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Posted: 23-07-2008 08:43 Post subject: Guidelines for posting spoilers

Following a few, unintentional incidents where plot details or endings have been given away in the course of discussion, and following a suggestion elsewhere by the_walkin_dude, this thread will give general guidelines on the posting of spoilers.

What are spoilers?

Plot details, especially twists or surprises, and / or the ending of a film or book when those details aren't generally available to everyone. For example, many movies premiere in the US before they reach the UK (and sometimes vice versa), so US posters who have seen the film in its first days of release could give away information that could seriously affect how much others subsequently enjoy the film.

How can you safely post them?

By and large, if you have to reveal spoilers, they should be concealed by using the appropriate BB Code tags: Pietro sorted these out and posted them on this thread: http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30427.

Briefly, they are:

[color=#E8E8EA]Spoiler Text[/color] for the lighter background of a Post

and

[color=#D0D1D5]Spoiler Text[/color] for the darker background

...as this board alternates between the dark and light grey backgrounds per post.

For how long should spoilers be concealed?

Hard to say, but as a rule of thumb at least until everyone who really wants to see something has had a chance to do so - so maybe until a few weeks after the DVD release (as many can't get to the cinema for one reason or another.) In the case of TV programmes, a lot sooner as it's likely that far more people saw it simultaneously or very soon thereafter. Basically, give everyone a chance to catch up first.

Obviously, in the case of stuff that's been generally available for a year or more, you can discuss freely and without any concealment. Though bear in mind that a while back someone did report a post in a discussion about "The Sixth Sense", when a poster mentioned the condition of Bruce Willis's character. I'm afraid movies over 5 years old have long exceeded the statute of limitations Smile

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Thanks for considerate posting.