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Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 2635
Location: Colorado, USA
PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:37 am Reply with quote
This is in response to a comment that Tony K. made in the Anime forum inviting people to give suggestions for a possible policy on the use of spoiler tags.

Some of what I suggest is probably so obvious that it does not need to be said, but I wanted to mention everything that I could think of right now and get it open for discussion.

These are my thoughts:

When in doubt, use spoiler tags.

Spoiler tags are easy to use and tagged spoilers are easy to read. It is better to tag something that is not a spoiler than to not tag something that is a spoiler.

Of course some common sense is necessary. You should have a reason to believe that what you are hidding actually would spoil something for some people.

Tagging everything "just in case" is definitely not recommended.

Always have something before the spoiler tag to give people a hint about what is being spoiled.

You cannot say too much or that would be a spoiler, but it should be enough to let a person know if it is safe for him to read what is hidden.

Divide long spoilers into two or more shorter spoilers.

Just as long blocks of text should be broken into paragraphs for easier reading long spoilers need to be broken for easier reading.

Try to avoid off-topic spoilers, even with tags.

Spoiler tags should not be needed for a series discussion thread in the Anime and Manga forums.**

Each post in a series discussion thread should start with the number of the latest episode that is talked about in the post.**
This would be necessary only when the episode discussed in that post is different from the episode in the previous post. In a string of posts that are all about the same episode the number would not be needed for every post. Having the number in the first post in that string should be sufficient.***

If you are in a discussion thread for a show you should not give spoilers for an episide that comes later than the one currently being discussed.

Do not give spoilers for manga in an anime thread, or spoilers for anime in a manga discussion.

[EDIT: Put main points in bold. - Key]
[EDIT: Added some paragraph breaks for easier reading. -TK]

EDIT: ** added on 2014-05-27 -Touma
EDIT: *** added 2014-05-28 -Touma


Last edited by Touma on Wed May 28, 2014 4:49 pm; edited 3 times in total
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誤称



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 538
PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2014 11:54 am Reply with quote
"If your post is nothing but a summary of episode events, spoiler tag the whole thing." I'm not sure why certain people find it necessary to post terribly written summaries of every episode they watch.
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Violynne



Joined: 09 May 2014
Posts: 74
PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2014 2:05 pm Reply with quote
I find the use of spoiler tags in an anime discussion pointless. People don't realize they're spoiling the anime while discussing it.

Those who discuss an episode have seen it, and if a fan doesn't want to get spoiled, they should stay out of these discussions until they're caught up with the latest simulcast or series.

If the purpose is to give people an idea about a series before they watch it, there are other choices they can make that doesn't include a discussion from those who have seen the show while covering up spoilers.

I would recommend "SPOILERS" be added to every thread title in the anime discussion area.

For threads outside of this, a spoiler tag should be used on the entire comment. Don't write "The dog spoiler[lives]", because this is a spoiler related to the dog and the event no longer matters. Now we're going to know something happens to the dog.

Write the comment with the courtesy of how you wouldn't want to see it had you been the reader to a spoiler.
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Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2014 3:44 pm Reply with quote
There is one other thing that I want to mention about series discussion threads. It is not about spoiler tags but is relevant to the subject of spoilers:

You should have the number of the episode that you are talking about at the start of your post.
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leatherhead333



Joined: 15 Aug 2013
Posts: 1170
Location: Kansas
PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2014 4:02 pm Reply with quote
Violynne wrote:
I find the use of spoiler tags in an anime discussion pointless. People don't realize they're spoiling the anime while discussing it.

Those who discuss an episode have seen it, and if a fan doesn't want to get spoiled, they should stay out of these discussions until they're caught up with the latest simulcast or series.

If the purpose is to give people an idea about a series before they watch it, there are other choices they can make that doesn't include a discussion from those who have seen the show while covering up spoilers.



THIS.

I find it incredibly annoying that when having an anime discussion I have to put spoiler tags on things that most people who are watching already know about. What's the point? To appease people who want to know the general details of an episode? That's retarded.

They should just watch the episode before commenting. Simple as that. I have no idea why we should have to appease idiotic behavior. I use another website for discussions on anime and there if you have some moron complaining that people spoiled the episode in the comments section of the episode they are CURRENTLY WATCHING they get called out for it.

I mean why would you even look at a currently ongoing series discussion thread if you haven't watch it in the first place? That just defies any logical reasoning and it's stupid that people like this get their way because they wish to continue being moronic.
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Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2014 4:10 pm Reply with quote
leatherhead333 wrote:
That just defies any logical reasoning and it's stupid that people like this get their way because they wish to continue being moronic.

What are you talking about?

I said that you should identify the episode and not give spoilers about future episodes.
Is that what you have a problem with?
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leatherhead333



Joined: 15 Aug 2013
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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2014 4:22 pm Reply with quote
I was just adding on to what Violynne said about a spoiler annoyance. Wasn't meant to be aimed toward you.
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mdo7



Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 5888
Location: Maryland, USA
PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2014 4:55 pm Reply with quote
For me, when I make a sarcasm or joke I always used spoiler tags. Like for example, when I make a joke or sarcasm, I'll do this:

*when I make a joke* spoiler[Yes that was a joke] orspoiler[ nah, just joking. Laughing]

*when I make a sarcasm* spoiler[yes that was a sarcasm, don't take my statement seriously or I'm not being serious about it.]

Also I do agreed with the first post, when you tell a story or possible spoiler, use the spoilers tag to be courteous and not to anger some anime fans on ANN that are still watching this anime.
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Violynne



Joined: 09 May 2014
Posts: 74
PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2014 5:54 pm Reply with quote
Touma wrote:
Is that what you have a problem with?

It's a problem because it requires a spoiler tag.

You may be comfortable with the blackness which greets you in a discussion, but I am not. When editing quotes, I have to ensure those spoiler tags remain. It's just awkward, and a reason I don't get involved in discussions.

Most other forums I visit do not use spoiler tags, leaving the option to the reader if they want to do so.
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Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
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PostPosted: Mon May 26, 2014 6:36 pm Reply with quote
Violynne wrote:
Touma wrote:
Is that what you have a problem with?

It's a problem because it requires a spoiler tag.

No, it does not require a spoiler tag.
It requires starting your post with "Episode xx" and not including spoilers for future episodes.
No tags required.

EDIT: I realized that I have not been very clear about what I am suggesting.
I am not saying that spoiler tags should be used in anime discussion threads.

I am saying that each post should clearly identify the episode that is the subject of that post. That would make spoiler tags unnecessary because it is reasonable to expect that a person who has not seen that episode and does not want to be spoiled will not read the post.

It is also reasonable to expect that everybody who has watched the episode has also watched the previous episodes.
Therefore, if you just avoid giving any spoilers for future episodes no spoiler tags would be needed in discussion threads.
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Polycell



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 4408
PostPosted: Tue May 27, 2014 12:21 am Reply with quote
Probably the second biggest issue with spoilers after people not tagging them is definitely people failing to indicate they're talking about a new episode in the discussion threads. Sometimes I don't realize they've done it until I've read through the spoiler. For the love of god people, FLAG NEW EPISODES! Not everyone gets them at the same time and saying which episode you're talking about is not difficult.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 2175
PostPosted: Tue May 27, 2014 6:58 am Reply with quote
I would like to see some guidance on how long spoiler tags are required for an episode that has aired. I'll spoiler key events in past episodes but generally consider the rest of their content fair game after a week or two. For episodes that have just aired, I'd like to see a grace period of maybe a couple of days beyond which spoiler tags are no longer required.
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誤称



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 538
PostPosted: Tue May 27, 2014 7:18 am Reply with quote
Honestly, is using a spoiler tag such a hardship that we even need to have this discussion? Seriously, just be considerate to others and if you think that something you post could be a spoiler to someone who hasn't seen the content yet use the tag. It isn't HARD.
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leatherhead333



Joined: 15 Aug 2013
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PostPosted: Tue May 27, 2014 7:55 am Reply with quote
誤称 wrote:
Honestly, is using a spoiler tag such a hardship that we even need to have this discussion? Seriously, just be considerate to others and if you think that something you post could be a spoiler to someone who hasn't seen the content yet use the tag. It isn't HARD.


By the same token is it THAT HARD to watch the freaking episode first before commenting? Rolling Eyes
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Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
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PostPosted: Tue May 27, 2014 8:08 am Reply with quote
leatherhead333 wrote:
誤称 wrote:
Honestly, is using a spoiler tag such a hardship that we even need to have this discussion? Seriously, just be considerate to others and if you think that something you post could be a spoiler to someone who hasn't seen the content yet use the tag. It isn't HARD.


By the same token is it THAT HARD to watch the freaking episode first before commenting? Rolling Eyes

Let's try to be clear about what we are talking about.

My idea is that series discussion threads would be different from other threads and would not require spoiler tags.

In all other threads spoiler tags should be used.
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