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{{Short description|Misplaced Pages content guideline}}
:''For software, see ] (]); for Spoken Misplaced Pages, see ] (]). For Misplaced Pages guidelines regarding non-spoiler warnings, see ] (]).''
{{Hatnote|"WP:SW" redirects here. You may also be looking for ], ], ], or ].}}
{{redirects here|WP:PREVIEWS|previewing edits before publishing|H:PREVIEW
|page previews|mw:Page Previews}}
{{subcat guideline|content guideline|Spoiler|WP:PREVIEWS|WP:SPOIL|WP:SPOILER|WP:SPOILERS|WP:SPOILERALERT|WP:SW}}
{{nutshell|Spoilers are no different from any other content and should not be deleted solely because they are spoilers.}}


Misplaced Pages articles may include ''']''' and no spoiler warnings. A spoiler is a piece of information about a narrative work (such as a book, film, television series, or a video game) that reveals ] points or ]. Articles on the Internet sometimes feature a spoiler warning to alert readers to spoilers in the text, which they may then choose to avoid reading. Misplaced Pages previously included such warnings in some articles, but no longer does so, except for the ] and section headings (such as "Plot" or "Ending"), which imply the presence of spoilers. The "]" guideline explains why spoiler warnings are no longer used on Misplaced Pages.
{{proposed|]|WP:SPOIL|WP:SW}}


It is {{strong|not acceptable}} to add "spoiler warning" notices or to delete information from (or ] it within) an article because you think it spoils the plot. Such concerns must not interfere with ], encyclopedic tone, completeness, or any other element of article quality (e.g., the ]). When including spoilers, editors should make sure that an {{em|encyclopedic purpose}} is being served. Articles on a work of fiction should primarily describe it from a ], discussing its reception, impact, and significance.
A ''']''' is a piece of information in an article about a narrative work (such as a book, feature film, television show or video game) that reveals ] ]s or ]s. If someone hasn't read, watched or played the material to which the warning refers, they might wish to avoid reading the spoiler before fully experiencing the work. Because some people prefer to avoid spoilers, however, it became common on the Internet to put before such descriptions a spoiler warning. In scholarly reference works, however, this is rare, and thus spoiler warnings are generally avoided on Misplaced Pages.


This guidance also applies to other relevant information beyond simple plot elements, such as "surprise" casting information for a publicly released film. Other aspects beyond prose, such as infobox materials and categories, are also considered to be within this guidance; it is not acceptable to remove a category that is otherwise well-defining for the work's plot that could be considered to spoil the plot.
Concern about spoilers should be given low weight in decisions about the structure, content, or formatting of an article. If a piece of information that could be considered a spoiler is one of the most essential aspects of a topic it should be present in the article lead. However, this may also be a sign that the topic does not deserve its own article, bearing in mind that however dramatic a plot-twist may be in the context of the fictional world, it is probably a fairly standard authorial maneuver from the real-world perspective that should be used in Misplaced Pages.


== Other types of spoilers ==
Decisions about what content is essential in the lead or in the body of the article is always at the discretion of the editor. Nothing in Misplaced Pages ] or the ] mandates that plot summaries should be so detailed that spoilers must inevitably be included.
The same reasoning for including spoilers when appropriate in articles on works of fiction applies to other types of "spoilers" as well; for example, the optimal strategy for games such as ], the workings of ]s, the solutions to ]s, the answers to ]s, the results of ] programs, and live radio and television events ] in certain areas of the world such as the ] and the ].


But note that this does not mean such information {{em|must}} be included, either. ]; it should contain information appropriate to an encyclopedia article on the subject.
Note that in cases where plot details genuinely are not widely known (i.e. not discussed in ] but only in the primary source, i.e. the fictional work itself) care must be taken not to violate Misplaced Pages's policies on ].


==Origins of spoiler warnings== == Why spoiler warnings are no longer used ==
Until late 2007, spoiler warnings, also known as spoiler disclaimers, were a frequent occurrence in Misplaced Pages articles about works of fiction. However, by 2007, some editors were also including spoiler warnings in articles about myths, folklore, fairy tales, and even biblical stories. After such a warning was ] to the article about '']'', other editors took notice and began questioning the prolific and unrestricted use of the disclaimers. After a series of long, contentious discussions,{{efn|For the main discussions, see:
* {{section link|Misplaced Pages:Templates for deletion/Log/2007 November 8#Template:Spoiler}}
* ] (and many talk archives listed there), 2007
* ] (formerly Template talk:Spoiler), 2007
* ], 2003–2004
}} several issues with spoiler warnings were identified:


# There was no strong basis to exclude disclaimers for potential spoilers from the "]" guideline when many other disclaimers—such as warnings about offensive images or content and medical and legal disclaimers—would be of greater benefit to the reader.
] discusses spoiler warnings: ''"The term spoiler is associated with specialist Internet sites and in newsgroup postings."'' The idea was not to spoil people's enjoyment of a current fictional work (usually a film or book) by discussing it before other readers would have had a chance to see or read it themselves.
# No other academic, scholarly, or other professional publications that describe or analyze works of fiction, such as other encyclopedias, include disclaimers about spoilers when discussing said works.
# Sections that frequently contain spoiler warnings—such as plot summaries, episode lists, character descriptions, etc.—were already clearly named to indicate that they contain plot details. Therefore, further disclaimers would be redundant and unnecessary.
# Labeling a plot detail as a spoiler would require editors to use their own subjective opinions to interpret the significance of a plot detail and its likelihood of altering the enjoyment of the work of fiction. This would be a violation of Misplaced Pages's core policies of ], ], and ].


Supporters of spoiler warnings pointed out that it had become common practice on the Internet to give a warning about potential spoilers any time plot details were discussed—especially details about how a work of fiction ends—and that readers had come to expect such warnings as a form of courtesy even when most readers will ignore the disclaimers. Because of this, they argued that Misplaced Pages's policies and guidelines ]. However, editors could not reach a consensus about whether the presence of spoiler warnings in articles was an improvement to Misplaced Pages.
==Problems with spoiler warnings on Misplaced Pages==


== See also ==
The use of spoiler warnings is controversial amongst Wikipedians. Key arguments against are:
* ]
*As Misplaced Pages is an encyclopedia, it should be assumed that it will contain information — in fact, it is stated explicitly in the general content disclaimer that "]".
* {{section link|Misplaced Pages:What Misplaced Pages is not#Misplaced Pages is not censored}}
* ]


== Notes ==
*To warn about such content is redundant, since they usually occur in sections marked "Plot", "Plot Summary", or "synopsis".
{{notelist}}


]
*Such warnings are disproportionate — as a matter of policy (]) we don't warn about other objectionable content, including, in cases such as ], content that people have been killed over.

*The term "spoiler," when used in this sense, is a neologism of the sort whose usage is discouraged in Misplaced Pages. (See ]

Counter-arguments are:
* Few readers look at disclaimer pages. Much traffic to the relevant articles comes directly from search engines, bypassing Misplaced Pages's front matter. Due to ], the text will frequently be present on other websites where our disclaimer is absent, so relying on the generic disclaimer implicitly violates ].
*Redundancy is not a sin: a significant level of redundancy is needed for effective communication. Moreover, some plot summaries don't contain spoilers.
*Spoiler warnings are the explicit exception to ]. In any case, arguments from analogy are frowned on (]).
*A poor name is no reason to remove the function; at present no more acceptable name has been suggested.

Some Wikipedias forbid spoiler warnings entirely, e.g. German Misplaced Pages (]).

== When not to use spoiler warnings ==
*Spoiler warnings must not interfere with neutral point of view, completeness, encyclopedic tone, or other elements of article quality.

*Spoiler warnings are almost never appropriate for ancient texts, literary classics, classic films, or works whose plot is 'common knowledge'. In grey areas, editors placing spoiler templates should attempt to justify this on the individual article's talk page, and should expect vigourous discussion.

*Spoiler warnings must never be used for non-fictional subjects. They may be appropriate if explicit spoilers<ref>An explicit spoiler mentions the work of fiction concerned.</ref> are mentioned in articles on primarily non-fictional subjects (e.g. authors, real-life places that fictional texts are set, literary concepts like ]), but editors should consider whether such mentions are really necessary.

==When and how to use spoiler warnings==
*Spoiler warnings ''may'' be used in articles whose primary subject is fictional where the editors proposing them can provide a compelling and justifiable reason to insert one. Such reasons should show that knowledge of the spoiler would likely ''substantially'' diminish many readers' enjoyment of the work.
*A spoiler warning is a courtesy note to readers, such as those who find articles from search engine results. As such it's more of a reminder note and not a label to be used for ''every'' plot summary—only those which contain serious spoilers, and even then at the discretion of the consensus of editors for each article. Such a note is never guaranteed.

* It is sometimes acceptable to remove a spoiler about a fictional work from an article whose primary subject is not that work - particularly if the spoiler is added as a piece of trivia, or as an example when a non-spoiler example would do just as well. For instance one might reasonably, if consensus for this exists, remove information about a plot twist in a film about ghosts from the article ], but not from the article about that film. Such a deletion is worth considering if inclusion of the spoiler (in a largely unrelated article) makes a disruptive warning seem appropriate.

*Use only '''{{tl|Spoiler}}''' to mark spoilers.

==Unacceptable alternatives==

The following methods should never be used to obscure spoilers:

* Deleting relevant, ] and ] information about a narrative work from a Misplaced Pages article about that work "because it's a spoiler".

* Making "spoiler free" parallel versions (]) of an article about a fictional work. (Since Misplaced Pages content is available under the ], creating parallel versions ''outside'' of Misplaced Pages is generally acceptable.)

* Structuring an article around spoilers, confining them to a particular area of the article (e.g. under ==Plot==), when unnecessary or in a way that decreases article quality.

* In various ] discussion forums, a widespread convention is the insertion of blank (or virtually blank) lines before a spoiler (which removes the offending text from the reader's view, until he/she scrolls to the next page). Obviously, this is unacceptable in a general-purpose encyclopedia.

* On the ] ], a popular method of concealing spoilers (and sometimes, offensive material) is ]. Again, this is unacceptable in a general-purpose encyclopedia.

* Another common method of hiding spoilers from readers is to change the color of the text to match that of the page background, thus rendering the text unreadable until highlighted by the reader in a selection. ] in this manner is unacceptable here because it requires explanation to readers unfamiliar with the practice, and because it may be incompatible with ] devices such as ]s. Also, some web browsers highlight text by inverting the colors of the text and background. In these browsers, for white text on a white background, highlighting produces black text on a black background. Also, it is possible for a user to set their browser to refuse to change text color (just as they can refuse to display images); text-only browsers (such as ]) may likewise disregard requests to change text color. In addition, it renders the text unprintable.

==Notes==
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Latest revision as of 22:53, 27 December 2024

Misplaced Pages content guideline "WP:SW" redirects here. You may also be looking for WikiProject Spoken Misplaced Pages, WikiProject Software, WikiProject Star Wars, or SWViewer. "WP:PREVIEWS" redirects here. For previewing edits before publishing, see H:PREVIEW. For page previews, see mw:Page Previews.
Blue tickThis page documents an English Misplaced Pages content guideline.
Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page.		Shortcuts
This page in a nutshell: Spoilers are no different from any other content and should not be deleted solely because they are spoilers.

Misplaced Pages articles may include spoilers and no spoiler warnings. A spoiler is a piece of information about a narrative work (such as a book, film, television series, or a video game) that reveals plot points or twists. Articles on the Internet sometimes feature a spoiler warning to alert readers to spoilers in the text, which they may then choose to avoid reading. Misplaced Pages previously included such warnings in some articles, but no longer does so, except for the content disclaimer and section headings (such as "Plot" or "Ending"), which imply the presence of spoilers. The "No disclaimers in articles" guideline explains why spoiler warnings are no longer used on Misplaced Pages.

It is not acceptable to add "spoiler warning" notices or to delete information from (or hide it within) an article because you think it spoils the plot. Such concerns must not interfere with neutral point of view, encyclopedic tone, completeness, or any other element of article quality (e.g., the lead section). When including spoilers, editors should make sure that an encyclopedic purpose is being served. Articles on a work of fiction should primarily describe it from a real-world perspective, discussing its reception, impact, and significance.

This guidance also applies to other relevant information beyond simple plot elements, such as "surprise" casting information for a publicly released film. Other aspects beyond prose, such as infobox materials and categories, are also considered to be within this guidance; it is not acceptable to remove a category that is otherwise well-defining for the work's plot that could be considered to spoil the plot.

Other types of spoilers

The same reasoning for including spoilers when appropriate in articles on works of fiction applies to other types of "spoilers" as well; for example, the optimal strategy for games such as tic-tac-toe, the workings of magic tricks, the solutions to logic puzzles, the answers to riddles, the results of reality television programs, and live radio and television events broadcast on a delay in certain areas of the world such as the Eurovision Song Contest and the Olympics.

But note that this does not mean such information must be included, either. Misplaced Pages is not a textbook, instruction manual, or video game guide; it should contain information appropriate to an encyclopedia article on the subject.

Why spoiler warnings are no longer used

Until late 2007, spoiler warnings, also known as spoiler disclaimers, were a frequent occurrence in Misplaced Pages articles about works of fiction. However, by 2007, some editors were also including spoiler warnings in articles about myths, folklore, fairy tales, and even biblical stories. After such a warning was added to the article about The Three Little Pigs, other editors took notice and began questioning the prolific and unrestricted use of the disclaimers. After a series of long, contentious discussions, several issues with spoiler warnings were identified:

  1. There was no strong basis to exclude disclaimers for potential spoilers from the "No disclaimers in articles" guideline when many other disclaimers—such as warnings about offensive images or content and medical and legal disclaimers—would be of greater benefit to the reader.
  2. No other academic, scholarly, or other professional publications that describe or analyze works of fiction, such as other encyclopedias, include disclaimers about spoilers when discussing said works.
  3. Sections that frequently contain spoiler warnings—such as plot summaries, episode lists, character descriptions, etc.—were already clearly named to indicate that they contain plot details. Therefore, further disclaimers would be redundant and unnecessary.
  4. Labeling a plot detail as a spoiler would require editors to use their own subjective opinions to interpret the significance of a plot detail and its likelihood of altering the enjoyment of the work of fiction. This would be a violation of Misplaced Pages's core policies of no original research, verifiability, and neutral point of view.

Supporters of spoiler warnings pointed out that it had become common practice on the Internet to give a warning about potential spoilers any time plot details were discussed—especially details about how a work of fiction ends—and that readers had come to expect such warnings as a form of courtesy even when most readers will ignore the disclaimers. Because of this, they argued that Misplaced Pages's policies and guidelines should not apply. However, editors could not reach a consensus about whether the presence of spoiler warnings in articles was an improvement to Misplaced Pages.

See also

Notes

  1. For the main discussions, see:
Categories: