What's the statute of limitations on Spoilers?
By
BafflingBeerMan,
Posted on: 2010-08-11 12:37 in Comic and Hero-Villain Culture
I'd say a month.
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I'd say it depends on the medium. A month is good for TV shows, but I'd give games and movies a lot longer. Games aren't always quick to finish and some people wait for DVD releases instead of going to the cinema.
Did your friend get annoyed because you mentioned a Batman villain by name, or quoted one of their lines or something?
About a year for games. Not because they take forever to finish, but because some people just can't get ahold of them in the first 3-6 months. If they couldn't afford it to begin with, it might actually take up to a year. So... yeah. Waiting a year is the safe bet.
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I once had someone jump on my case for "spoiling" the end of "The Usual Suspects"... seven YEARS after it came out...|
Originally Posted by Marcian Tobay
How long can something be out before someone's waived the right to say "Spoiler Alert"? I have a friend who just got on me for referencing the name of one of the baddies in Arkham Aslyum, and it made me curious.
Thanks! |
My response? "You were too bloody lazy to actually watch a film you've been 'meaning to see' for SEVEN YEARS? Whose %*$&!&# fault is THAT?!? Certainly not MINE, you slacker!"
Personally, I give everything about two years, regardless of media. If you "mean to" see, listen to or read the damn thing, do it. If you haven't, and hear me talking about it, politely let me know. If everyone else present wants to hear about it anyway, I'll politely ask you to leave, for the sake of your enjoyment. After that? Cope.
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Vader turns out to be Lukes old highschool teacher, Mr Peterson.
He'd have gotten away with it too if it hadn't been for those meddling droids.
I agree with a year timespan is good enough for a game. 6 months seems right for a movie (enough time for a DVD) and about a month for a TV show (yes, that would be before their DVDs come out, but with Hulu/DVR, you can watch an episode almost immediately after it airs)
Also, the cat was named Rosebud.
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Two weeks after release on the internet, 6 months IRL.
Vader is Luke's father.
Leia's, too.
Snape kills Dumbledore.
Rosebud is a sled.
Bruce Willis was dead the whole movie.
So was Nicole Kidman.
And Tim Robbins, too.
299 die.
The boat sinks and Leo freezes to death.
Verbal Kint is Keyser Soze.
The chick is really a dude.
Tyler Durden isn't real.
Soylent Green is people.
Charlton Heston was on Earth the whole time.
The dog dies.
The butler did it.
The butler didn't do it.
It's all a Nemesis plot.
I hope that about covers it.
6 months for movies. 1 month for TV. 1 year for video games. That sounds about right.
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For movies I would say a few months after it's out on DVD.
For games a couple of months.
If your name is River and carry a little blue diary, it would be much considerably longer.
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A certain character turns out to be more malevolent than first looks. The fact that they are a villain is a surprise. I linked her to a site that listed him on Batman's Rogues Gallery and she damn near lobotomized me with a stapler.
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Originally Posted by _Echoo_
Did your friend get annoyed because you mentioned a Batman villain by name, or quoted one of their lines or something?
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Spoilers have no time-limit as long as the work in question can find a fresh audience. In fandom, there's no arbitrary statute of limitations, whether in years, months, weeks, days, or hours, on lasting achievements. Citizen Kane, Psycho, Watchmen, or the secret significance of the phrase "Would you kindly...?" are as suspenseful and resonating to newcomers as they were when they first appeared.
When discussing works with surprises, plot twists, Easter eggs, etc., geek etiquette obliges the simple question to one's interlocutor "Do you know such-and-such?" before embarking on a conversation. In the cases of reviews, articles, blog entries, marketing campaigns, etc., however, the responsibility falls on the reader to avoid the topics of interest, even potential ones. I have friends who now have blanket policies of forgoing trailers ever since studio marketing departments required the best scenes and/or plot arcs to be included in them. Likewise, clicking on this thread in the first place is at the reader's risk.
Also, wearing this t-shirt in public is right out.
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These are pretty much my thoughts, unless it's something that gets echoed around in pop culture so much that one would need to be blind and deaf to avoid knowing it (See: Vader is Luke's father.) Sometimes, people wait a few years before I bother to pick something up. Sometimes, people aren't even interested in something when it first comes out, only to become so later. Heck, if nothing else, some people are too young for things when they come out, or not even born--should a 20-something have the plot to a movie they haven't seen yet spoiled just because it was made in 1970?|
Originally Posted by TrueGentleman
Spoilers have no time-limit as long as the work in question can find a fresh audience. In fandom, there's no arbitrary statute of limitations, whether in years, months, weeks, days, or hours, on lasting achievements. Citizen Kane, Psycho, Watchmen, or the secret significance of the phrase "Would you kindly...?" are as suspenseful and resonating to newcomers as they were when they first appeared.
When discussing works with surprises, plot twists, Easter eggs, etc., geek etiquette obliges the simple question to one's interlocutor "Do you know such-and-such?" before embarking on a conversation. In the cases of reviews, articles, blog entries, marketing campaigns, etc., however, the responsibility falls on the reader to avoid the topics of interest, even potential ones. I have friends who now have blanket policies of forgoing trailers ever since studio marketing departments required the best scenes and/or plot arcs to be included in them. |
Fortunately, at least in the big cases, the internet seems to have developed a defense mechanism of throwing out so many fake spoilers that the real ones can get lost. There's also trickery in leaving the twist of a movie open to interpretation (see the last twenty seconds of Inception.)
Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
Six minutes.
Knowing the details shouldn't change the actual experience, if it does, it wasn't that good of material to begin with.
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Man, Ten Little Indians was crap.
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Originally Posted by Kasoh
Six minutes.
Knowing the details shouldn't change the actual experience, if it does, it wasn't that good of material to begin with. |
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Given how many times its been adapted to screen, I'm sure I'd have to agree with you on at least one account.
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Originally Posted by Marcian Tobay
Man, Ten Little Indians was crap.
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Infinity
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Doomtastic 50 SS/Inv Brute
Ceus 50 Eng/Kin Corr
Cinderstorm 50 Fire/Fire Blaster
Quote:
I haven't played the game yet, so I don't know to whom you are referring, but is it one of Batman's usual Rogue's Gallery members? If it is, your friend, if a fan of the Bat, should have known that person was a villain, and therefore, you should have been spared the wrath.
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Originally Posted by Marcian Tobay
A certain character turns out to be more malevolent than first looks. The fact that they are a villain is a surprise. I linked her to a site that listed him on Batman's Rogues Gallery and she damn near lobotomized me with a stapler.
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Loose --> not tight.
Lose --> Did not win, misplace, cannot find, subtract.
One extra 'o' makes a big difference.
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May I PM you spoilers?
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Originally Posted by White Hot Flash
I haven't played the game yet, so I don't know to whom you are referring, but is it one of Batman's usual Rogue's Gallery members? If it is, your friend, if a fan of the Bat, should have known that person was a villain, and therefore, you should have been spared the wrath.
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Sure. I play games I know the outcome of before I play all the time.
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Originally Posted by Marcian Tobay
May I PM you spoilers?
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Loose --> not tight.
Lose --> Did not win, misplace, cannot find, subtract.
One extra 'o' makes a big difference.
Meh, I usually ask people if they'll ever see/play said movie/game. I've done this for new releases.
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Spike Dies...
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Originally Posted by Defenestrator
Vader is Luke's father.
Leia's, too. Snape kills Dumbledore. Rosebud is a sled. Bruce Willis was dead the whole movie. So was Nicole Kidman. And Tim Robbins, too. 299 die. The boat sinks and Leo freezes to death. Verbal Kint is Keyser Soze. The chick is really a dude. Tyler Durden isn't real. Soylent Green is people. Charlton Heston was on Earth the whole time. The dog dies. The butler did it. The butler didn't do it. It's all a Nemesis plot. I hope that about covers it. 6 months for movies. 1 month for TV. 1 year for video games. That sounds about right. |
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Heck PM me spoilers.
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Originally Posted by Marcian Tobay
May I PM you spoilers?
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...but he gets better.
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Originally Posted by OzzieArcane
Spike Dies...
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Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound
Well, for video games, there are two types of spoiler.
1. The spoilers of what happens during the normal course of gameplay, i.e., Aeris Dies, Galuf Dies, Ashera was evil and the "dark god" was not, what's-his-name is really the Supreme Hunter, etc. The statue of limitations is about two weeks for most games, a month for the really long ones.
2. The spoilers of things that require secret hunting, i.e., The Truth (Subject 16's message), The truth behind The Spirit of Arkham (which I think you're referring to), etc. There, spoiling it is EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN. FOREVER.
The shocking twists provided by secrets are also often the sole reward for spending all that time hunting them. So in their case, DO NOT spoil it.
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How long can something be out before someone's waived the right to say "Spoiler Alert"? I have a friend who just got on me for referencing the name of one of the baddies in Arkham Aslyum, and it made me curious.
Thanks!