Earlier today, an article was posted on the main thread of comicbookmovie.com. In its title, there was a medium-sized spoiler regarding The Flash on CW. I'm not going to name the article or the poster, because I'm not here to call anyone out. I will say, however, the poster was an Editor and because of this, his article was immediately posted to main.
I was perturbed by this. I saw the episode when it aired, but I found it to be insensitive on the part of the poster. I was not alone. Many voiced their concerns in the comments section, myself included. Some contacted CBM.com directly through the "Contact" tab, myself included, to raise the issue with the administrators.
Spoilers have become increasingly difficult to avoid in this era. Begging the question, whose responsibility is it to prevent a viewer or reader from becoming spoiled?
In a day and age when we can watch nearly anything at our own leisure, it becomes rarer and rarer that everyone watches at air time. Sometimes by choice, and other times by circumstance, not everyone is watching when a program airs live.
The answer to my question, ultimately, lies with the viewer or reader. It is their own responsibility to prevent spoilers. That, however, does not mean a site such as this shouldn't be spoiler sensitive. It takes nothing for a poster to rename his or her headline in such a manner as to prevent the unaware from spoilers. Considering sites such as this run on clicks for ad-revenue, it would seem they would want to keep their readers happy, allowing for those who haven't had a chance to catch last night's episode to grab a peek at CBM on their lunch break.
I would like to propose a few guidelines to help create a spoiler-free atmosphere for those who want to maintain one. Some of these go for readers/viewers, and others go for editors and contributors of articles.
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For any television show please allow 3 days before posting any spoiler to social media. This more than allows for shows to air across the country and the world, as well as gives stragglers a chance to catch up.
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For any film, please allow 2 weeks before posting any spoilers to social media.
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For any written medium, please allows 2 weeks before posting spoilers to social media.
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If you know you are going to miss an episode, remove yourself from the social media zeitgeist until such a time arrives that you have seen it, or some dick has spoiled it in person.
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It's your responsibility to prevent spoilers in person, no one else's, and you get a maximum of 3 days from air time to politely ask people not to talk spoilers. If you're just now getting caught up on lost, sucks for you.
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When posting an article that may contain spoilers, LABEL THE HEADLINE CLEARLY. It's not difficult.
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For ANY article posted to a website such as our beloved comicbookmovie.com allow 1 FULL MONTH before including spoilers in the headlines, or subheadings. I know that sounds like a lot, but it's not unreasonable. The people who visit this website are the commodity. Not the other way around. They should be treated with respect and appreciation. The clicks of the masses are what feed the ad machines, so be appreciative.
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In the event that a movie releases in another country before your own and you adamantly want to avoid spoilers, remove yourself from CBM.com or other sites like it for the duration of the blackout period. It sucks, I know, I've done it. However, it's better than having things spoiled, and the truly big information will still get to you, I promise.
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If you want to avoid spoilers, avoid comments sections. Plain and simple. Articles that go up immediately after The Flash or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be flush with people wanting to discuss the show, which is their right.
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Don't intentionally post spoilers in the comments section. In this, I mean don't go to an unrelated article and post spoilers. That's a dick move. Someone spoiled Iron Man 3's Pepper Potts ending for me on a completely unrelated article.
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If you see an article with a spoiler in the headline, report it! I would love to think that CBM.com wants to keep their readers happy and would make a concerted effort to prevent spoilers from unreasonably reaching the main page.
I believe that's it. Ultimately, the responsibility falls to you, the readers and viewers of the material, to prevent your own spoilers. That doesn't mean we can't all agree to a few guidelines and try to help each other out.