If you’ve been near the Internet in the last few months, you’ve probably seen posts along the lines of “No Spoilers about XYZ” or similar. People do their very best to avoid ruining the big plot twist of a book, movie or TV Show. We’re all guilty of walking into the office and covering our ears to keep people from blabbing the big reveal. Reasonably, how long can we demand this as the standard?
Firstly, as soon as something comes out, you have to give at least as long as the media itself takes to absorb. A movie? Give it a couple days. TV show? At least a day. A book? Better be prepared to wait awhile. Even after these time durations, you’re only allowed to ask if someone has seen something. The most I tolerate after this period is “Oh, let me know when you’ve seen/read it!” I encourage excitement, but would much rather experience why I’m excited about it myself. This is the usually the first week.
The second week gets a little fuzzier. By now, more people have viewed whatever media you’ve worked so hard to avoid. By this point, people still have to ask if anyone has seen it in the room before talking about it. At this point, it’s up to you to inform others of your intent and the responsibility they have in preventing spoiling your view experience. Don’t expect conversations to come to a screeching halt, but feel free take a walk about so people can share their excitement. Brace yourself, here comes the doozy…
Week three. Somehow, you’ve done it. The minefield that is the speed of Internet has not taken you out with a misplaced article title or untagged blog post. You’ve bobbed and weaved through conversations with friends and family and managed to stay spoiler free. Still, you better hurry. If you haven’t made time to see that movie/episode or made the time to read that book? You’re deep in the trenches of Spoiler Mountain.
That, for me, is a good guideline for when you talk about new media. For books, I give it a little bit longer, but if you’re complaining about me spoiling Star Wars or Dark Knight Rises? You knew the risk going into this game.