What about spoilers?

[halfeye]

I don't much like spoiler blocks, they're fiddly to do and I haven't yet worked out how to read them all in a thread, I know people say it can be done.

This is in part a continuation of a discussion that started in the Erfworld thread, but that is by no means the only thread here I post in.

[memnarch]

After a few posts I don't think it needs to be done any more, but I do know there's the option to simply expand all of them on the current page. Just click the word Spoilers on the right and then Show All.

[Rodin]

I generally consider the most recent update to be spoiler-worthy for a certain amount of time after release. A midnight update should probably be spoilered until morning, for example.

The other one would be like memnarch said - a few posts with "New Comic" spoiler tags. That should be sufficient warning for someone to go check the page for any updates.

[Anteros]

I don't much like spoiler blocks, they're fiddly to do and I haven't yet worked out how to read them all in a thread, I know people say it can be done.

This is in part a continuation of a discussion that started in the Erfworld thread, but that is by no means the only thread here I post in.

It's one click of the button to avoid ruining something for someone else. You can spend the 1/2 second it takes to do so.

[halfeye]

It's one click of the button to avoid ruining something for someone else. You can spend the 1/2 second it takes to do so.
It's annoying to read as well as to write.

We're talking about people who come into threads about comics that they haven't updated on, and start reading from the bottom of the page upward. That might be a pretty small subsection of the readership.

It's a pesky small icon that's not that easy to hit, so half a second is probably low, and I'm not at all convinced that it's worth doing for a whole 24 hours, though that probably varies depending on the update schedule of the comic in question.

[Traab]

Im of the opinion that the first couple of posts after each update is more than enough to notify a reader that the comic updated and they need to stop now and go read it before coming back. Thats plenty enough warning imo. You click on the check mark on the message board for the topic and it brings you to the last post you read. You wont skip past the spoiler markers that way and its easy enough. Its just simple common courtesy really.

[hajo]

It's one click of the button to avoid ruining something for someone else.
You can spend the 1/2 second it takes to do so.

There are a lot of buttons to press on a discussion-page where
almost everything is hidden in spoiler-tags, it interrupts the flow of reading,
and it requires hand/eye-action where simple eye-movement would suffice
(i.e. 0.5s vs. 0.1s).
Also, extra work for all the writers to place all the spoiler-tags.

That adds up to a lot of work/effort for every reader,
for the rather small payoff just to not spoil some readers.

I would argue that an updated thread is enough of a hint "maybe an update is out",
that people who don't want to be "ruined" should check that comic first,
before entering the thread.

So, for discussions please no spoiler-tags.

[HalfTangible]

I would argue that an updated thread is enough of a hint "maybe an update is out",
that people who don't want to be "ruined" should check that comic first,
before entering the thread.

Why on earth would you assume that for a thread that's about discussing the comic? Erfworld (the thread this discussion spawned from) has had thread updates pretty much every day regardless of whether or not there's a new comic. You consider it less of a hassle to open up an entirely different website than to hit a single button?

[John Campbell]

I figure that, if you don't want to be spoiled, you shouldn't be reading the discussion threads for comics that you're not caught up on in the first place. And I really hate having to click open an entire page full of spoiler tags, generally to read comments that aren't even really spoilers, so I rarely use them.

Exceptions may be made for comics with irregular updates and active discussions between updates (because otherwise the fact that the thread is active at all should suffice for an update announcement), but even then a post or two with an unspoilered update announcement and spoilered content should be sufficient to avoid accidentally reading the thread for a comic you thought you were caught up on but aren't.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

I figure that, if you don't want to be spoiled, you shouldn't be reading the discussion threads for comics that you're not caught up on in the first place. And I really hate having to click open an entire page full of spoiler tags, generally to read comments that aren't even really spoilers, so I rarely use them.

Exceptions may be made for comics with irregular updates and active discussions between updates (because otherwise the fact that the thread is active at all should suffice for an update announcement), but even then a post or two with an unspoilered update announcement and spoilered content should be sufficient to avoid accidentally reading the thread for a comic you thought you were caught up on but aren't.

I entirely disagree. I could be in an active discussion about the most up to date page of a comic, and while discussing it, have the comic update so I'm then one back without know it, and then someone posts about the latest update. You shouldn't need to be required to be up-to-date to be able to participate, and that mentality is at best extremely exclusive, especially when a comic might be popular to discuss or update irregularly.

There's a function that can unspoiler any spoiler on the page on each post on the top right labeled "spoilers" that rawhide made. Its pretty simple to click once rather than multiple times on each spoiler.

Also, I tend to look at the thread requests at the beginning post. If the first post mentions to please spoiler for a certain amount of time, I do so for that amount of time. Simple as that.

[Anteros]

There are a lot of buttons to press on a discussion-page where
almost everything is hidden in spoiler-tags, it interrupts the flow of reading,
and it requires hand/eye-action where simple eye-movement would suffice
(i.e. 0.5s vs. 0.1s).
Also, extra work for all the writers to place all the spoiler-tags.

That adds up to a lot of work/effort for every reader,
for the rather small payoff just to not spoil some readers.

I would argue that an updated thread is enough of a hint "maybe an update is out",
that people who don't want to be "ruined" should check that comic first,
before entering the thread.

So, for discussions please no spoiler-tags.

Only on the internet would someone argue that slightly twitching their hand for 0.4 of a second to avoid ruining something for others is too much work, and be completely serious.

[John Campbell]

I entirely disagree. I could be in an active discussion about the most up to date page of a comic, and while discussing it, have the comic update so I'm then one back without know it, and then someone posts about the latest update. You shouldn't need to be required to be up-to-date to be able to participate, and that mentality is at best extremely exclusive, especially when a comic might be popular to discuss or update irregularly.

In other words, exactly the circumstances I put forth as an exception, and suggested that a post or two spoilered with an unspoilered announcement that the comic had updated would be appropriate. Seriously, that's all you need as a "go check the comic before proceeding" notification.

More than that is a waste of everybody's time, and can actually confuse matters. I've run into situations a couple of times in these threads where people kept spoilering things long, long after there was any reason to, and I ended up spoiling myself because the spoiler period overlapped into the next update and I couldn't tell where to stop clicking them open until I realized that the things I was reading didn't make any sense for what I thought was the current comic.

[Anteros]

In other words, exactly the circumstances I put forth as an exception, and suggested that a post or two spoilered with an unspoilered announcement that the comic had updated would be appropriate. Seriously, that's all you need as a "go check the comic before proceeding" notification.

More than that is a waste of everybody's time, and can actually confuse matters. I've run into situations a couple of times in these threads where people kept spoilering things long, long after there was any reason to, and I ended up spoiling myself because the spoiler period overlapped into the next update and I couldn't tell where to stop clicking them open until I realized that the things I was reading didn't make any sense for what I thought was the current comic.

This thread came about from a disagreement in the Erfworld thread, which is exactly the situation described. That's why people are belaboring the point.

[Legato Endless]

Im of the opinion that the first couple of posts after each update is more than enough to notify a reader that the comic updated and they need to stop now and go read it before coming back. Thats plenty enough warning imo. You click on the check mark on the message board for the topic and it brings you to the last post you read. You wont skip past the spoiler markers that way and its easy enough. Its just simple common courtesy really.

This is what puzzles me. If you have an account, timed updates seem irrelevant. I don't mind spoiling a few posts after an update, I just don't get why we'd time it out. The forum automatically adjust for where you were last, then it's just a matter of space. Webcomic discussions rarely dovetail into multifaceted argumentation, and even when they do, they usually still involve the latest information. And even considering these two things, it's not like this is the most inclusive policy to be using in any event.

[Traab]

This is what puzzles me. If you have an account, timed updates seem irrelevant. I don't mind spoiling a few posts after an update, I just don't get why we'd time it out. The forum automatically adjust for where you were last, then it's just a matter of space. Webcomic discussions rarely dovetail into multifaceted argumentation, and even when they do, they usually still involve the latest information. And even considering these two things, it's not like this is the most inclusive policy to be using in any event.

Yeah time is a little silly. Just the fact that there are any spoilers among the unread comments is all the sign you should need that an update happened. Now, for topics like movie discussions, thats a different matter. The reader needs to stay the heck out of any topic about the movie if they havent seen it yet because they wont be talking about floral arrangements, they will be talking about the freaking MOVIE! Of COURSE there will be spoilers! People shouldnt feel the need to spoil their posts 15 pages into it because someone who hasnt seen the movie wants to read a topic about it without somehow getting any details ruined for them. But for webcomics, 1-2 spoiled replies when it updates are plenty warning enough and hardly an onerous chore for the poster to use.

[HalfTangible]

This is what puzzles me. If you have an account, timed updates seem irrelevant. I don't mind spoiling a few posts after an update, I just don't get why we'd time it out. The forum automatically adjust for where you were last, then it's just a matter of space. Webcomic discussions rarely dovetail into multifaceted argumentation, and even when they do, they usually still involve the latest information. And even considering these two things, it's not like this is the most inclusive policy to be using in any event.

Speaking for myself, I find the forum will jump constantly around the new page while it's loading, and often will settle on a post long after the last one i saw. Though that might be a problem with my browser.

[Douglas]

Speaking for myself, I find the forum will jump constantly around the new page while it's loading, and often will settle on a post long after the last one i saw. Though that might be a problem with my browser.
For me, jumping to the new post is the last thing that happens, happening only when the page has completely finished loading. Before that, the view defaults to the top of the page, so the only way I'll see something newer than the first new post is if I scroll past it myself. I'm using Chrome.

[Anteros]

Mine jumps around to random places sometimes. I think it might have something to do with coming here on more than one device.

[halfeye]

<edit for context, all quotes from Erfworld thread>
How about each time there's a new comic a bot just makes three posts that all say SPOILER ALERT! A NEW COMIC IS OUT?</edit>


Some comics "update" daily even though they've had no new content for years, so that would probably result in spoilers every day for some comics.


I don't understand what the difference between updating and new content is, so I don't know what the problem is here.
I mean that some comics that haven't had any new content in years, appear to some bots to update daily. On http://www.thewebcomiclist.com/latest/ "Quillian, Teenager from Hell" appears every day as newly updated, but it hasn't had a new page so long as I've been reading that list, which may well be over five years by now.

[Killer Angel]

Two or three spoilered posts should be enough, especially if the first one says outside the spoiler (and maybe with a bigger text size) that there's a new update