SPOILERS and how to deal with them...

[Gary_B]

I was just reading the last page of the thread discussing B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth: The Long Death and it strikes me as cumbersome for most posts to require spoiler warnings. The thread has over 150 posts all concerning a three-issue story so who are we trying not to spoil at this point? I propose that we put the word SPOILER right in the thread title whenever we start a thread about a new arc that is coming up or started. That way readers who are sensitive about spoilers have the option to avoid the thread and everyone else can simply have a discussion. This has been done many times in the past and I don't recall anyone ever complaining about it. What do the rest of you Hellboarders think?

[Middenway]

Yeah, with most spoilers I think it's just common sense to avoid topics discussing something you don't want spoiled. If you haven't read the final issue of The Long Death why would you visit that thread? That's just asking for trouble and you only have yourself to blame if you get spoiled.

The thread titles thing might be tough though. With upcoming titles there's usually a lot of speculation on them, but none of that could be considered spoilers. So until at least a preview comes up, there would be no need for "Spoiler" to precede the thread title. And eventually the word "spoiler" will have to be taken out of the title, whether it be a month after the final issue has come out, or after the trade has come out or whenever. It just sounds like extra work for gdeo and extra maintenance too.

But yeah, I agree that having to put a spoiler warning at the top of a post in a thread about a new story is pretty annoying and we really shouldn't have to do it.

[Gary_B]

I don't see why the word "spoiler" would ever have to be removed from the title. Here is an example of a thread started back in 2007 that still has the word in the thread title. People who haven't read the story still have a heads up.

Darkness Calls #3 talk-back (Spoilers!)

Although that isn't the best example because it is a thread started to discuss a single issue of an arc, which is frustrating because the discussion gets fragmented between 3 - 5 threads rather than being all in one place. It's something that used to be included most times when someone started a thread about a new arc and has slowly stopped being done. I'd like to encourage people to start doing it again so that we don't have to use spoiler alerts 10 to 20 pages into a thread. It is easier for everyone. There are several spoiler warnings on the current page of the Long Death thread and we shouldn’t need to do that.

[Gary_B]

It could be as simple as this for an upcoming series....

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Devil’s Engine SPOILERS AHOY!

[Middenway]

Perhaps, but I know if I hadn't read a story and there wasn't a spoiler warning, I wouldn't read the thread at all. However, I love taking part in the discussion before a story comes out about what it may or may not be about, all the theories that fly around. So it doesn't make sense to me to label a thread like that as having spoilers. To be honest, I'm not sure what a good solution is. I'm open to ideas though.

[patrick r]

I don't get all of the bitching about spoilers under most circumstances. If a thread is titled for a certain series then people have until published date to read and speculate with other readers. Once the issue is published it is fair game. If a person hasn't read a particular issue then the thread should be off limits if spoilers are an issue. It's not too smart to register for emails/texts about a certain thread either if you do not want spoilers.

The only thing that bugs me about spoilers is when people get advanced copies of stories and put major spoilers in their article/thread titles. That's as ass thing to do. It has become more pervasive in the age of "I read it first".

Basically, if someone has to click through to get the information it is in his/her control. If some ass hat Tweets, posts a review, posts on G+ or Facebook with the spoiler in his/her post/article title it's kind of rude.

[Bosco685]

It sounds like you both were forgiven, and there will be no reason to wear "the hat" going forward.