Spoiler warnings - do we need them?

July 3, 2001 9:42 AM

SPOILERS -- Eh, is this an alt.fan convention people should expect? I'd rather not have worry about it.
posted by rschram to Etiquette/Policy at 9:42 AM (10 comments total)

I understand the concern, but really, you're reading too closely if you actually extract knowledge from the front page. If you really don't want to know, then while you're skimming the front page, when you see a clue that you're about to read a spoiler, DON'T CONTINUE READING! :)
posted by daveadams at 12:16 PM on July 3, 2001

With so much current news showing up as MetaFilter links, anyone who is staying off new sources to avoid spoilers (like the Wimbledon item) should just stay off this, too.
posted by rcade at 1:13 PM on July 3, 2001

But the spoiler part should be inside the thread, no?
posted by fooljay at 1:29 PM on July 3, 2001

But the spoiler part should be inside the thread, no?

No. I think it's an unfair burden to place on people to know when other people are watching a tape-delayed event. The so-called spoiler today wasn't someone giving away a part of a movie (btw, "Rosebud" is the name of his sled when he's a little kid), it was someone reporting a sports news headline.

If it's really that important to you not to know, avoid places where news is generally reported.
posted by anapestic at 4:14 PM on July 3, 2001

If it's really that important to you not to know, avoid places where news is generally reported.

But I don't think sports scores have generally been posted on MeFi. It would have been appropriate IMHO to have said some thing like "An exciting match at Wimbleton between S. Williams and Capriati. Can Capriati keep her Grand Slam hopes alive? (more inside w/ spoilers)", especially since the match involved two Americans, knowing that American broadcasters are idiotic and are going to tape delay it.
posted by gyc at 5:22 PM on July 3, 2001

Too bad Mefi has become a place where people feel the need to post sports scores.
posted by lagado at 6:07 PM on July 3, 2001

Why? Why is sports not a legitimate topic of conversation? Come on.
posted by owillis at 8:49 PM on July 3, 2001

All I know is that when I'm going to watch something that's delayed (e.g. Sixers-Lakers games recorded on TiVo last month), I don't even answer the phone for fear that someone will reveal something I don't want to know. Metafilter is a discussion site. I don't think there's anything wrong with discussing sports, or any other timely event. Heck, that's pretty much all we do here. And as a regular reader, one can pretty much expect that popular topics will be posted. I certainly didn't check MeFi while I waited for my boyfriend to come home while the TiVo was taping the NBA Finals just for that reason. If it's that important to you, don't poke around where you might stumble across news.
posted by megnut at 11:23 PM on July 3, 2001

knowing that American broadcasters are idiotic and are going to tape delay it

Uhh, I don't think it's fair to expect people to "know" this.
posted by daveadams at 7:58 PM on July 4, 2001

Too bad Mefi has become a place where people feel the need to post sports scores.

Too bad MetaTalk has become a place where people feel the need to get snotty about subjects that other people are reasonably interested in.

The post was about more than a sports score, but you knew that, didn't you?
posted by Skot at 9:03 AM on July 5, 2001