Spoiler etiquette for older films

Just wondering:

Is there a spoiler etiquette on this site or in general, for how old a movie has to be before you officially don't have to say "spoiler" for revealing the ending?

For instance, if I was to write a review for Planet of the Apes, I probably wouldn't include spoiler tags as it's one of the most famous movie endings of all time, and quite an old film.

If I was to review a film that came out last week I'd definitely wrap spoiler tags around any plot revelations.

So how old does a movie have to be before we forget about spoilering?

Nothing formal/official. In practice, it seems like anything in the last year or so, there's at least a general expectation that things should be wrapped in spoiler tags. And the threshold should be lower for any film where the revelation is a significant part, potentially, of the enjoyment.

But yeah, all we can say for sure is that anything this year should be spoilered, Planet of the Apes doesn't need to be, and wherever the exact line is it's somewhere between those two. I do tell people to try to err on the side of caution, though, since it costs so little to do so.

Personally, if it's still in cinemas I'll use spoiler warnings.

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Makes sense

I'll use spoiler tags for a film like The Prestige which has been out for years. But I won't for a film like Planet of the Apes. No idea why.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

The percentage of media consumed to total media has been going down pretty steadily, so I think there's a rational basis for that. It's totally plausible a film could be out for ten years and someone, even someone who watches a lot of movies, might not get around to seeing it.

It's a good point. If it's a dedicated thread for a specific film I tend to be less cautious about what I talk about. I certainly wouldn't want to reveal big plot twists about any film so it's something I always keep in mind.

Does the age of something really make a difference? No matter the age of a fillum there'll always be someone that hasn't seen it that might want to. If it's information that could spoil a film for anyone watching it for the first time then imo it should go in spoiler tags.

An inane question. Would you like somebody spoiling you the ending of Caligari? Would you?

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

Yeah, don't really see why age matters here. Popularity would be a bigger factor, like i think it's pretty silly tagging the major Empire Strikes Back spoiler but that doesn't mean it's fine to spoil The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari which isn't well seen like Minio's example. Plus you really don't know what people have seen anyway so it's probably best to not spoil anything.

I don't tag spoilers in my reviews but i've always warned people about that and i even had it in my sig for a while.

lol Scarlet. Your spoiler is adorable!

You could ask 10 people this question and get 10 different answers. What do you think?

I say go with your gut instincts. I could write a book on this and never get to the end of the rabbit hole, or I could just get to the point in a sentence and look around for another thread, so to take the middle path I'll be mindful and simply keep it as short as humanly possible because it's such an interesting topic in my movie watching world. I think my opinion comes from the fact that while reading TLOTR my first time when I was a kid a school friend asked me what chapter I was up to and suddenly fat little tears ran down my face as I mentioned the chapter Shelob's Lair, and then she dropped THE clanger on me. I still remember the feeling of the arse dropping out of the end of my world and when she saw the look of utter devastation, like the look a kid gets when some clown tells them santa doesnt exist any more, or your dad is an arsehole, or the dinosaurs and bees all went away never to return, and the ozone has a hole in it and you'll be lucky if you see in the year 2000. Gahhh, that was a very long sentence!

Now my sister read this chapter to me and my two brothers on either side of me as we sat in the garden one school holidays so I knew the suspense of the particular incident (I can't even talk about it now incase someone reading the thread might read the book one day and I dont want to give the spoiler. That's how lodged in my psyche the spoiler tagging topic has been lurking in my book reading world just like Shelob. Well not only did she give THE spoiler, but she gave the reverse spoiler and I thought I was going to die. She double spoilered me to try to make my world all right again, or so I thought! I dont think it was intentional initially, but what got me was the look of utter joy on her face as she kicked me in the belly the second time with her big floppy clown shoes.

so to wrap this up in a nutshell, each movie is different for me as to whether or not I use a tag, and as Yods said, this doesnt take much effort at all, and saves the problem of speaking in riddles to save giving spoilers which can be very irritating on a movie forum. I simply try to be mindful when discussing movies or books both on the net and in the real world. One of my nieces loves movies as much as her auntie and whenever a movie topic crops up in movie discussions at family lunches the first thing I say is NO SPOILERS!!! If she keeps itching to drop a clanger I walk away with her and discuss that particular movie down the side path or in the back garden if no one else has seen it. I think the spoiler drama can easily be avoided if people today are simply mindful of others around them, being well mannered, and not being an absolute imbecile by purposefully dropping clangers to wreck another person's enjoyment. Saying that, however, some people these days dont know simple etiquette in the real world so it's a pretty difficult task to keep the spoiler trolls at a distance. And before anyone jumps on me, I'm not pointing skinny ole fingers at any particular generation. Spoiler trolls can come from any generation!

Thank You for Reading


or not.

that was the first time I got to the crux of why the spoiler topic is so important to me so thanks for starting the thread, Scarlet.

I thought that official reviews can't have the word ***spoiler*** typed into it, I'm guessing using the spoiler wrap is OK for an official review?

At any rate I usually try to avoid spoiling the ending myself, especially on a movie like the original Planet of the Apes

Has anyone had anything seriously spoiled here?

Won't name names but i had a major plotpoint of the show Big Love spoiled and i literally stopped watching because of it and haven't continued since The other one that comes to mind is a major plotpoint in Get Out being spoiled, that one particularly annoyed me because it was in a thread that wasn't related to Get Out in any way, it was untagged and i was planning on watching it the very next day.

Pot, kettle though i'm sure i've spoiled plenty, i know at least one instance i did and i felt really bad about it.

LOL yes, but it was an accident. I can give accidents a hall pass, not intentional spoilers, and not the imdb habit of chasing posters around thinking they're being oh so intelligent and witty, by dropping them intentionally. That's just troglodyte behaviour.

The Big Love one was definitely an accident. The Get Out one technically was too but it was pretty irresponsible posting a big spoiler of a film that was just released in a thread that wasn't related to it.

Like i said i don't care and i know i've done the same, just had to dispute it being an accident a little even though it technically was.

That is also troglodyte behaviour. I cant even imagine what troglodytes look like when using no manners at the dinner table! If some people dont have manners on the net it is a pretty good bet they dont have them in the real world either.

Can we say "God damn you all to hell!" on this site?

Yeah, it's like openly talking about Fredo and then finding out that Citizen Rules only saw The Godfather part II a couple weeks ago!

In general, I'd NEVER spoil anything without warning a person about it. I've experienced enough Breaking Bad spoilers to understand the pain.

I mean that scene in The Arrival of a Train where... is absolutely insane!

The thing with Fredo though is, no one mentions what he did when referring to him, they only really mention that he's dumb which is apparent the moment he first appears.