The TV & Movie forum is for discussion of our favourite mediums - the wonderful world of film and TV!
The guidelines set out here are rules that we should all stick to regarding etiquette in this forum.
Because of the nature of how many people are watching TV these days, the Internet has become the focus of many current shows - never before has there been such interactivity and community around TV programmes and it's enhancing them tenfold as people discuss new ideas and theories about events in them.
The problem this brings is the issue of spoilers. There are lots of websites out there with exclusive interviews, gossip and inside sources that leak the outcomes of future, unaired plot lines of TV shows and movies.
If we were to start discussing these so called "spoilers" then nobody would read the threads for fear of the next episode being ruined for them, thus it's something we need to make sure doesn't happen.
So, a few rules that apply to all threads in this forum.
Rule #1: *** SPOILER *** warnings in thread titles - what do they mean?
Any thread that has this warning in its title means that there are potential plot spoilers in this thread but only up to and including the last aired episode of the programme.
This means that if a programme has been aired on an official TV station either in the UK or in the US and you haven't seen that episode, there may be spoilers in the thread about that episode and any before it.
Anything up to and including that episode is fair game and allowed to be talked about freely. If you are the thread starter make sure you include the *** SPOILERS *** warning if you intend the thread to become the hub for discussion about the show.
Obviously if the thread is about a movie then the spoilers relate to that movie and any prequels that may have come before it.
A good idea is if an episode has aired and you're the first to talk about it, then putting a large ** 3 x 21 ** to illustrate that from that point on there's definitely spoilers for that episode after that point.
Don't rely on this though - if an episode has aired and you havent seen it then you should assume anything new in the thread will be about it, it's your responsability to not read it until you've seen it.
Rule #2: Spoiler tags - when to use them and when not to
We do have spoiler tags which conceal bits of text which can be used to cover up potential spoilers. But if we're not supposed to be posting leaked information about unaired episodes, when are we supposed to use them?
Essentially it's for when you're not sure if what you're posting is going to ruin it for someone else, so it's a way of giving you a chance to warn people what's inside it.
The most important thing to remember about spoiler tags is to use the additional info you can give to it.
For example when i type
- :
some text
it appears as:
Spoiler Below - Highlight To Read
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
some text
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Which isn't very helpful because I don't know what's inside it and whether I want to read it or not.
This is why there is an extra functionality to the spoiler tag, allowing you to include more information about what's inside.
e.g.
- An interview with the producer about the future of the character Thomas The Tank Engine:
Ringo Starr says he's a train and one day will have to have his oil changed
now appears as:
Spoiler Below - Highlight To Read
An interview with the producer about the future of the character Thomas The Tank Engine
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ringo Starr says he's a train and one day will have to have his oil changed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
which is much better.
If a thread has a *** SPOILER *** warning in its title, you do not need to put anything in spoiler tags as long as when you write it that episode has been aired somewhere. It's up to other people to make sure they're up to date.
Spoiler tags are most useful for putting additional official sources of information - e.g. episode summaries sent out by the TV networks, interviews with producers/directors and so on. Some people may want to read them, others may not.
Putting a direct fact about what happens in a future episode is bad etiquette and should be avoided.
e.g
Spoiler Below - Highlight To Read
Titanic Ending
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It sinks.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
is not a good idea and will probably lead to you getting shouted at by other people in the thread!
Rule #3: Theories and ideas
This is a tricky one!
Firstly theories and ideas about where YOU think the show is going or what YOU think is going to happen is totally fine and doesn't need spoiler tags in general.
However if you're basing your theory or idea on a spoiler you read elsewhere about an unaired plot-line - or even worse you pass off a future spoiler as your own "theory" then you'll most likely be hunted down with dogs and shotguns.
Rule #4: No Warez!
We are all accomplished netizens, we are not stupid and we know how most people are watching the latest TV programmes hours after they air in the US. It's not up to us (the forum admins) to tell you whether that's right or wrong, however we do ask that you refrain from talking about it on the forums.
Posting direct links is obviously a no-no - as is asking for them, but if we started to allow people to openly discuss how they get hold of their episodes it's a slippery slope and people might get the wrong impression about these forums.
That would lead to us closing the TV forum and we don't want that, do we?
Rule #5: Use Common Sense!
At the end of the day all we're trying to do is ensure everyone can read these forums and discuss the shows without fear of having next weeks episode ruined for them. If you think something you're about to post is potentially going to do that, please don't post it - or at the very least post it in spoiler tags but with a good description about what it might spoil.
If you have accidentally or intentionally found out a major revelation of future plot (even if it's from an ambiguous source) then please keep it to yourself. If its your own original idea, or a theory you've heard on another forum then that's fine but if its based on what you think is a "leak" then don't talk about it.
The moderators of this forum are all hardcore TV fans and when a thread becomes popular (eg Lost, BSG and Heroes) then they'll usually lay out the rules specific to that show in the thread.
E.g for Lost we have to explain that anything in the Alternative Reality Game is also included in the thread and may contain spoilers for it etc
These rules encompass the whole TV forum and we ask that you stick to them - if we think someone is deliberately or consistently being an ass then we'll have to hand out infraction points for it - it's not had to happen yet but that's just so you know!
Mon Jul 22, 2013 5:08 am by semobe
