[WikiEN-l] Reflections on the end of the spoiler wars

[Guy Chapman aka JzG]

On Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:03:29 -0800 (PST), Ken Arromdee
<arromdee at rahul.net> wrote:

>whether it's being banned or blocked, it's pretty much the same problem:
>users *cannot* put spoiler warnings back in because they could be punished
>for edit-warring and contradicting consensus, when at the same time the fact
>that nobody puts them back is used to *prove* consensus, which is a classic
>catch-22.

There's a god example: there was a spoiler tag in Catch-22.  Despite
the fact that the supposed spoiler is discussed in every independent
reference to the book.  And as for the one in The Three Little Pigs
(I kid you not)...

The fact is that spoiler tags were a terrible idea.  {{current
fiction}} documents an objectively provable fact, that this fiction
is current (so if you haven't read the book, don't read the
article).  Who says what's a spoiler and what isn't?  My copy of
Halliwell doesn't have spoiler warnings.Spoiler warnings are for
review shows and fansites.

Guy (JzG)
-- 
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:JzG