[WikiEN-l] So what was the outcome of the spoilerwar?

[Steve Bennett]

On 6/1/07, David Gerard <dgerard at gmail.com> wrote:
> It's entirely unclear to me what "Plot summary" means if it doesn't
> include the spoilerish bits. Separate headings "Plot summary without
> spoilers" and "Spoilers"? Oh dear.

This is so simple. Read the back of a DVD cover. Read a movie review
in the paper. Read the blurb of a book. All contain a rough outline of
the plot. They don't mention:

a) What the outcome of the major plot climax is.
b) Any secrets that change your understanding of the story, but that
are only revealed at the end.
c) The deaths of any major characters that take place late in the story.

What's hard to get about that?

Now, I'm not even suggesting that Wikipedia avoid mentioning these.
But it's so incredibly easy to use spoiler tags judiciously. This
wilful ignorance to understand is quite annoying.

Example:

==Plot summary==
In the story, John marries Susan, but they are separated as he is sent
to war.<more plot describing his antics in the war, the adventures he
gets up to etc >

{{spoiler}}
Ultimately, John's leg is blown off and he returns an amputee, only to
find that Susan has married his  brother.
{{end-spoiler}}

==Some other section==

It's not complicated. It's not a slippery slope. Can we drop the
childish attitude please?

Steve