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- To: buffywantswillow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Subject: Re: OT: "Entropy" promo and SPOILER RULES (please read)
- From: danspector@xxxxxxxxx (Dan Spector)
- Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 00:47:29 -0700 (PDT)
- 23: 18:52 -0700 (PDT)
- In-reply-to: jennpurr <jennpurr@yahoo.com>'s message of Wed, 24 Apr 2002
Jennpurr,
It's okay to give Spoilers in reply to a non-Spoiler discussion, but
YOU'VE GOT TO LET US KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT.
(Pardon the all-caps, but this is for both emphasis and emotional
venting. Accidental Spoilage, volume god-knows-what, makes Dan an
UN-happy man.)
If you're replying to a post that says "SPOILERS FOR PROMO ONLY" and
you're giving SPOILERS for the ACTUAL EPISODE, you MUST, MUST, MUST
change the heading and note this AT THE TOP OF THE E-MAIL, ABOVE the
Spoiler Space.
After all, the Spoiler Space is there to protect people who didn't want
to be spoiled about the promo. (Remember, Spoiler Space is required for
one week after a new episode or promo for a new episode airs, as well as
for unaired eps.)
It does you no good to have Spoiler Space that anyone reading will
assume is for AIRED material and then give Spoilers for UNAIRED
material. These are TWO SEPARATE AND DISTINCT THINGS and require
SEPARATE LABELS AND SPOILER SPACE.
And worst of all is your sentence, "I hope this okay to say this, but"
and then you give the Spoiler.
Since any person who reads better than a three-old-can't help seeing and
comprehending the entire sentence at a glance (particularly since the
Spoiler ended up directly under the word "I"), even people like myself
who realized that you were about to give a Spoiler and wanted not to see
it had already read it, and were spoiled against our wills.
Basic rule: IF YOU'RE NOT SURE IF YOU NEED SPOILER SPACE, USE IT!! It
is far better that someone should have to scroll down through extra
space than that someone (especially me, since it's all about me [as I
learned from Dawn :) ]) should be spoiled unwillingly.
So:
1. Label your posts properly. After "Entropy" airs, a post that reads
" 'Entropy' review--SPOILERS" or something similar refers to discussion
of the aired episode itself. If you want to discuss the accompanying
"Seeing Red" promo, note that, too.
2. It is perfectly all right in such posts to SPECULATE on upcoming
episodes. However if you want to discuss SPOILERS for the upcoming eps,
you MUST label the post "SPOILERS for 'Seeing Red' " or "SPOILERS for
Episode 19" or "SPOILERS for upcoming episodes." (Nothing more specific
than that please: not "Disturbing Spoilers" or "Spoilers about B/S" or
"Big Spoilers". Leave your opinions of the Spoilers for those who want
to know them.)
3. And, what the heck, it couldn't hurt to say it again, ABOVE the
Spoiler Space, what will be below the Spoiler Space. (Again, using only
the episode/promo the Spoilers refer to, not characters or plot points
or your opinion of or reaction to the Spoilers.)
4. If you're replying to a post about the aired ep, and you use the
Spoiler Space to discuss the ep, and then you want to talk about
Spoilers for upcoming eps, you MUST say that you're going to do that and
then USE ADDITIONAL, SEPARATE SPOILER SPACE (20 lines, please). This
way, people who want to hear your thoughts on the episode, but don't
want to know about the spoilers can be spared. (Be careful, though, not
to allude to the spoilers in ANY way during the non-spoiler discussion.)
5. And, once again, if you don't know whether to use the Spoiler Space,
use it. Err on the side of caution and we'll all be happier.
Thanks for bearing with me, as I'm sure I was a bit over-emphatic here.
But I just wanted to get this straight once and for all, so that we can
discuss episodes without being spoiled. (And those who wish to traffick
in Spoilers can do so, without spoiling others.)
And again, this post is NOT a condemnation of Jennpurr in particular, at
all. These are rules about everyone's posts, for everyone to follow.
Thank you very much.
Dan
Cranky old Mod
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