There was some controversy today in our Top Chef winner's post. We revealed who the winner was before the jump (and without spoiler warnings). Our commenters -- usually shy and unwilling to criticize our site (ahem) -- let us know exactly what they thought of that decision (hint: they were not happy).It occurred to me that the idea of television spoilers is a relatively new one. I mean, after all, it's only been about 20 years or so that the majority of us had the power to watch our shows whenever we wanted to. In our parents' day, you talked about what happened on TV the night before without fear -- if anyone at the office missed the show, well, there was nothing they could do about it anyway.
What we need is a new etiquette. So, I figured I'd throw a post up and ask you guys: how long should you wait before it's okay to talk about spoilers?
The answer isn't necessarily cut and dry, especially when you stop to consider that with some serialized shows, people have taken to waiting until each season is finished, then gorging themselves on the season box sets. To me, it's unreasonable to expect everyone around you to avoid talking about Lost ten months out of the year, but then, as Atticus Finch once said, you never really understand someone until you "climb into their skin and walk around in it." Maybe you season-watchers have a good justification for asking for that courtesy.
(As a side note: now that I think about it, maybe Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs wasn't that bad a guy -- maybe he was just a big fan of To Kill a Mockingbird.)
There is also the question of what, exactly, constitutes a "spoiler." There are some people who feel any information about a TV show or a movie prior to viewing it effectively "ruins" the experience for them. There was a mini-meltdown among my friends because one of them warned us to "make sure you stay till the end of the credits when you see Iron Man." I thought it was a good tip, but a few of my friends thought this was too much information to give away.
"Now I'm looking for the surprise and that makes it less special."
Yeah, a lot of my friends also take rule changes to the Dungeons and Dragons system personally.
So, to recap, here is my Emily Post question of the day: How long should a website wait to consider information about a show common knowledge (and therefore free to discuss)? How long should you do so in your personal encounters? And, finally, what is a reasonable definition of a spoiler?
Your input is always appreciated!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
6-12-2008 @ 3:39PM
Isabelle Carreau said...
Being involved in the spoilers world, I have to deal with this sort of issue daily.
Personally, I voted for "As soon as it aired" but pondered voting for "0-24 hours". Once the episodes aired in PAC, I think it's fair game to post spoilers. However, I try my best to not put too spoilerish information in the first paragraph of my posts/reviews so that people who watch a little bit later aren't too spoiled from the get go.
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6-13-2008 @ 12:31PM
Niraj said...
Why choose one or the other? You can give people the option to view or not view spoilers by doing something like this:
http://symbii.com/stories.php?sid=657&tid=56
Mouseover if you want spoilers, and otherwise you can read the parts that aren't considered spoilers.
6-12-2008 @ 3:40PM
Danielle said...
I would say a week....I know w/ me, when I DVR something, I try to watch it again before a new episode airs.
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6-12-2008 @ 3:43PM
VtMom said...
It doesn't matter to me when they're posted, as long as the post is labeled as such- preferably at the very top before I start reading the article.
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6-12-2008 @ 3:43PM
Danielle said...
Hmmm..let me clarify..if your talking about the header section prob w/in 7 days..but I think its fair game to post it w/in the section...I know w/ me..if I havent watched the show yet, I dont bother reading the rest of the article til I watch the show.
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6-12-2008 @ 3:43PM
Jimmy said...
I guess TV is a gray area between sporting events -- like the Super Bowl, where it's the viewer's responsibility to avoid the news if he/she can't watch it live -- and movies -- like The Sixth Sense, where I think anyone who gives away the twist should suffer some form of punishment, even years after it's come out. (Which reminds me of a great Jim Gaffigan bit about watching movies after everyone else. ... "Have you seen Heat?")
For me, TV skews more toward the sporting event side of the argument. In other words, if you don't want to know what happened on last night's shows, don't troll sites like TV Squad. On the other hand, many of the "spoilers" featured here are things that have yet to happen on air, and I think TV Squad does a good job of announcing that up front, i.e. before the jump.
Nice post, Jay. Only you could draw a connection between Buffalo Bill and Atticus Finch!
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6-12-2008 @ 4:26PM
Leah said...
I have that shirt!
I think that after the show airs, it's free game to post about it. It should be up to the person who hasn't seen it to NOT click on any topic about it. I mean come on, grow up. You're adults, take care of yourself. People who have seen the show shouldn't have to worry about upsetting people who can't figure out that, hey, the show has already aired, i bet the post that was posted an hour after the show aired has spoilers, I won't click on it and read it and then complain that I clicked on it and read it.
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6-12-2008 @ 4:27PM
Alicia said...
DITTO!!
6-12-2008 @ 3:48PM
Erin said...
These days, people need to get over "spoilers." Ever since reality show became popular, the winner is posted all over the internet the next day anyhow. I think it's unfair to blame TV Squad because they posted a spoiler. It's news...so people are going to write about it.
I, personally, avoid this site if I haven't watched an episode of something yet. It's not that difficult.
Last year when Sabra won "SYTYCD", it was plastered all over Yahoo and People. It's silly that people get upset over it. It's the day after the show aired and people are going to want to talk about it.
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6-12-2008 @ 3:53PM
GL said...
Personally, I think it's fair game as soon as it airs, but I voted 0-24 hours. I find this completely different than a movie in a theater, however, I can concede a day in the interest of fair play.
Perhaps giving the game up in the title was too much, otherwise I say bravo.
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6-12-2008 @ 3:53PM
fred said...
There shoud never be any spoiler before the jump, but a warning about what comes after. If one doesn't want to know at a given moment, simply don't click. Reading the article is a choice the reader makes, it is his own responsability...
One could want to come over here to read about say Supernatural last night, but still not have watched Lost yet and not want to be spoiled. Reading the main page should not reveal anything. In you click to read the full article, you have only yourself to blame then...
I feel spoilers (in the article or even the pictures) before the jump should never be there, especially during the week after it aired, with DVR and such lots of people don't get to see everything live, but do within the week after...
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6-12-2008 @ 3:55PM
PB said...
I voted "as soon as it airs"... I mean, other web sites are posting results within minutes. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't surf the web. That said, I agree with VtMom that if you call out "spoiler" in the first paragraph, then others need to just heed that warning. I'd also just watch the picture that's posted with the opening paragraph. In this case, it was a giveaway, but oh well.
I think it's a bad trend to have to wait until the world decides to watch what's on their DVR before you can post a word about the episode. That's unfair to the folks who did watch it when it aired and want to chat about it.
I personally just skip the entries for shows I haven't watched yet and want a suprise. For example, I don't watch Supernatural until the summer, so I just don't read any entries about the show at all until now. I miss out on participating in the conversation, but that's my choice.
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6-12-2008 @ 3:57PM
GL said...
I should add that I always thought of "spoilers" as things in a review that give up crucial points (as people that haven't seen a movie would likely want to read a review, but not have the movie ruined for them) and pre-airing/pre-release discussion where uberfans and insiders have the scoop that would similarly give up too much information.
This would be opposed to a discussion about a released movie or aired show, where you would expect people are talking about what they saw.
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6-12-2008 @ 3:59PM
Riley Freeman said...
warning is fine. u cant expect people to keep their mouth shut because u are waiting for a box set or whatever. in todays day and age their are vcrs, dvd recorders, pvrs and time shifting. between all of that ifu cant watch a show. u snooze u lose. spoiler warning and thats enough
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6-12-2008 @ 4:01PM
Allen Mendelsohn said...
IT IS NOT A SPOILER IF THE SHOW HAS AIRED.
Excuse the all caps, but this whole topic is a joke. I'm really
getting annoyed at people who complain about "spoilers" because they
have PVR'd something. You don't want to know what happened on a TV
show you haven't watched, then WHY THE F*** ARE YOU READING A TV
BLOG???
Erin said: "I, personally, avoid this site if I haven't watched an
episode of something yet. It's not that difficult."
Exactly.
/rant
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6-12-2008 @ 4:16PM
Drew said...
I'm sorry, but that's just not how I see it. This site contains a wealth of other information for us TV-aholics outside of episode recaps. If I want to get my updates on TV news, I should not have to tip toe around websites in hope that I don't stumble upon something massive that I haven't seen yet. All I ask is that spoilers should be placed after the jump.
If you ask me, this should have been addressed after Mr. Toomey revealed the death of Omar Little in a recent recap of The Wire. Myself, along with a lot of other people who had DVR'd the show, were surprised with one of the biggest spoilers of the reason, right on the opening blurb for his article.
Of course, there has to be an arbitrary line drawn somewhere when it comes to spoilers. I like the quotes that many authors decide to include, even if they can be a tad spoilery. I simply ask that major plot points (like who won the entire contest, or the surprising death of one of the most popular characters on a show) be placed after the jump. That's really not too much to ask. Can you really tell me that you can't write 50 words without dropping a huge spoiler?
6-12-2008 @ 4:03PM
Allen Mendelsohn said...
Whoops, sorry about that formatting I cut and pasted. Totally lost the effect of my rant. Damn.
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6-12-2008 @ 4:06PM
starky22 said...
If the show has already aired, I don't consider any discussion about its contents to be a spoiler. And if someone hasn't watched the show yet, they shouldn't go to the website, knowing there will be discussion about it online. That's just common sense.
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6-12-2008 @ 4:16PM
drewspice said...
Yeah, I'm one of those people who is kind of irritated about the top chef posting. I haven't watched the finale yet (I happened to be busy last night) and was looking forward to seeing it today. I check tv squad about once a day because I like tv, and never in a million years would I figure the winner would be given away before the jump. You guys never do that. So, while I will still watch the finale and probably still enjoy it, just know that you ruined the surprise for me, and I'm not too happy about it.
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6-12-2008 @ 4:14PM
Omar said...
it depends on the show. a show like lost or something with alot of suspense built in, you gotta let people know. a show like top chef though .... really? its a reality show. maybe you can write about it but dont post a picture 'before the jump'. i dont know, it sucks when you are planning to watch something and it gets ruined but thats life.
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