Poll: Are spoilers truly that bad?

[Arsen]

I've had a number of things spoiled for throughout my life...

Fight Club twist, Darth Vader revelation, The Sixth Sense, many parts of novels (Song of Ice and Fire for now, with a character death or two), and many others...and sometimes it bugs me and sometimes it doesn't. I was thinking about it today then slowly came to the realization that a spoiler, at least in my humble opinion, truly doesn't matter if it's told to you beforehand. It might ruin the initial "oh shit" surprise to some degree, but it doesn't take away the merit from being there for you to enjoy.

What's your personal opinion on how bad a spoiler truly is?

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

Honestly I think it can be really damaging to your enjoyment of media. Specifically in books or heavily narrative driven games it can take away all motivation for reading/playing and be quite depressing if you were enjoying it.

 

[Sinclair Solutions]

It's always better to not have something ruined, especially a plot twist. I don't mind someone telling me, but I think an experience with a movie or game is always better when you get that true surprised reaction with a plot twist you truly weren't expecting.

 

[white_salad]

Horrifying. I loathe spoilers with the intensity of a thousand suns, made of hatred and general unpleasantness. If spoilers had a face, I'd punch it in the balls. If spoilers was a starving baby, asking more for one slice of pizza....I'd probably give it that, cuz I mean....it's a baby man. But still! Fuck Spoilers!

 

[Radeonx]

I've never really given a shit about spoilers, but I fully understand why some people have so much disdain for them.

 

[Sion_Barzahd]

Spoilers are evil. I've abandoned an entire series of books because someone who'd read them already told me random bits and bobs of the story line when i was trying to read them. Spoilers simply take away the joys of a book to me, i mean the things you're not expecting even things you ARE expecting i don't want them to be confirmed 'till i read it.

I really hate spoilers.

 

[Arsen]

I blame the yahoo search bar and wikipedia entries (which should have the story summaries removed entirely) for spoiling some things for me. It should include a very brief plot outline, nothing in detail.

 

[Zechnophobe]

Spoilers are generally awful. Part of what makes a good story is the constant wonder of 'what will happen next'. This draws in the person partaking of the media, it makes a connection with them.

Consider it this way, why don't you watch the same movies over and over again? These are somewhat analogous. Having already seen a movie is sorta like the 'ultimate' spoiler, because it is all old hat and predictable. In fact, many movies that have major plot twists make you want to watch them AGAIN after you've seen it, so you can see how the wool was pulled over your eyes.

You lose on that if you already know.

 

[Arsen]

Spoilers are evil. I've abandoned an entire series of books because someone who'd read them already told me random bits and bobs of the story line when i was trying to read them. Spoilers simply take away the joys of a book to me, i mean the things you're not expecting even things you ARE expecting i don't want them to be confirmed 'till i read it.

I really hate spoilers.

Which books?

 

[Thaius]

Spoilers are a twisting and perversion of the creator's intent. To give someone a spoiler is to give them a dumbed-down experience that is a mere shadow of the intended one. Spoilers ruin the work and display it for the one spoiled as an incomplete version of what was made. Spoilers devalue and invalidate all the hard work the creator(s) put into the given work. They are one of the absolute worst things to exist in the realm of storytelling.

 

[Sion_Barzahd]

Snip

Which books?

Wheel of time series and the Dark Tower books. I got to book 5 of 14 (15 with prequel) and i was bombarded with so many spoilers i just gave in. Good books though, i recommend them strongly.

 

[Arsen]

Snip

Which books?

Wheel of time series and the Dark Tower books. I got to book 5 of 14 (15 with prequel) and i was bombarded with so many spoilers i just gave in. Good books though, i recommend them strongly.

I knew the ending to the Dark Tower and five character deaths before I finished the final book. Trust me, it doesn't ruin anything. The ending is downright unspoilable.

 

[Tr3mbl3Tr3mbl3]

I have friends who, every time we hang out, say "Did you see the new Family Guy the other day?" and I'll reply "No, I missed it." They take that as a cue to say every fucking joke in the episode, and when I finally get to see it, it isn't funny. That episode was spoiled, if you will.

I can't imagine if my buddies and I were hanging out and they said "Wow, the ending of Mass Effect 2 was great! You have to and the asks you to and then ."

Point is, spoilers suck. However, after a certain amount of time, you don't get an excuse for spoilers anymore. Darth Vader being Luke Skywalker's father is one such spoiler that is timed out. It's your own goddamn fault that you havent seen Empire, don't blame everybody else.

 

[Andantil]

I've never had a problem with spoilers, in fact I usually read the TVTropes article on games, anime, and movies before I go to the item itself.

 

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

Had someone spoiled fight club for me, the book would have been absolutely worthless. Best plot twist ever.

 

[Arsen]

Fight Club is fun regardless if you have it spoiled or not.

Then again, the movie is rather aged in consideration of the times.

 

[Shirokurou]

Yes it is.
I'm pretty sheltered and I don't get spoilered that much.
But when I am, I always envy the unspoilered ones.

 

[voetballeeuw]

I only mind spoilers if it's about something I care about. Otherwise, I'm happy to the know the twist.

 

[HellspawnCandy]

Not for me, whatever spoiler I've seen is usually cryptic and even if I read the actual synopsis or plot it still never ruins it for me.