I’m writing to express my concern about threads that first start out as speculation about a particular episode of a TV show and then transform into a discussion of the show itself.
For example, a poster may start a thread on November 30th entitled “Joan of Arcadia 12/3: Smackdown!” The OP will read something like: “According to TV Guide, God asks Joan to install a toilet in the Girardi’s basement.”
So, the first 20 or 30 posts or so will say things like “I wonder how the toilet will teach Joan about her relationship with Kevin.” or “I hope Joan takes off her shirt in this episode!” or “Yada yada Joan yada yada.”
Then, around post 31 or so, the show will have aired on the East Coast and the thread will turn into a deconstruction of the episode itself.
I’m thinking that maybe a policy of making one thread for speculating about an episode and another for deconstructing the episode might be in order. That way, if someone misses the show or has a question about it or whatever, they don’t have to wade through a few dozen posts of speculation about the show before they find the discussion of the show.
That’s probably a good idea, but I’m not sure how we’d implement it. I suppose through thread titles, like “West Wing 12/1 - Speculation” and “West Wing 12/1 - after the show”?
The other perspective is the oh, well, so I scroll through a page or two of speculation…
I’m going to move this to Cafe Society, to see what others think. (I agree, you did right to post it in ATMB initially, but since it really only affects Cafe Society, I’m gonna pre-empt our usual rules.)
Sounds like a plan, shijinn – just put the “dividing” post, the one that separates speculation from fact, in some bright and noticable font.
I’m also willing to do some editing, if necessary, if someone forgets to do that… as long as it doesn’t become massively time-consuming. (Use “REPORT THIS POST” to tell me.)
Everyone OK with this? That way, someone reading down the list can easily find the border between sanity and madness.
I participate in the Joan threads mentioned in the OP and the Enterprise threads too and I see no point in it. Anyone that’s a fan of a series isn’t going to mind some idle speculation and generally, there isn’t that much before the spoilers begin anyway, except in the case of some ENT threads where the episode isn’t discussed at all, but that’s a different story.
And a fine line it is…
I think that’s a good idea. The TV show threads that I participate in usually don’t start till the day of the show anyway, so the speculation posts don’t get too out of hand, and aren’t too numerous to wade through.
Eh. On my list of things to worry about, this comes somewhere between the high price of paper towels and a nagging concern that I should really clean my bathroom. I don’t think there’s any real need for a change.
I say leave it alone. Think of what we’d have to do when discussing The Simpsons:
Pre-episode speculation thread
Post-episode discussion thread
Worst Episode Ever thread
Worst Season Ever thread
Simpsons vs. Family Guy thread
How could they keep The Simpsons and cancel Futurama thread
Fox is an idiot thread
YES! Please, I can’t stand wading through all that speculation nonesense that is outdated the very moment the show airs. This will come as a huge releif, and contrary to some other doper’s stated opinions, I do consider this a big deal.
Well, I’m on the west coast, so that means I have to keep in mind the time difference, what time the show actually aired (which I usually don’t remember offhand) and then account for the messed up time my profile displays (though I’m sure I could change that, but that’s still one more step that I don’t want to do).
I think we’re going to make the Official Policy Ruling that this isn’t a huge issue. It’s a minor inconvenience – you might have to browse through a few posts that have become irrelevant with the actual airing of the show – but it doesn’t seem to be any big deal. If you see that a thread is 4 pages long and started before the show was aired, and you don’t want to read all those posts, skip to the end.
IF there’s a long thread with speculation about what will happen, and you’re the first one to post after the show has been aired, please try to use some sort of noticable font to call attention to the fact.
IF you find such a thread and you think it would be helpful to others to be able to see the dividing line, please REPORT BAD POST or email a moderator… and be specific about what you want done and where.
see? i knew it! i am INVISIBLE! when do i get force shields?!
it’s also handy if you want to discuss/read about a show before it airs, and at the same time avoid the spoilers as you will be watching it later (for whatever reasons).
As discussions of spoilers continue and I hear more and more whining about them I become more confident in my belief that if anybody’s enjoyment of a program is wrecked by spoilers yet they continue to open threads about that show knowing that there may be spoilers, for instance, on the day of broadcast but before its broadcast in the Pacific time zone, they deserve whatever they get, up to and including the amputation of their clicking finger. That others should be penalized for living in a different, and better*, timezone is nonsense. Discussions of a program, movie, book, or whatever WILL include spoilers if they are to be worthwhile and to be forced to dance around a topic because somebody else has invested too much of his life in surprises (and just how surprising does TV really get?) yet cannot fight a thread’s siren song is BS.
The Central is best because I get shows the same objective time as the folks in the Eastern but a subjective hour earlier so I don’t have to stay up so late.
