Well said, Forrester. Kudos to your entire post. I agree.

I was hoping you’d be posting this article soon! Very interesting. And as I see John already did the joke I was going to do (WHAT? Titanic sunk?? etc.), I will move on to serious posting.

I like the discussion you’ve got going on here. I agree with those who say a quick note at the top of an article warning about a potential spoiler (for tv episodes or films that have not yet aired/premiered) would be helpful. Then those who choose not to know spoilers ahead of time can avoid the article and bookmark it for reading at a later date, once they’ve seen the show. Once the film or TV episode has been shown to a wide audience (maybe giving people 1 to 2 weeks to get to it), all bets are off and all discussions open.

I happened to read a very interesting article about Sixth Sense before seeing the film, and was thoroughly enjoying the content of the article until the writer gave away the ending. HOWEVER, I fully own up to that being my own fault because — even though the author of the article did not warn me ahead of time that he was going to mention that key detail — I hadn’t seen the film yet (one of those cases where I kept meaning to and just hadn’t gotten around to it), but it had been out for months already. So that was my own fault. If I had seen it before I read the article, I wouldn’t have found out that very big spoiler. Now I wonder if I could have figured it out while watching the film or if I would have reached the denouement with my mouth hanging wide open in surprise and awe like so many did back when that movie first premiered. I doubt I would have figured it out, but I’ll always wonder. That’s the thing, though… it was my own fault, that time, because I waited far too long and then went ahead and read a thorough article analyzing the film, when I should have realized it might tell me too much.

But if the film or TV episode hasn’t yet aired, I do think it would be kind to allow readers to make their own minds about whether or not they want to proceed with reading an article that might spoil them. A simple warning sentence at the top of the article would suffice. If they keep reading, they do so at their own risk.

I do think that certain spoilers (not all, but some of them) should not be known before viewing for the first time. Obviously, it’s a viewer’s choice; some don’t care if they know things ahead of time so they soak up as much information as possible. And truly, some spoilers aren’t really that big a deal. But there are those special spoilers that can affect the way a viewer enjoys the show for the first time. I agree that after you’ve seen it once, it no longer matters; knowing the information won’t destroy your enjoyment of watching the film or TV episode again and again. But I really do think it matters for that first viewing. If I know a key piece of data ahead of time, I might not appreciate the full impact of it being revealed in the scene itself, in the moment. Those wonderful scenes that make your jaw drop open in surprise because you didn’t see the twist coming, or when your eyes well up because you didn’t know that person was going to die, or whatever amazing moment that affects you emotionally as a viewer. If you already know what’s coming, you might still like the episode or film and appreciate its artistry, but you’ll never know how much deeper its biggest moments could have affected you.

Thanks so much for writing the article!

A little about me… I personally can’t stand spoilers. I don’t watch the preview for upcoming episodes of tv shows I know I’m going to see anyway. I’m that person in the movie theater who looks away and closes my ears for the trailer of a movie I’m excited about. Once I’ve decided to watch something, that’s it, I don’t need to know anything more about it other than maybe its score on rottentomatoes. I completely avoid articles about stuff I haven’t seen yet, but I do go back and read them once I’m ready. There are entire websites that I have stopped visiting because they unexpectedly spoiled me one too many times. So, yeah, I’m pretty sensitive about the issue.

I like your metaphor about being at a film club but not being able to discuss the movie because some people haven’t seen the film yet. I think that’s exactly right. The difference between a film club and a website is that when you go to the club meeting, I’m pretty sure you know in advance what film will be discussed. You wouldn’t attend if you hadn’t seen the film.

A website like this is just like the film club, except harder to navigate because there are so many movies and tv shows and everybody watches them on their own personal schedules.

The way to solve the spoilers dilemma is pretty straightforward in my opinion. You just have to clearly identify what show or movie will be discussed and refrain from major spoilers in the post title and probably the first few sentences (including the first picture). This gives people a fair chance to decide for themselves whether to read it or not. I think that’s all spoiler-phobes like me really want.

(Some websites even label posts with warnings such as “spoilers through episode xx”. I always thought that was a pretty considerate thing to do. It would have helped with that BSG article a while back that gave away the Final Cylon.)

I’m not at all saying that people should not discuss spoilers or the details of a movie that just came out. Of course we want to do that. My main issue is that when I’m here to read a review of Movie X, I don’t want to see some headline that accidentally spoils TV show Y.

As a final thought, you’ll never be able to predict when something is not a spoiler anymore. There’s always someone out there who hasn’t watched it yet. You just have to give readers the ability to choose whether they want the spoilers or not.

I agree with you Vic, in no WAY should you wait until after the DVD release of a major film to discuss it. Unless it’s a straight-to-dvd film like the Stargate SG-1 films, that is.

I have to agree with Josh on one point. Keep the talk about said movies or shows in relevant articles. I know we have the weekly discussion on here and that is NOT the place to randomly insert stuff about last week’s “24″ or the ending to “Watchmen” without spoiler warnings. That is a general discussion and people shouldn’t have stuff ruined for them there.

Vic

That’s the exact like-event that inspired this article, because that’s what happened to me.

Wanted has been out for so long, I suspect they didn’t think it warranted a warning… or for that matter, like I did, it didn’t even cross their mind to say LOOK OUT because it has been out for so long.

The DVD came out in December… I would never have thought that I need to be cautious on any issue regarding Wanted.

Hence, part of my question: Exactly how long do you think people should be warning readers that they have info / a spoiler in their text?

It’s definitely a fine line out there.

The new Dragonball movie, for instance, has been released in Japan, but won’t be out in the US until April. I don’t particularly want to see the movie, but I have avoided reading any stories on it sine it came out in Japan because, as far as I’m concerned, those articles shouldn’t be required to have spoiler warnings.

If it’s been released, it’s perfectly fine to talk about. That said, spoilers should only be talked about in relevant articles. What I mean by that is, if you want to talk about the ending to Wanted, for instance, do so only in stories directly concerning that movie or its possible sequels.

I was just reading an article on IGN about how Angelina Jolie is interested in joining the Bond franchise, and they blurted out the ending to Wanted right there in that article. That definitely should NOT be allowed, as they completely spoiled that movie for me in an article that otherwise SHOULD have been safe for me to read.

Because Screenrant is in the business of discussing tv and movies, the simple truth is it has to talk openly and in detail about things after a point.

We can’t keep avoiding saying that HE did THAT to THAT PERSON in THAT MOVIE.

If someone hasn’t seen the ending of a show or movie and comes here to check out talk about it months afterward, they deserve having it spoiled.

I do want to read reviews about movies without them spoiling it, yet even reading that gives something away. So you’re kind of stuck – you can’t review without any spoilage whatsoever.

I would say one thing – just because it is up elsewhere on the net doesn’t mean Screenrant should do it. After all, as said in the Friendly Response, Screenrant has its own way of doing things.

If Screenrant has the policy of non-spoilers for a time, then speaking freely, us visitors know where we stand.
We should also do the same ourselves.

We need to form a club!

STEPHEN:

We don’t want you to stop coming here either!

This turn out of comments is exactly what I’m looking for… to get a feel for how everyone feels about the issue and we can hopefully keep everyone as happy as can be!

As far as spoilers abotu casting and plots and stuff, well most of the time a headline will reveal that there is a possible spoiler so you can use your discretion to read it, otherwise, wtf why would you complain, you might get mad at yourself but thats the only person whos falt it is.

If you dont wanna know ANYTHING about casting, plots, etc, GTFO, seems pretty simple.

Ok Kahless, eat your live gagh and then choke on some habeas claw or somethin’.

I agree whole heartedly with you Bruce. I don’t know what article started this but I’m sure you did nothing wrong. The only spoilers that really irk me are the ones where a killer is revealed in a murder mystery, like the ending to Watchmen. I haven’t watched BSG yet but I have gotten some spoilers from others and I will still watch the finale.

I remember posting on the Man with the X-Ray Eyes thread and later saying I probably should have put a spoiler warning. Vic rightly commented that the movie was too old for spoilers but your article here is the reason why I said I probably should have put a spoiler warning on it first; who knows who might get their panties in a bunch because I revealed the ending to the movie.

No issues here. I knew where you were coming from. I was agreeing with you.

ANDY S

It’s nuts, and then you have to dodge the dang ads about the show or sometimes they’ll give things away about stuff you haven’t seen yet.

Believe it or not even I’m behind on watching some of the shows we cover here. I was three weeks behind on Sarah Connor Chronicles last night (now I’m only two behind) and I’m three weeks behind on Heroes as well. Heroes is a problem for me because sometimes the show is so damned gorey that it’s off my daughter’s watch list.

Vic

My schedule has been so hectic lately that I just got to watch Heroes from 3 weeks ago the other night and Chuck from 2 weeks ago. I want to watch them, but when I turn on my TV there is usually something interesting on Discovery and that soaks up my free hour. LOL.