Spoiler warnings, Important, Please Read

[Aerich]

Hey everybody,

Just something for general information and courtesy. I've noticed a few unmarked spoilers recently; basically speaking, spoilers are questions and comments that reveal plot twists, etc, that other players may not have found out about yet.

I'm not going to single anyone out, and there's no blame/shame attached, because we're all occasionally guilty of posts that don't notify of spoilers. When I first got on the forum, it was almost lifeless, and everybody there had already finished the game more times than I had. Some of my posts from that period have definite spoilers, and my "priest-heavy party" thread/logbook certainly has some spoilers in it. I'm still not totally into the habit.

All of us need to be wary of spoilers. Not only when posting, but when reading. If you see a thread about a section that you haven't got to yet, be wary about reading it. Same goes when writing posts. Think about what kind of information might be revealed to people who haven't finished the game yet.

If you've posted something in the last few days that you believe might cross the boundary, please edit your post to be more vague, or at least to add a visible spoiler warning.

For your viewing pleasure (and because this post isn't long enough yet ), here's some guidelines from the Ironworks "Rules and Regulations" that offer some hints about what are and aren't spoilers, and what to do about them.

Thanks.
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Warn before you Spoil: A spoiler is something that reveals information about a plot twist or the location of some object/character/hidden place in a game. Spoilers are by their nature subjective - you will need to use your judgment to determine what these are. Many people in this forum talk about 'general' game issues, such as "What is the best party for whatever" or "Should I drop whoever from my group?". These types of posts usually don't require spoilers as they are general information. Other people might have specific game questions like "How do I get past so-and-so" or "Where is such-and-such". These would be considered posts requesting spoiler information. Some are obviously bigger spoilers than others. There are also posts which refer to specific plot twists in the games here, A lot of people who come here do NOT know about certain plot twists which the rest of us might take for granted. Unmarked spoilers about these detract from these people's gaming experience. The majority of people don't like finding out about a plot twist before they were meant to. (Like someone telling you the ending of a movie before you see it) As a courtesy to other board members who may not have gotten as far in the game as you have, please abide by the following when requesting or revealing spoiler information: Do NOT reveal the spoiler in your title. Put a SPOILER tag in the title so people know you will be revealing spoiler information. Put spoiler spaces just before the part where you are revealing the information.

[Calagari]

This should be added as a sticky

Originally posted by Aerich: Hey everybody, Just something for general information and courtesy. I've noticed a few unmarked spoilers recently; basically speaking, spoilers are questions and comments that reveal plot twists, etc, that other players may not have found out about yet. I'm not going to single anyone out, and there's no blame/shame attached, because we're all occasionally guilty of posts that don't notify of spoilers. When I first got on the forum, it was almost lifeless, and everybody there had already finished the game more times than I had. Some of my posts from that period have definite spoilers, and my "priest-heavy party" thread/logbook certainly has some spoilers in it. I'm still not totally into the habit. All of us need to be wary of spoilers. Not only when posting, but when reading. If you see a thread about a section that you haven't got to yet, be wary about reading it. Same goes when writing posts. Think about what kind of information might be revealed to people who haven't finished the game yet. If you've posted something in the last few days that you believe might cross the boundary, please edit your post to be more vague, or at least to add a visible spoiler warning. For your viewing pleasure (and because this post isn't long enough yet ), here's some guidelines from the Ironworks "Rules and Regulations" that offer some hints about what are and aren't spoilers, and what to do about them. Thanks. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warn before you Spoil: A spoiler is something that reveals information about a plot twist or the location of some object/character/hidden place in a game. Spoilers are by their nature subjective - you will need to use your judgment to determine what these are. Many people in this forum talk about 'general' game issues, such as "What is the best party for whatever" or "Should I drop whoever from my group?". These types of posts usually don't require spoilers as they are general information. Other people might have specific game questions like "How do I get past so-and-so" or "Where is such-and-such". These would be considered posts requesting spoiler information. Some are obviously bigger spoilers than others. There are also posts which refer to specific plot twists in the games here, A lot of people who come here do NOT know about certain plot twists which the rest of us might take for granted. Unmarked spoilers about these detract from these people's gaming experience. The majority of people don't like finding out about a plot twist before they were meant to. (Like someone telling you the ending of a movie before you see it) As a courtesy to other board members who may not have gotten as far in the game as you have, please abide by the following when requesting or revealing spoiler information: Do NOT reveal the spoiler in your title. Put a SPOILER tag in the title so people know you will be revealing spoiler information. Put spoiler spaces just before the part where you are revealing the information.

[galdur]

I completly don't understand, what you are saying. What is spoiler? I am confused from your post. Just tell me what can I do and what I can't

[jmsteven]

I just think it's about being careful not to give away too much information that would "spoil" the suprise of "what happens next". It's hard to talk about the game without doing it, but I'll try to be more careful.

[NobleNick]

Aerich,

Excellent, timely and tactful post. I was going to send out a few PMs; but your post is a better idea. Thanks for taking the initiative.

I completly don't understand, what you are saying. What is spoiler? I am confused from your post. Just tell me what can I do and what I can't

galdur,

What Aerich means is: Do not reveal anything specific about the game that you would normally have to play the game in order to find out; without first giving a warning. The warning allows those who don't want to know the spoiler to stop reading in time.

A "spoiler" is revealing the game's story or other important parts of the game; so that it "spoils" the enjoyment one would get by discovering it for themselves in the game.

Here are examples of advice that I would NOT consider a spoiler:

1.) Check with store owners often, since wares (especially spells) change as you progress through the game.

2.) The Paladin gets lots better in the later game.

3.) The best time to enter TotLM is just before you are invited to take a boat ride to the ___ of ________ ___. (Would be a spoiler if I filled in the blanks.)

Now here are similar lines, as spoilers, with an appropriate spoiler warning:

~

CAUTION: Some of the following REALLY are SPOILERS!! (albeit small ones.)

~

~ (the purpose of these tildes and line spaces is to keep the spoiler hidden at the bottom of the screen, while the reader reads the warning.)

~

1.) There is an Ogre in the last room of the Orc cave, that can easily squash your fledgling party if you are not careful.

2.) There is a **AWESOME** +12 THAC0 Mage-only set of darts in Valley of Darkness.

3.) How do you get past all the goblins that you meet when you leave Easthaven?

4.) I'm in Forked Foot and can't find the sixth stick of the Cosmic Candle set. Where is it?

5.) How do you kill those #$%@$# Stampeding Skeletons at the end of Dragon's Armpit 2?

~

END SPOILERS

--------------------
What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!


[ 10-26-2004, 03:51 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

[galdur]

hmm... probably I now understand

[jmsteven]

Forked Foot and Dragon's Armpit were my two favorite areas...but I still haven't found the last stick of the cosmic candle set...

[ZFR]

Originally posted by jmsteven: I still haven't found the last stick of the cosmic candle set...

It's a bug... download the latest patch

[JayS]

Couldn't there just be a "secret" tag that you put spoilers in to solve this problem?

I think it would make hiding spoilers much more convenient.

Here is an example of a game forum that uses secret tags: http://www.drod.net/forum/viewtopic....4&page=0#41265