from a cell phone, hitting “reply” is the easiest workaround for reading things inside spoiler tags that I’ve found.