# The Office (02/05) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699 "2009-02-06T14:39:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [February 8, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/61 "2009-02-08T02:30:18Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Aren’t the promos basically the commercials that are shown constantly and without warning during other shows? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/62 "2009-02-08T05:23:23Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > then why not try to avoid it further and not enter the thread. I don’t enter an episode thread until I’ve seen an episode. So, I should just stuff the idea of participating in any discussion? Spoiler boxes are that much trouble for promos? ---
**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:** [February 8, 2009, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/63 "2009-02-08T05:53:50Z")
Yes they are. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/64 "2009-02-08T05:55:40Z")
One group is asking people to put up spoiler boxes for already aired previews. One group of people doesn’t want to bother, mostly because of the principle, (also the mild annoyance), I can see both sides I guess. I don’t care enough to argue either way, that’s why I’ll spoil box. I guess I was providing a counter-argument for those who expect people to indulge this request by asking; why risk it at all? Not just here, but any other message board. I’m not sure people expect others would care so much about aired promos. I didn’t know about Karen before I saw the ad; I knew we were going to see _‘someone from the past’_, so I can see why the promo was particularly revealing. I sympathies with those who want to meet each episode with surprise. But when you see promo’s like that, you tend to find a lot of: “Did you see that the next episode will have…!!!” edit: I feel like this is a plotline from The Office. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/65 "2009-02-08T06:00:11Z")
Spoiler boxes: hot or not? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/66 "2009-02-08T06:18:38Z")
I suspect Dwight could make a fantastic gangsta rapper: \*Dear Imbecile: It is your birthday. The party planning commission will throw a party like it’s your birthday. The party planning commission will sip Bacardi like it’s your birthday. And we do not care that it was your birthday yesterday.\* ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/67 "2009-02-08T09:31:13Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Spoiler boxes: hot or not? I hate spoiler boxes. They also make it more difficult for the reader. And how much interesting stuff can be said, really, before anyone has watched the episode? ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/68 "2009-02-08T14:59:10Z")
Enough already, **Dio** – you’re not in the equation here. We all already know you’re the petulant child whose mommy isn’t paying attention – we know you’re not going to stop kicking the back of the seat, no matter how many times you’re asked. You’re going to keep crying that you don’t have to and no one can make you, and that’s your choice. Just don’t to try and make it sound like people shouldn’t even dare to ask. It’s a simple request for anyone who isn’t aware – many of us prefer not to get advance info. If you don’t mind, please spoiler it. If you don’t wish to do so, that’s fine. It’s like looking to only buy a newspaper in the supermarket and asking the guy with a full cart he can cut in front. Full cart guy would only lose five seconds while newspaper guy tossed a quarter on the counter, but if wants to say “no”, that’s his prerogative. But newspaper guy is certainly going to ask. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/69 "2009-02-08T15:31:24Z")
> [@Rainbowthief](#): > > I think this episode cemented Dwight Schrute as the greatest character in sitcom history; better than Bill MacNeal in New Radio or Kramer in Seinfeld. He gets amazing lines and Rainn Wilson just plays the hell out of that character. > > Any scenes that require Jim and Dwight to work together are always pure magic. I’d love to see an episode where the two of them have to attend a convention together and share a hotel room. > > I loved the talking head interview with Jim and Dwight explaining how they came to be the heads of the party planning committee and the best lines: > > “That’s no way to talk to a superior!” > > “What kind of cake do you want, imbecil?” > > “Who is this?” > “Who do you think? It’s Mose.” > “Mose doesn’t know how to use a phone. The joke’s on you!” > > I don’t get how some fans think the show isn’t funny anymore. Last night was hilarious! Agreed on all counts. One bone to pick… I think the melting snow is pretty lame looking. I finally figured out why the cars started to look so dirty a couple of episodes back, though. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/70 "2009-02-08T16:30:56Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Spoiler boxes: hot or not? On one hand it’s just a box. I mean, square’s geometrically boring. On another hand, it’s black. Black is slimming. ---
**Author:** ![Soapbox\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Soapbox\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soapbox_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/71 "2009-02-08T17:15:05Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Aren’t the promos basically the commercials that are shown constantly and without warning during other shows? This is the part that baffles me. Apparently the people who are requesting spoiler boxes only watch NBC for 27 minutes a week? No news? No 30 Rock? No Earl? No ER? No Today Show? No Jay Leno? No Conan? No sports? No daytime programming? Because I guarantee these promos are being aired 50+ times during the week leading up to Thursday night at 9:00. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/72 "2009-02-08T17:41:09Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Enough already, **Dio** – you’re not in the equation here. We all already know you’re the petulant child whose mommy isn’t paying attention – we know you’re not going to stop kicking the back of the seat, no matter how many times you’re asked. You’re going to keep crying that you don’t have to and no one can make you, and that’s your choice. Just don’t to try and make it sound like people shouldn’t even dare to ask. I’m not the petulant one, you are. It’s not a simple request, it’s an obnoxious one. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/73 "2009-02-08T18:22:06Z")
> [@Soapbox\_Monkey](#): > > This is the part that baffles me. Apparently the people who are requesting spoiler boxes only watch NBC for 27 minutes a week? > > No news? No 30 Rock? No Earl? No ER? No Today Show? No Jay Leno? No Conan? No sports? No daytime programming? Because I guarantee these promos are being aired 50+ times during the week leading up to Thursday night at 9:00. I’m getting some serious “get off my lawn!” vibes from this post. I watch NBC for 0 hours a week. This, even though I watch The Office, 30 Rock, and Conan. How is this possible? There’s this miraculous new technology called the internet, and specifically this website called [Hulu.com](http://Hulu.com), on which you can watch all sorts of television series for free without watching a single preview for anything. I watch all of my favorite shows on Hulu these days, and while there are brief ads between segments, they’re inevitably product advertisements that have absolutely nothing to do with upcoming episodes. I haven’t had cable, nor watched a show as it aired, in over a year. More importantly, I would bet I’m not the only one in this thread (or any other TV spoiler thread) who fits that description. Over the next few years, I guarantee that the proportion of TV viewers like me will only increase. So yes. Lots of us can keep up to date on these shows without ever running into a promo ad. And guess what? We would like to be able to participate in spoiler threads to discuss the episode we just watched. We like being able to talk about our reactions to events of that episode just as much as you. We even like speculating on what might happen in the future. We just don’t want to _know what happens yet_. I mean, based on the logic that has been described in this thread, anything that has aired through legal channels is fair game in any spoiler thread, right? So if you were just discovering Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the first time, and wanted to start a spoiler thread for Season 2, someone could blithely describe the major plot points of Seasons 3-7 without spoiler boxes, right? I mean, those entire episodes were previously aired! It would be _rude_ for our new Buffy watcher to demand that post-Season 2 episodes be spoiler-boxed! :rolleyes: Is it really so hard to believe that someone’s definition of a spoiler would be “things that happen on this show I watch that haven’t been aired in full-episode form yet”? Especially in this day and age? ---
**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:** [February 8, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/74 "2009-02-08T18:26:35Z")
You can define “spoiler” anyway you want. That doesn’t mean everybody else has to cater to it. These episode threads always have open spoilers, and as far as I’m concerned, the previews are part of the episode. If it’s something you see when you watch the episode live, then it’s fair game to talk about. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/75 "2009-02-08T20:19:31Z")
At the risk of continuing the hijack in a thread in which it doesn’t belong, I agree with **Dio** - if it aired already, it doesn’t need a spoiler. People wanting spoilers for aired previews are like me asking people not to discuss shows because I’ve taped them and haven’t watched them yet - too bad for me. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/76 "2009-02-08T20:25:09Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > At the risk of continuing the hijack in a thread in which it doesn’t belong, I agree with **Dio** - if it aired already, it doesn’t need a spoiler. People wanting spoilers for aired previews are like me asking people not to discuss shows because I’ve taped them and haven’t watched them yet - too bad for me. Actually, it’s more like you asking people to either spoiler box or attach spoiler warnings to threads that discuss episodes you haven’t watched yet. IMHO, if it’s something that happens in next week’s episode, then it can be discussed outside spoiler boxes - in next week’s episode thread. In this week’s episode thread, it’s still a spoiler. I personally do not see the outrage in asking people to spoiler box this stuff. I don’t care about being spoiled by the promos for next week, but some people do, and it doesn’t take more than a few seconds of my time to spoiler tag stuff, or to highlight it in the thread. Especially since the material in question is no more than about 10-20 seconds of show. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/77 "2009-02-08T20:43:15Z")
No. If a promo has already aired, then it’s already aired. Demanding that people spoiler commercials is obnoxious – especially when it aired as part of the broadcast that’s already under discussion. Anything the network has already shown the audience is not a spoiler. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/78 "2009-02-08T20:48:21Z")
It’s not part of the episode. It’s a commercial. Commercials can contain spoilers for material that has not yet aired. I often avoid ads and trailers for upcoming movies I’m interested in, for this very reason. I recognize that you feel strongly about this issue, have seen how you behave in other threads where you feel extremely strongly about an issue, and have no desire to further debate it. I do think that politely requesting people to spoiler box promo information is far from “obnoxiously demanding” anything. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/79 "2009-02-08T20:59:11Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > It’s not part of the episode. It’s a commercial. Commercials can contain spoilers for material that has not yet aired. This is a logical contradiction. You can’t say that something aired in a commercial has not been aired. Obviously it has been. If it’s aired in a commercial, it’s aired. > [@](#): > > I recognize that you feel strongly about this issue, have seen how you behave in other threads where you feel extremely strongly about an issue, and have no desire to further debate it. I do think that politely requesting people to spoiler box promo information is far from “obnoxiously demanding” anything. The thing is, **Hal Briston** made an accusation that anyone who doesn’t agree that such a request is reasonable is “just seeing how much an ass they can be.” That’s what annoyed me. Just because someone doesn’t agree that promos should be spoilered doesn’t mean they’re _ipso facto_ trying to be an ass. I don’t agree that the request is reasonable. I think that a promo counts as aired material (and I don’t see how anyone could intelligently argue otherwise), and I’m not the only one. Some people need to learn that the world does not revolve around their spoiler phobias. ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699/80 "2009-02-08T21:41:54Z")
OK, since both sides will absolutely not budge, why not have two threads – one with spoilers and one without? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-02-05/484699.md?page=5)