Spoilers --- Do you care?

[toef]

I'm not a big fan of spoilers... or wait, maybe I am. I don't know what being a fan of spoilers really means.

I like the use of spoiler tags, is probably the proper way to put it. I don't like having things spoiled.

Sometimes when watching a TV show (recent examples for me being Homicide and Six Feet Under), I'd have some questions about episodes I just watched, so I head off to the internet to look stuff up, and end up having significant events of the series spoiled for me. So now I stopped doing that.

As far as movies go, I try to know as little about a movie as possible before going into it. I'd prefer to have a very vague idea of what the movie is about (e.g. Wall-E = an animated movie with a robot in it), but as long as it's not a big spoiler, it's ok.

HOWEVER (and this is what caused me to make this thread), I do sometimes look at reviews on this site, to get an idea of audio and picture qualities, but sometimes even care what other people have to say about the movie in general. My eyes are always drawn toward the negative reviews, because I'm generally more interested in why people don't like something than why they like it.

Earlier today I was reading a review of a particular movie, and scrolled down to the most negative review of it, and the guy throws in a pretty big spoiler to the movie, without any warning.

So my questions:

1) Do people like having movies spoiled?

2) Are people incapable of critiquing movies without giving spoilers?

3) Are spoiler tags not allowed in the user reviews on the site?

4) Can user reviews be edited by the writer or a mod to remove spoilers?

[SquidPuppet]

So my questions:

1) Do people like having movies spoiled?

2) Are people incapable of critiquing movies without giving spoilers?

3) Are spoiler tags not allowed in the user reviews on the site?

4) Can user reviews be edited by the writer or a mod to remove spoilers?

1) I do NOT.

2) They should not be incapable, but some seem to be.

3) They do NOT work (but should)

4) Yes

[Secretagentnumber6]

I think some people like spoilers. I for one, can go either way. For tv I usually avoid looking at anything for big shows such as LOST. Movie wise I only care about spoilers if it is a big movie I really want to see, if I am not real excited about a movie I could care less about spoilers I will still watch it.

[xander]

I hate spoilers, and like you, have learned to pretty much not read reviews or threads involving any movie I want to see because I know that someone will ruin it.

I think a lot of people do it just for the sheer fact that they don't care, they assume they've already seen it, so who cares about you waiting to see it? (Note: obviously any thread labeled with a spoiler tag is fair game, and I sure appreciate the heads up letting me know not to enter the thread).

I'm also of the camp that think trailers these days give away WAY too much of the film and wish they would dial it back, but that's a whole separate thread.

[KilloWertz]

I hate having movies spoiled for me as well. I also think that there's no reason why a reviewer (critic or anyone in general) can't review a movie without spoiling it.

I am with xander now in not going into many threads for movies I haven't seen yet. It sucks as I would like to read the discussions for various reasons, but having the ending for Drag Me to Hell spoiled by someone on here was the last straw for me. I still am doing it for Transformers 2, but that was because I was getting info on the different releases of it.

[dcowboy7]

1. dont care
2. basically yes
3. ??
4. yes

[Fighter]

Not a fan

[Atreyu]

I for one hate spoilers whether it be for a TV show or a movie. I do not want to know the ending ahead of time. If I'm seing a movie or show for the first time that makes the whole viewing experience lukewarm at best. Good reviewers know not to spoil the movie for ones who have not seen it, or at least, let readers know a spoiler is coming up so don't read it if you don't want to know the ending. Someone ruined the movie Phenomenon with John Travolta for me this way and I have not seen it yet for that reason. Somebody else kinda ruined the ending of Brokeback Mountain for me by telling me something happened to one of the characters. thank goodness they didn't say which character or how this incident took place.

[DBLN8]

Depends on the film...The Dark knight, Joker goes to jail batman wins who did'nt see that comin no big deal.

The 6th sense, Bruce Willis is really dead I'd be pissed if that nugget was dropped in a review

[Tyger]

Originally Posted by DBLN8

The 6th sense, Bruce Willis is really dead I'd be pissed if that nugget was dropped in a review

I saw that one coming a mile away, partly because the movie was hyped at having a shocking twist ending and I think that alone sort of acts as a spoiler and that annoys me. If a twist ending is part of the marketing or mentioned in the early reviews, it's going to be in everyone's minds and that lessens any impact the twist could have had.

I try to avoid spoilers for films, although I've looked up spoilers for TV shows sometimes, but nothing serious.

[KingBing]

I HATE spoilers. I like going into a movie or game knowing as less as possible.

[Blu Titan]

Well..spolier tags are a must. I just remember going to see the The 6th Sense and some dork boyfriend of my sister in law spilling the secret . His lucky day that we were at a family house. Otherwise, .

[Purplegrasshopper]

[Show spoiler]

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by Purplegrasshopper

[Show spoiler]

Hey, I like that new spoiler tag.

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

Hey, I like that new spoiler tag.

Ya...that is neat. Spoilers bother me only if it's a movie I'm interested in lol. I was fortunate to not know anything about Lost before I saw all the ep's...it was such a rush. Same goes for 24..

[chemokidd]

I hate spoilers! whats the point of watching something when someone ruins the ending for you?

[Offender_Mullet]

Spoiler tags should be used when discussing a movie that's still in theaters.

If it's on home video already, then who cares? That's your problem if you haven't rented and/or bought it. End of story.

One new feature that should be implemented is: "The Dark Knight Tag". Whenever someone brings the movie up, their entire post gets blacked-out.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Offender_Mullet

Spoiler tags should be used when discussing a movie that's still in theaters.

If it's on home video already, then who cares? That's your problem if you haven't rented and/or bought it. End of story.

One new feature that should be implemented is: "The Dark Knight Tag". Whenever someone brings the movie up, their entire post gets blacked-out.

The Dark Knight is a great movie, I'm not blacked-out yet

[SlmShdy1]

Originally Posted by DBLN8

The 6th sense, Bruce Willis is really dead I'd be pissed if that nugget was dropped in a review

Thanks for spoiling the movie for me and everyone else.

[toef]

Originally Posted by Offender_Mullet

Spoiler tags should be used when discussing a movie that's still in theaters.

If it's on home video already, then who cares? That's your problem if you haven't rented and/or bought it. End of story.

One new feature that should be implemented is: "The Dark Knight Tag". Whenever someone brings the movie up, their entire post gets blacked-out.

That's great, except there are plenty of indy movies that don't have wide releases (Moon), or there are foreign movies without wide US releases (Let The Right One In), or there are movies that for some reason never got released in theaters (Trick r Treat), etc.

So I don't think the "if it's in theaters, be careful of spoilers, but if it's on DVD/Blu-ray, do what you want" rule works very well. A timed thing, like "if it's 5 years old or older" might work a little better, but it doesn't take much effort to throw spoiler tags onto spoilers, out of courtesy for people reading.

Also keep in mind that there are kids growing up today who are too young for a lot of movies, but they'll eventually go back and watch them when they get older. Their viewings of those movies shouldn't be ruined just because they aren't in theaters anymore, at that point.