Spacecast Community

DBash:

TheVok:

Of course. But it would be nice if thread titles didn't give away major plot points (which is what started all this discussion in the first place).

Yes, it would be nice... but it would also be nice if I won $1,000,000.00.

No, winning a million dollars is a matter of luck; keeping thread titles spoiler-free is a matter of being nice.

DBash:

ogi8745:

As with the potention Subjects someone else posted

Admiral Adama, the Final Cylon. could be a potential Spoiler. It could be changed to, Thoughts on the Final Cylon

You do realize that what you typed could be taken as a spoiler too, don't you?

Yes and we all seem to be okay with that within a thread, just not as the title of a thread.

With all due respect, DBash, you're making more of an issue of this than anyone else is. I think in general people are okay with the state of this forum.

You're right, Vok... I probably am. As I said before, I like coming here, but the same few people telling others that they may have posted a spoiler annoys me far more than the spoiler itself. Just wish they'd give it a rest already. Or better yet, just send the person a PM and tell them that they have one.

Maybe when this thread finally dies, this practice will with it... but I'm not optimistic.

Anyway, I get the message. I'll stop my part in the discussion - again - and let others have their say.

I'm a fan of Doctor Who like many others on this forum. Unfortunately, other than my husband, none of my friends/co-workers, etc. are fans. (They wouldn't know a Dalek from a Sontaran). Anyways, if I want to discuss the show with somebody, this forum is one of the few places I can do it.

Further, I am less than happy with CBC and its scheduling of Doctor Who. Therefore, I find "other ways" to watch the episodes in order to satisfy my Who fix.

Obviously, that is going to result in potential spoilers if I (or anyone else for that matter who gets a jump on the new season) post messages about the current season. Frankly, I don't see the problem with that so long as the messages are premised with a disclaimer, which states something to the effect "Doctor Who Series 4 Discussion". This should be enough to alert other posters that they should not read this or similar threads if they do not want to know of any (possible) spoilers.

Just my thoughts.

That reminds me of a time Terry became very upset because some Doctor Who news was posted on this forum, with a major spoiler in the thread's title. She had previously happily engaged in discussions about the show, but that one really threw her for a loop and she backed away from the board in a major way.

I think that's what worries me most about spoilers ... that they make some folks (not myself) uncomfortable enough to be driven away ... whereas the polar opposite, i.e. the overuse of spoiler warnings, may be overkill but at least would not have that same effect on the old hands 'round these parts.

Some random thoughts.i cannot do more then one quote re the posts made since my post.

 1) I am not saying or expecting the original poster to police the people who reply I am just saying it would be neat if the original poster tried to post a spoiler warning of some kind in their post.

2) Not saying people cannot post things but as stated people have different viewing habits and I think most of its common sense.  Like I said for the most part if someone posted some sort of spoiler warning or space with in a message the percentage of people stating i do not think this is a spoiler would be alot less.

3) re my post i should state i was asking a question plus i am not trying to be a "spoiler cop" but offering some thoughts on what might make this board a more enjoyable place.

4) Also if people are concerned about a thread title containing a possible spoiler then the person could try puting the air date or if known the episode title that way lets say you are a lost fan and there is a thread with the name of the episode or has the date based on when the last episode aired a person surmiss (sp) that thread might contain things spoilers or what have u re that episode so a person say well i did not see that episode or have seen it since this date i beter not read any further.

AKalel:

3) re my post i should state i was asking a question

I know I said I'd lay low, but that's too funny, AKalel. Maybe the "I was just asking a question" defence is a valid one? I agree with you, by the way...

plus i am not trying to be a "spoiler cop" but offering some thoughts on what might make this board a more enjoyable place.

I understand the intent is to make the place more enjoyable for all. But if the "old hands" of the board can't agree on what is or isn't a spoiler or what appropriate action should be taken if someone posts one, it leads to a very uneven place to visit. If someone wants to be policing the place for spoilers and judging what is or isn't, maybe that person should be a mod. Wait a minute... the mods don't really police for spoilers...

Incidentally, to anyone who points out that someone has posted a spoiler in a thread title: You might want to change your thread title when you post or every reply after yours will have the spoiler in it also.

I notice no one has mentioned using spoiler text yet. It's the easiest thing to do and yet no one uses it (except me).

The bottom line is that it doesn't matter what this thread determines,  it's not the first thread to discuss spoilers. Day after tomorrow it will either be forgotten or ignored. The reason is that there is no place to post an 'official'  list of rules that can be referred to, and so everyone will default to doing what THEY think is the right way to do it.

By the way, writing 'Spoiler alert' at the top of your post is useless because no one knows what it's referring to. That means someone avoiding spoilers will NEVER be able to read that post until the series ends. You need to specify what's being spoiled, an episode number or the air date or something that's actually useful.

lawgirl1:

I'm a fan of Doctor Who like many others on this forum. Unfortunately, other than my husband, none of my friends/co-workers, etc. are fans. (They wouldn't know a Dalek from a Sontaran). Anyways, if I want to discuss the show with somebody, this forum is one of the few places I can do it.

It's the same with me, this is the only place I can go, and yet there is almost zero discussion for this season because we have to be so careful with what's posted.. Next summer we should start our own thread so we can post on current DW and not the 6 month delayed DW on CBC. Probably should have done that last year.

It all depends on where people link in from too...I link in to threads from the "Active" section - which doesn't list under which show the thread is in until you're in the bloody thread...

But spoilers...there will always be spoilers if one doesn't put episode show, title and airdate in the title, and if someone else doesn't change the title of the thread on you anyways.

And many on this board are younger posters, rules and regulations, meh, they think they don't apply to anyone and everyone, so posting specific rules wouldn't help anything as we're not seriously moderated. But I agree, the spoiler police have basically driven me away from discussing any shows on this forum.  A shame - I was always on here, but now I just often lurk.  And since I'm behind on ALL of my shows, I don't enter any discussion forums until I'm up to date.  Because I alone seem to be able to curtail the spoilers I see BY STAYING OUT OF THREADS FOR PARTICULAR SHOWS ALTOGETHER. It's a skill that many don't seem to have mastered, heheheh.
 

Psi-Phi-Sam:

lawgirl1:

I'm a fan of Doctor Who like many others on this forum. Unfortunately, other than my husband, none of my friends/co-workers, etc. are fans. (They wouldn't know a Dalek from a Sontaran). Anyways, if I want to discuss the show with somebody, this forum is one of the few places I can do it.

It's the same with me, this is the only place I can go, and yet there is almost zero discussion for this season because we have to be so careful with what's posted.. Next summer we should start our own thread so we can post on current DW and not the 6 month delayed DW on CBC. Probably should have done that last year.

 

 

Sounds like a plan to me.

spotthecat:

I alone seem to be able to curtail the spoilers I see BY STAYING OUT OF THREADS FOR PARTICULAR SHOWS ALTOGETHER. It's a skill that many don't seem to have mastered, heheheh.
 

... except as you yourself point out, spoilers can end up in thread titles, all of which show up in 'Active Topics.'

Those types of spoilers, therefore, can't be avoided ... except by not visiting this entire board at all.

If someone posts a spoiler innocently enough, even in a thread title, and someone else pounces on that person right away indicating they have broken a rule (that's not posted anywhere), that can be intimidating to newer members and drive them away or prevent them from entering a discussion in the first place. For every person who posts here, there are probably 1000 who read and are afraid to become involved.

The "old hands", as you call them Vok, might be used to spoiler police around here, but it's annoying as hell when you're trying to have a discussion about a particular show and someone pops in with nothing else to contribute but "shame on you".

As Psi-Phi-Sam said above, everyone is doing it the way they believe is right. What would make your opinion more right than mine or AKalel's or Naomi's or lawgirl1's (hypothetically)? What would give me the right to tell someone else they aren't being "nice" (your term in a previous post) or considerate of others?

Where is the consideration for people who see a show and want to talk to others about it - because they have no one else to talk to - but have to be careful of what they type because someone could get upset at them?

DBash:

If someone posts a spoiler innocently enough, even in a thread title, and someone else pounces on that person right away indicating they have broken a rule (that's not posted anywhere), that can be intimidating to newer members and drive them away or prevent them from entering a discussion in the first place.

I don't know what you're talking about with these hypothetical situations. No one has been pounced on for posting spoilers (though I certainly think they should be, by the mods).

The "old hands", as you call them Vok, might be used to spoiler police around here, but it's annoying as hell when you're trying to have a discussion about a particular show and someone pops in with nothing else to contribute but "shame on you".

So? No one has an inalienable not to be annoyed, especially when the root cause is they've gone and annoyed someone else. This is a forum; you start a thread, you can't control the types of responses you get. It's the same as how someone who starts a thread spoiler-free certainly isn't responsible for anyone who might come in later and post spoilers within that same thread.

What would make your opinion more right than mine or AKalel's or Naomi's or lawgirl1's (hypothetically)? What would give me the right to tell someone else they aren't being "nice" (your term in a previous post) or considerate of others?

I've never said my opinion is more right than anyone else's. I don't know what's with all of your defensive questions all of a sudden. I haven't attacked your point of view.

But yeah, I think it's completely fair to suggest that people who spoil plot details in thread titles aren't being 'nice' to forum readers on general principle. Ultimately they're just blindly racing into expository talk without thinking of the consequences.

Where is the consideration for people who see a show and want to talk to others about it - because they have no one else to talk to - but have to be careful of what they type because someone could get upset at them?

This forum's very existence is exactly that consideration. It's free and gives us all a space to discuss shows, etc. No one has to be careful of what they type (unless the mods say so), but I will certainly argue that they should be thoughtful of how they title a thread.

It's not rocket science. It's not too much to expect of anyone, no matter their enthusiasm.

Here we go... 

TheVok:

I don't know what you're talking about with these hypothetical situations. No one has been pounced on for posting spoilers

Not true. Others have been using the terms "Spoiler Cop" and "Spoiler Patrol" since before I joined this forum. 

 (though I certainly think they should be, by the mods).

Couldn't agree more. If anyone should be the "Spoiler Patrol" around here, it shouldn't be the members with the most posts.

So? No one has an inalienable not to be annoyed,

Again, agreed. But in the real world, when someone is persistently annoying you, what do you do? If you're at work, talk to your boss, perhaps? At school, maybe a teacher? If you're drinking in a bar on Saturday night, you could walk away. If that doesn't work, you could talk to the bouncer or bartender about the problem. Failing that, you'd just kick the person in the head. (If you feel you could take him, of course. )

 especially when the root cause is they've gone and annoyed someone else.

I would hope that no one comes here with that specifically in mind.

 This is a forum; you start a thread, you can't control the types of responses you get. It's the same as how someone who starts a thread spoiler-free certainly isn't responsible for anyone who might come in later and post spoilers within that same thread.

No real issue with this statement.

I've never said my opinion is more right than anyone else's. I don't know what's with all of your defensive questions all of a sudden. I haven't attacked your point of view.

I apologize if it seems like I'm attacking you or anyone else.  But we're not exactly seeing eye-to-eye on this, now are we? I thought it was just a healthy debate... a spirited discussion, if you will.

But yeah, I think it's completely fair to suggest that people who spoil plot details in thread titles aren't being 'nice' to forum readers on general principle. Ultimately they're just blindly racing into expository talk without thinking of the consequences.

This is your opinion and I respect it; however, since I feel that spoilers in some cases are open to interpretation, we can respectfully disagree, can't we? I don't think anyone comes here with the express intent of not being 'nice', nor do they need a moral compass... a "Santa" figure deciding which list your name is on.

This forum's very existence is exactly that consideration. It's free and gives us all a space to discuss shows, etc.

No issue with this.

No one has to be careful of what they type

Agreed. 

(unless the mods say so)

Ah, but this is the clincher, isn't it? Unless someone pops on here spouting hateful comments, the mods pretty much stay out of it, don't they? I wonder why? They could be too busy. Or maybe they feel like I do, that spoilers are open to individual interpretation. Let's use AKalel's comment as an example... he doesn't feel that his thread title was a spoiler because he was asking a question. I agree with that. You might not.

I think we could all learn from the mods. Praise be to them.

 but I will certainly argue that they should be thoughtful of how they title a thread.

You most certainly are!!

It's not rocket science. It's not too much to expect of anyone, no matter their enthusiasm.

It's not rocket science what I'm saying either. Since spoilers are open to individual interpretation in some cases, one person's view is no more important than someone else's here... on a forum where, regardless of how many times you post or how long you've been a member, we should all be equals. I don't go around telling people they've posted a spoiler or should present what they've written in a certain way. I have made my opinions known in the past about spelling and grammar mistakes, but I wasn't targeting any one person or group specifically since it was a general discussion thread, much like this one.

If I do have an issue with something I find offensive or annoying here, I'll send a PM to a mod and let him or her make the call. That would be the proper way to do it, imo. Instead, we have a bunch of wannabes going around telling people what they should & shouldn't do and everyone has a different list of characteristics for what constitutes an offence. Agree or disagree?