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[Gotdatmoney]

How the hell can you spoil gameplay?

There's no hookshot in Breath of the Wild

 

[Jangowuzhere]

Couldn't an entire book or movie be spoiled for you just because you know some story spoiler? Why are people drawing lines like this?

Because games are so much more than movies and book.

And also yes, it would also be ridiculous to not watch a movie or read a book just because you've been spoiled in some way. It would suck more in those cases, but there is still much more to an experience besides some story revelation.

 

[Zooboomoofu]

If all you care about is story, you shouldn't be playing video games. Read a book or watch a movie.

Funny that this post is getting flak for pointing about the strength other mediums hold over video games. If all you care about is solely story, then the reality is there are other avenues for you to pursue a richer form of story telling. The strength of video games is the interaction between the player and the game world, as well as the player's ability to influence outcomes. If the story is the only driving factor for someone to play a game, then their time would be better served enjoying a medium that doesn't get in the way of the story.

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

I can't wrap my head around stop playing a game because spoilers. That said, I never cared much about getting spoiled. Stories are much more than just any "twist" it might have.

If I do get spoiled, I tried to look for early clues or something. That's kind of fun on its own.

 

[Funyarinpa]

Funny that this post is getting flak for pointing about the strength other mediums hold over video games. If all you care about is solely story, then the reality is there are other avenues for you to pursue a richer form of story telling. The strength of video games is the interaction between the player and the game world, as well as the player's ability to influence outcomes. If the story is the only driving factor for someone to play a game, then their time would be better served enjoying a medium that doesn't get in the way of the story.

Man I just love the "other mediums have better stories so there's no way getting spoiled by games can ruin your experience" fallacy.

There are story-based games. In these games, the story matters greatly to the enjoyment of that game. Getting spoiled can harm one's enjoyment of the story, and therefore of the game. Wow. Not so difficult, is it?

"I don't want to exercise a minuscule bit of discretion for others so fuck you and if you don't like your gaming experiences ruined go read a book"

 

[LotusHD]

Funny that this post is getting flak for pointing about the strength other mediums hold over video games. If all you care about is solely story, then the reality is there are other avenues for you to pursue a richer form of story telling. The strength of video games is the interaction between the player and the game world, as well as the player's ability to influence outcomes. If the story is the only driving factor for someone to play a game, then their time would be better served enjoying a medium that doesn't get in the way of the story.

Except no, he didn't actually point out anything. He just posted a shitty take that people are tired of hearing, and then later on generalized all video game stories as being shit. Trying to spin it as anything else is just hilarious.

 

[WickedLaharl]

This is hilarious. So, according to you this post



Is an example of someone "losing his shit." It's also, apparently



"obnoxious," despite the fact that you could have just ignored the post in its entirety without sparking an argument.

It wasn't a spoiler so i let them know it and how annoying people crying spoilers!!! [/B ]so often are.

 

[Starlightmuse]

Funny that this post is getting flak for pointing about the strength other mediums hold over video games. If all you care about is solely story, then the reality is there are other avenues for you to pursue a richer form of story telling. The strength of video games is the interaction between the player and the game world, as well as the player's ability to influence outcomes. If the story is the only driving factor for someone to play a game, then their time would be better served enjoying a medium that doesn't get in the way of the story.

"If people don't enjoy games the way I do then they should stop playing games".

You guys can't get out of your own asses.

 

[Luminaire]

Because games are so much more than movies and book.

And also yes, it would also be ridiculous to not watch a movie or read a book just because you've been spoiled in some way. It would suck more in those cases, but there is still much more to an experience besides some story revelation.

While I agree that if someone cares only about the story of a game and nothing else, they shouldn't bother with an interactive medium. Lets Plays may be more suitable for those types. However I don't think that gives anyone the right to spoil a story of a game just because "lol video games stories are shit anyways go read a book".

Spoiler Culture™ is stupid as it consists of two extremes: those who are upset by literally anything being revealed and those who reveal everything just because. People should use common sense and be less self-centered, as well as be cautious if they're sensitive to non-story spoilers such as an area/weapons/enemy type.

 

[Bobo Dakes]

There's no hookshot in Breath of the Wild

That Kotaku comment and the author's response had me dying.

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

It's also bullshit that old stuff is OK to spoil- not everyone has played every old game, so you're still being a jerk by going "b-but it's been a year!/ several years!".

I really disagree with this. At what point should people discuss openly stories in any medium if we wait for someone to play, read or watch X piece of a medium? The best of option for them is try to avoid it.

I sure as hell ain't hiding that Aerith dies or that Darth Vader is Luke's father.

 

[Plum]

It wasn't a spoiler so i let them know it and how annoying people crying spoilers!!! [/B ]so often are.

Who cares if they felt something was a spoiler and you didn't? "Letting them know," is not productive as you must have known you weren't going to convince him. You just wanted another easy scapegoat to justify your lack of desire to "walk on eggshells" as you so eloquently put it before.

I really disagree with this. At what point should people discuss openly stories in any medium if we wait for someone to play, read or watch X piece of a medium? The best of option for them is try to avoid it.

I sure as hell ain't hiding that

Spoiler

Aerith dies

or that Darth Vader is Luke's father.

How can you avoid it when people spoil things for no reason in random threads without warning? You even did it here; how could someone who hadn't played FFVII possibly avoided that spoiler? But even if you went with the "it's pop culture!" excuse for FFVII specifically the first page alone in this thread has spoilers for Kingdom Hearts, MGSV and Harry Potter. You can't avoid that shit, you're just stuck with assholes who think a spoiler becoming a meme somehow makes it fine to spoil.

 

[Funyarinpa]

I really disagree with this. At what point should people discuss openly stories in any medium if we wait for someone to play, read or watch X piece of a medium? The best of option for them is try to avoid it.

Spoiler tags. Just a warning before the post / in the thread title saying "spoilers for X/Y/Z" is perfectly sensible.
The examples you mention are ingrained in pop culture to the point where it's practically impossible to NOT come across them, but that's isn't the case for 99% of the times people try to use the "lol game is old" excuse

 

[odhiex]

I only care for some specific games/movies/books that I was really intrigued to follow their stories.

Most of the time, I don't care.


Please don't spoil games for others, unless you put spoiler tags or go discuss at spoiler threads.

 

[David___]

It's also bullshit that old stuff is OK to spoil- not everyone has played every old game, so you're still being a jerk by going "b-but it's been a year!/ several years!".

If the game has been out for several years then it's no one's problem but yourself for not playing a game you supposedly care about being spoiled on.

 

[Cathcart]

I was about 13 hours into Horizon Zero Dawn, then some jerk on reddit ruined the story for me. Now, I have zero motivation to finish

Doesn't say much for the game, does it?

I actually thought the story was the worst thing about Horizon. Exploring around and fighting robosaurs was good fun for me for a long time but when I finally decided to focus on finishing the campaign my enjoyment of it plummeted.

It's not so much that the story is bad, though I do think a lot of the dialog is poorly written and up it's own ass. It's the way the game tells the story with constant info dumps that I have to stand and listen to. It even manages to screw up audio logs, which you'd think Bioshock would have taught everyone how to do 12 years ago.

Anyway, sucks you got spoiled, OP. Even though the game doesn't need help spoiling itself.

 

[killatopak]

This.

Also Aerith dies.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

 

[Funyarinpa]

If the game has been out for several years then it's no one's problem but yourself for not playing a game you supposedly care about being spoiled on.

Cool. I bet you've watched all classic films, read all the classics, and played all story-heavy games you could ever possibly care about.

Also, people can realize they've been missing out on a game they like after starting it. It's not a matter of "if you haven't compiled and completed a full list of all previously released games you'd ever want to play then you deserve to be spoiled" - I also want to play recent releases and some non-story-heavy games, and I don't have all the time in the world.

Seriously people, I don't get what's so unacceptable to some of you about placing tags or a small spoiler warning.

 

[Vigilant Gambit]

tl;dr: When it comes to spoilers, all the consideration in the world, regardless of context, takes 5 seconds on your part. Ask "have you seen/watched/played X?" or use spoiler tags. 5 seconds. Nobody is mad. Then you can talk about all your Rosebuds, and nobody will happen upon your comment later on and get mad.

Plum's Guide to Spoilers

Step 1)
Before writing a post ask yourself "Have the contents of this post been explicitly shown off or discussed in official marketing material?"

Step 2)
If yes:
Write the post.
If no:
Click the spoiler tag and then write the post.

Step 3)
Stop using fringe cases to justify you not taking the second out of your day to click the spoiler tag

Better safe than sorry.

I'm okay with people getting upset when someone tells them <spoiler removed>

You are a bad person, and I hope bad things happen to you.

I know you're posting this sarcastically, but it strikes me as pretty reasonable. I mean, what's the alternative? Is the entire world to refrain from discussing the plot of Creative Work X without spoiler tags, in perpetuity?

I once had someone yell at me for mentioning in casual conversation that <spoiler removed> novel. That can't be the way to handle these things. A compromise must be reached.

Here's the thing.

First, as an aside, the only reason I'm not upset about your spoiler in particular is because I had no intention to ever read it.

Moving on, I have to say that it's rude of you to simply... do what you just did in that post. You knew what you were doing, and yet, did it anyway, in a thread created specifically to ask people in general "hey, please stop doing this one thing in particular that you really don't need to do." What strikes me as pretty reasonable is highlighting the spoiler of the ending of that book, then clicking the "spoiler tag" button. Then, suddenly, rather than having you decide the nature of my maximum potential enjoyment of that book, I can make that decision on my own. Would I enjoy Anna Karenina more if I knew the ending before starting it, or if I didn't? If I don't know the ending before I start, then I have the option of rereading it again if I think that the book would be better with that familiarity in hand. This is true for a number of movies, as well. Some simply lend themselves to a second (or third, or more) viewing that, as that damn study shows, can actually be more enjoyable than the initial, blind one.

But if I'm trying to experience it for the first time knowing only what the author intended for me to know (in other words, nothing, or whatever was on the back of the book, maybe), then for you to spoil the book for me fucking sucks. It saps my enjoyment of it, because maybe I enjoy the feeling of learning about some story as I go, rather than having that sequence broken by some rando on the internet who thinks he knows what's best for me (or simply doesn't give a shit, like so many of you in this thread).

Common decency basically doesn't exist anymore. Case in point...

 

[Gotdatmoney]

That Kotaku comment and the author's response had me dying.

The whole thing legit had me in tears including the gaf thread. Like some of yall I swear &#128514;

 

[Vigilant Gambit]

You're entitled to be petulant about spoilers, but you could still put forth the modicum of effort to not be a dick.

I talk about SotC all the time and haven't had to reveal ending details without warning. For some stories, it doesn't matter to me, but it's not my place to decide for others.

Thank you for this post.

It is my entire argument.

It's an old game discussed to hell and back. It's story and impact is part of popular culture. Expecting no spoilers at this stage is entirely unreasonable.

Posting spoilers without warning, especially without context, is an asshole move. You literally did it just to be a prick, likely because you're sure that you're technically operating within the rules of this forum, and are unlikely to catch a ban for it. You might even be correct about your assumption of the rules (or maybe you don't care), but it's still a thing only an asshole would do in the first place.

What part of that is so difficult to understand?

 

[ornery]

Heres the context of the OP.

Someone made a thread on r/PS4 asking if he/she should buy Horizon Zero Dawn. I stated that I was really enjoying the game and the story was pretty awesome.

Guy responds by saying 'the storyline is really really predictable. I mean, youve gotta be an idiot to not realize *spoiler*'

Like, come the fuck on dude. I didnt attack you. That shit wasnt warranted at all.


Also, I picked the game back up today after arriving home from work.

 

[Haly]

Thank you for this post.

It is my entire argument.

"Not my place to decide for others."

"Oh but you should always play it safe and use spoiler tags/spoiler warnings everywhere, with no statute of limitations for anything no matter how old it is."

Like, how much of a persecution complex can you have? You don't want other people deciding for you how to enjoy entertainment. Do you think they want you to tell them when and how to mark their spoilers? What the rules are they should abide by? That they lack "common decency" for not doing things your way?

Just by framing the discussion as "you're a dick for not doing things according to my arbitrary rules", you relinquish any sympathy from me.

 

[Pagusas]

Story, combat, and characters are all equally unparalled.

...the hell? Play more games.

 

[MHWilliams]

Eh, I think that puts too much on the people who don't know if it's a spoiler or not. The responsibility in that regard falls on the people with the knowledge

And context matters. I don't think anyone would treat that post as a spoiler due to how it's written and presented and the absurdity of the post. But what if it was a post about a character death or something else; of course they would treat it like a spoiler. "How would they know?" is like the whole point

Of course the nature of the thread is important too (don't go into a thread explicitly about discussing the thing you don't want spoiled), but dropping something like that elsewhere falls on the poster, not the reader IMO

I'd argue it does not put anything on them. In short, I'm saying "If you don't know if it's a spoiler or not, perhaps it's best not to move immediately to anger or condemnation." I'm unsure how that's too much.

I mean, you don't think someone would treat it as a spoiler, but we have multiple examples on our forums of people doing exactly that. Again, this is a two-wya street and at some point, the reader does need to retain some degree of responsibility.

*slaps random people on the ass in public*

"There isn't a UNIVERSAL standard for personal space! You can't expect everyone to bend to your whims!"

Your example is poor at best.

----

Might I also say, spoiler tags are there for specific circumstances, which is to say topic threads are not necessarily supposed to be huge pages of redacted text. The reason behind this is because if you have to wade through several pages of spoiler tags to save yourself, you're also likely not participating in the larger discussion of the thread.

This is why we have separate spoiler threads or thread rules that allow for spoilers a short time after a game's launch. Most of our community threads for games avoid using a spoiler policy completely, mostly because being able to post freely tend to promote a more free-flowing discussion.

With is to say, I'm sympathetic to the desire to be free from spoilers, but this zero tolerance spoiler everything idea is not the correct way either. Again, you retain some responsibility to avoid certain areas of conversation where you could reasonably be expected to come across a certain content spoiler.

Heres the context of the OP.

Someone made a thread on r/PS4 asking if he/she should buy Horizon Zero Dawn. I stated that I was really enjoying the game and the story was pretty awesome.

Guy responds by saying 'the storyline is really really predictable. I mean, youve gotta be an idiot to not realize *spoiler*'

Like, come the fuck on dude. I didnt attack you. That shit wasnt warranted at all.

Also, I picked the game back up today after arriving home from work.

I'd agree they did you wrong.

 

[arigato]

I was about 13 hours into Horizon Zero Dawn, then some jerk on reddit ruined the story for me. Now, I have zero motivation to finish the game.

Pretty disappointed about it, too. I wanted to experience the highs and lows. I was fully immersed. Ever since I read that post, I have no interest in finishing.

Please, guys. Don't ruin games for others just getting into them

Bright side, now I can find something else to begin.

That's why I avoid any gaming related subreddits as the ending of Xenogears was spoilered to me out of the blue.

 

[Haly]

*slaps random people on the ass in public*

"There isn't a UNIVERSAL standard for personal space! You can't expect everyone to bend to your whims!"

Good thing we do have widely applicable, generally agreed upon, publicly visible, consistently applied (for some defintion of 'consistent') rules for these cases called "laws".

 

[Vigilant Gambit]

I tend to be critical of this study because the structure used isn't a realistic representation of spoilers or how people consume media.



By spoiling the story beforehand, especially unknowingly as it was presented to the second groups, it stops being a spoiler and just becomes an expected function of the plot. It's no longer a spoiler because that's what you expect the story to be about. It change your expectations. It's like the narrative structure of Sherlock Holmes versus Columbo. So the assumption that they enjoyed the stories more because they were spoiled isn't reflective of reality or even reflective of how their experiment actually influenced the readers.

There's also the added influence of personal interest. A lot of people want to experience the stuff they like from a fresh perspective, and on their own terms. They're invested in the story and fiction, the journey and how it unfolds. It's not merely about endings and twists.


This conclusion is odd too. Yes, obviously, people enjoy movies, books, games, etc. more than once, and can appreciate them in new ways due to hindsight, but that isnt a counter to the notion that people (or the "skeptics") enjoy and value their first naturally-unfolding experience highly. Both are equally true. The former doesn't disprove the latter.

Another shitty aspect of that study is that, as far as I can tell, none of the participants necessarily give the first shit about any of the stories they read. This is pretty big.

Spoiling this random short story I'm only reading for the purpose of some study on spoilers probably won't adversely affect my enjoyment of it at all, since I don't give a shit in the first place. Spoiling the game/movie/book I've been looking forward to, maybe for years, is another story altogether.

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

Who cares if they felt something was a spoiler and you didn't? "Letting them know," is not productive as you must have known you weren't going to convince him. You just wanted another easy scapegoat to justify your lack of desire to "walk on eggshells" as you so eloquently put it before.



How can you avoid it when people spoil things for no reason in random threads without warning? You even did it here; how could someone who hadn't played FFVII possibly avoided that spoiler? But even if you went with the "it's pop culture!" excuse for FFVII specifically the first page alone in this thread has spoilers for Kingdom Hearts, MGSV and Harry Potter. You can't avoid that shit, you're just stuck with assholes who think a spoiler becoming a meme somehow makes it fine to spoil.

I had long ass response to this post, but I had a power outage so long story short(er). We don't own anything to people who hadn't played, watched or read any kind of old media, especially those who plot points are very well known, are already acknowledged publicly by its own creator(s) and are mentioned offhanded in sequels or spinoffs.

I lose any kind of sympathy at trying to dictate how people can discuss those mediums. There are no rules for statute for spoilers, and by a certain amount of time, people will discuss them openly.

 

[Double Donut]

The thing that gets to me are the non-spoilery spoilers like when you see a thread titled "wow *game title*'s plot twist blew my mind" .. Like yeah I guess you can expect a twist from a lot of stories, but if you know beforehand something "mind blowing" is going to happen, you kinda already take in the experience different just preparing for that moment you've seen people hype up.

Exactly this! I can't believe people still don't get that saying there's a plot twist is a huge spoiler in and of itself. It's just common sense.

 

[More_Badass]

"Not my place to decide for others."

"Oh but you should always play it safe and use spoiler tags/spoiler warnings everywhere, with no statute of limitations for anything no matter how old it is."

Playing it safe is not deciding for others

As for the second point:
Basically, yes except for stuff that have become part of pop culture. The notion of a statute of limitations goes hand-in-hand with the notion that "I played/watched/read it already so it's old to me" Age of a work isn't really the metric for spoilers, popularity and pop culture saturation is.

 

[Haly]

Exactly this! I can't believe people still don't get that saying there's a plot twist is a huge spoiler in and of itself. It's just common sense.

This is the kind of stuff I'm really against when I rail on "spoiler culture".

"Wow, game X made me sad."
"Thanks for spoiling that game X has a sad ending/reason to make you sad."

????

Sorry, but I see this as the eventual erosion of any and all discussion about stories. What is there to talk about once we've drawn lines that makes sure everyone gets to maintain their pristine experience? Nothing. There is literally nothing you can say about a game that won't constitute a spoiler from a certain perspective. Like how Vigilant Gambit above distinguishes between "spoilers he cares about" and "spoilers he doesn't care about", but Funyarinpa is in the camp of "not everyone has played every old game, so you're still being a jerk by going "b-but it's been a year!/ several years!".

Trying to give EVERYONE the perfect, isolated experience is the exact opposite of what a discussion board is supposed to do: foster discussion.

Playing it safe is not deciding for others

I don't know what else it can be when I'm asked to spoiler tag such and such in so and so manner.

Basically, yes except for stuff that have become part of pop culture.

Arbitrary limit. There are people in this very thread arguing we shouldn't spoil even pop culture knowledge.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Your example is poor at best.

That's me mocking Haly's language, but it's in response to people like this:

You seem pretty worked up and your expectations are a tad unreasonable. Don't talk about something because you're waiting for the definitive edition? LOL. If you're so into things that your ABSOLUTELY CANNOT BE SPOILED maybe stay off the Internet? Heck, stay inside with the blinds drawn until you're done consuming all the things.

Spoiler

(BTW, Wander dies)

m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=244589874

who let themselves become dickwads out of some strange sense of entitlement to say whatever they want.

Do you take the same "both sides" approach to the above?

"Not my place to decide for others."

"Oh but you should always play it safe and use spoiler tags/spoiler warnings everywhere, with no statute of limitations for anything no matter how old it is."

Like, how much of a persecution complex can you have? You don't want other people deciding for you how to enjoy entertainment. Do you think they want you to tell them when and how to mark their spoilers? What the rules are they should abide by? That they lack "common decency" for not doing things your way?

Just by framing the discussion as "you're a dick for not doing things according to my arbitrary rules", you relinquish any sympathy from me.

Nah, you're a dick if you do whatever you like without any consideration for how it affects those around you. You're a dick when you fight for your right to make others experiences worse above all else.

And read the post I was quoting there if you need context. Tell me that guy wasn't being a dick.

 

[Kurita]

How can you avoid it when people spoil things for no reason in random threads without warning? You even did it here; how could someone who hadn't played FFVII possibly avoided that spoiler? But even if you went with the "it's pop culture!" excuse for FFVII specifically the first page alone in this thread has spoilers for Kingdom Hearts, MGSV and Harry Potter. You can't avoid that shit, you're just stuck with assholes who think a spoiler becoming a meme somehow makes it fine to spoil.

Why didn't you also put spoiler tags for the Star Wars spoiler in his post?????????
How could someone who hadn't watched Star Wars possibly avoided that spoiler???

At some point you have to accept that some story elements from ultra popular works are just out in the wild. Like, is it a spoiler to say that Romeo and Juliet die?

 

[autoduelist]

while i agree with your general sentiment, i don't feel Horizon had any twists that i didn't see coming from a mile away.

Like, Aloy's origins (being

Spoiler

a clone

), the setting (earth

Spoiler

recovering from a man made robot apocalypse

) ...

Those weren't really the twists. I think you're supposed to understand both of those things fairly early on. Both are pretty obvious from the getgo imo, but that's not a bad thing.

 

[MHWilliams]

Playing it safe is not deciding for others

As for the second point:
Basically, yes except for stuff that have become part of pop culture. The notion of a statute of limitations goes hand-in-hand with the notion that "I played/watched/read it already so it's old to me" Age of a work isn't really the metric for spoilers, popularity and pop culture saturation is.

The problem is the latter is a fuzzy metric and apparently not agreed upon according to some of the more hardline posters in this thread.

Which is largely why this discussion is so fraught. The truth is the "common sense", very much differs. The season premiere of The Walking Dead this year was openly talked about on shows after airing, including by folks aligned with the official production. Is that good or bad? Does that reinforce the "after release" line? What if someone has missed those interviews and remains in the dark? It's been officially release, so folks are going to talk about it, or should those folks be more cautious with the spoiler?

This is generally the issue and why threads have spoiler policies, usually determined by the community.

That's me mocking Haly's language, but it's in response to people like this:

Who let themselves become dickwads out of some strange sense of entitlement to say whatever they want.

Do you take the same "both sides" approach to the above?

Frankly, yes. We have folks talking about some being too thin-skinned about spoilers, and others calling those who believe in reverse dicks. Which would you like me to start with?

 

[brickarts295]

I remember how vaguely my friend spoiled Bioshock's twist too me . He basically use the "quote" from game on me multiple times. I didn't what the hell was up but I knew he was playing Bioshock which was new at the time. Years later though, I finally play the game and then I remember him and the "quote", and boom game twist ruined (still a pretty good game though). Basically he didn't outright spoiled it for me, I just managed to put the pieces together.

 

[SargerusBR]

Those weren't really the twists. I think you're supposed to understand both of those things fairly early on. Both are pretty obvious from the getgo imo, but that's not a bad thing.

The former is a big spoiler, the latter is something obvious since the game's reveal tho.

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

Playing it safe is not deciding for others

As for the second point:
Basically, yes except for stuff that have become part of pop culture. The notion of a statute of limitations goes hand-in-hand with the notion that "I played/watched/read it already so it's old to me" Age of a work isn't really the metric for spoilers, popularity and pop culture saturation is.

Except social networks are bigger and more open than ever, anyone could look in my (or anyone else's) Instagram or Twitter profile while they discussing X plot points WHICH are shown on people's timeline or they are retweeted or responded to, which are also shown to people who don't even follow me? At what point should discussions be thwarted to avoid the slippery slope?

I mention social media because it is simply the biggest and most common space to discuss any kind of topic.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

If a spoiler detracts your enjoyment of the game to the point of putting it down for good then you gotta ask yourself how much you're really even enjoying it in the first place. Adachi was spoiled for me in Persona 4 and it just wanted me to see how things got to that point even more. If you really enjoy a game, you'll find a way to play it with your gaming time and keep pushing forward, even if you do get spoiled. It sucks to be spoiled on something, but this idea that you have to black out half of what you say in a discussion thread of the game in question, months after a game is out, because someone can't use better judgment, doesn't seem ideal.

 

[More_Badass]

The problem is the latter is a fuzzy metric and apparently not agreed upon according to some of the more hardline posters in this thread.

Which is largely why this discussion is so fraught. The truth is the "common sense", very much differs. The season premiere of The Walking Dead this year was openly talked about on shows after airing, including by folks aligned with the official production. Is that good or bad? Does that reinforce the "after release" line? What if someone has missed those interviews and remains in the dark? It's been officially release, so folks are going to talk about it, or should those folks be more cautious with the spoiler?

This is generally the issue and why threads have spoiler policies, usually determined by the community.

I'm generally talking on the scale of like Star Wars or Terminator 2 or whatnot.

If you weren't following TWD or GOT when the big moments happen, or didn't even know the shows exist until a decade from today, you're probably not going to know about the big moments that blew up when they aired. Like my dad got into Game of Thrones this year and just finished Season 3 a few weeks ago. He has zero knowledge about the show

My mom did though since she had heard about it on the radio and proceeded to cover her face and walk out of the room, which clued him into the fact that something big was about to happen.

 

[The Giant]

Did you know that Chris Redfield is the playable character in the free RE7 dlc?

 

[Puruzi]

I had both of the major twists spoiled for me in Danganronpa 1 and 2, extremely story heavy games as they are both VNs

Still adored the games, stories are more than just a single moment. It shouldn't be about what exactly happens but how it does.

 

[Bobo Dakes]

Not all of us can be so happy about freely ruining experiences for others.

Get the fuck over yourself. Some games have good stories and people want to experience them to the fullest.

You're right, OP. This pro-spoiler culture is bullshit.

It's also really, really, reeeaaslllyyyy fucking obnoxious to be so smug over not using spoiler tags, a process that takes 3 seconds, tops. All you do is click a couple things, and you don't run the risk of ruining someone else's experience! This isn't rocket science lol.

Edit: To the "b-but one spoiler can't ruin the whole experience!" chaps- it can harm my investment in a game or its characters. It can ruin a moment that the game builds up to for hours. Also, if no one tags their spoilers we go quickly from "one manageable spoiler" to "people tossing endgame info and events left and right".

It's also bullshit that old stuff is OK to spoil- not everyone has played every old game, so you're still being a jerk by going "b-but it's been a year!/ several years!".

Pro-spoiler culture? That's not a thing.

 

[Haly]

Nah, you're a dick if you do whatever you like without any consideration for how it affects those around you.

I don't.

You're a dick when you fight for your right to make others experiences worse above all else.

Tiptoeing around spoilers makes my posting experience worse. Although I'm all for give and take, what are you offering to me for following Plum's handy-dandy-common-decency-rules-for-spoilers? Not derailing a thread when you get spoiled? Wow, how magnanimous of you.

 

[MHWilliams]

I'm generally talking on the scale of like Star Wars or Terminator 2 or whatnot.

If you weren't following TWD or GOT when the big moments happen, or didn't even know the shows exist until a decade from today, you're probably not going to know about the big moments that blew up when they aired. Like my dad got into Game of Thrones this year and just finished Season 3 a few weeks ago. He has zero knowledge about the show

My mom did though since she had heard about it on the radio and proceeded to cover her face and walk out of the room, which clued him into the fact that something big was about to happen.

I can agree with that. The question is - using the middle example of your father - if he went to a Game of Thrones Reddit or thread here, or was more active on social media, should folks who are discussing the topic and did know about those big moments be circumspect in their discussion?

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Frankly, yes. We have folks talking about some being too thin-skinned about spoilers, and others calling those who believe in reverse dicks. Which would you like me to start with?

Is it not assholish behavior to post a spoiler about something solely as a "fuck you" to someone? That seems pretty clearcut "acting like a dick," behavior.

How do you consider "you purposefully spoiling something for someone else makes you look like a dick" to be the equal, yet opposite of the act itself?

I don't.


Tiptoeing around spoilers makes my posting experience worse. Although I'm all for give and take, what are you offering to me for following Plum's handy-dandy-common-decency-rules-fo-spoilers? Not derailing a thread when you get spoiled? Wow, how magnanimous of you.

Okay, then you're not a dick.

Acting like a decent person doesn't entitle you to some reward. I don't always get a thank you for letting people merge or holding doors open. It's unequivocally for the better to do stuff like that, and I know the inconvenience on my part is miniscule.

Marking a spoiler has never hindered my ability to discuss a game. I can break down everything I like about Hollow Knight without catching people by super with spoilers, for the most part. If I cannot avoid offending someone because even stuff like here being upgrades for the weapons and powers is a spoiler for them, I don't need to get indignant over that because I'm not expecting anything in the first place.

 

[afternoon delight]

But knowing that Bruce Willis is dead the whole time makes Sixth Sense THAT much better!

 

[Gotdatmoney]

Exactly this! I can't believe people still don't get that saying there's a plot twist is a huge spoiler in and of itself. It's just common sense.

If I ruin someone's experience because I say there is a plot twist and they consider that a spoiler I don't care. At some point people need to get the fuck over themselves. Get off the internet if this is the level of censorship you expect.

 

[Starlightmuse]

Tiptoeing around spoilers makes my posting experience worse.

Doing one click to spoil tag something make your posting experience worse?