Template talk:spoiler

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Maybe it would be a better idea to remove this template and whenever it is needed someone just write themselves, "Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow." —Mas12806 (talk·contribs)17:47, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

... Why? The advantage of using a template is that if we want to modify the message, we can just edit here, and we won't have to go through all the pages to change them individually. --Belthazar 22:13, 13 December 2008 (UTC)
I guess your right. But what about this template? This is defenetly a template not needed, as easilly we can just put Strong Bad Email #190, in bold. It's that simple for that one. —Mas12806 (talk·contribs) 22:23, 13 December 2008 (UTC)
That template is the navigation template for EVERY SBEMAIL. It's VERY necessary. — Defender1031*Talk 22:24, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Reevaluating current usage: delete?

This template doesn't seem useful to the wiki. It is currently only inconsistently applied to some game walkthroughs or response lists; I don't see its point on these articles, and don't think its self-stated purpose has value for the site. My issues with the spoiler warning template:

  • Plots and endings for toons are discussed without warning: The spoiler warning alerts that "plot details" are discussed, yet every toon is fully transcribed without any such warning or concerns about spoilers.
    • There is no spoiler warning when the Wiki matter-of-factly reveals who shot Caleb or who tampered with the DNA evidence.
    • Easter eggs are hidden on the site, intended to be discovered by the curious viewer. Revealing where and how to find them is a "spoiler" fundamentally similar to that of telling how to beat a game.
    • Content marked under spoilers in one article is discussed freely in others; e.g., The hag's N64 controller is treated as a spoiler here but not here.
  • Other wikis' use of spoiler warnings are minimal: I do not bring up the first point to advocate for adding spoiler warnings to all toon articles. The other wikis I frequent generally do not utilize spoilers on their many, many recaps of episodes/movies/issues/games or descriptions of in-universe characters and events.
    • If they do, they are extremely time-limited — for instance, Wookieepedia or TFWiki only post warnings for 30 days after the release of media, not for 20 years.
    • Wikipedia retired their "Spoiler Warning" template in 2007; even though the HRWiki is not Wikipedia (for instance, we use content warnings while Wikipedia's policy against them was a factor in their retirement of spoiler warnings) I think this part of their rationale applies equally well for us: "Sections that frequently contain spoiler warnings—such as plot summaries, episode lists, character descriptions, etc.—[are] already clearly named to indicate that they contain plot details. Therefore, further disclaimers would be redundant and unnecessary."
    • I also like the Mario Wiki's wording: "In our effort to cover everything as accurately as possible, you may end up reading about a point in a game you have yet to reach [or] secrets you have yet to find."
  • Walkthroughs' spoilers are self-evident: A reader visiting a game's walkthrough would expect to be told how to progress through and finish it — the "spoiler" message is simply a redundant "Warning: This walkthrough will walk you through the game".
  • No closing tag: Some articles, such as Thy Dungeonman II, deploy the spoiler warning partway through the page. In these cases, there is no indication of where the spoilers end.

Of course, editors should be considerate of spoilers (for instance, the lede of Peasant's Quest shouldn't describe how the game ends or a "Real-World References" section needn't go into unnecessarily spoileriffic detail when elucidating a reference) but I don't see the value of this little-used warning — and especially not for a warning to remain in place for years or decades. Finally, as Homestar Runner is not a particularly story-driven body of work the idea of a "spoiler warning" is hardly needed on this wiki. -- Bleu Ninja 08:40, 12 December 2024 (UTC)

I remember that whole thing with spoilers on Wikipedia. They used to be everywhere and then they were deemed redundant. The reasons you state make sense. My two cents:
  • I'm generally reluctant with the idea of deleting templates on the wiki. Simply because they break the page history. In many cases it might be obvious what the template did, but not in all cases. Also, in general, I don't like the red link aesthetics it leaves behind. I'd much rather retire and/or deprecate templates. But that's my personal preference.
  • I was looking at the Thy Dungeonman Walkthrough spoiler tag and thought it was somewhat hilarious that there's a large and important-sounding spoiler for such a small section. Maybe that's just me and my brand of humor.
  • Now, I was going to mention that it was also funny that the spoiler is for 20-year-old content, but OTOH a kid watching Star Wars Episode V for the first time would ruin their experience if the plot surprises were spoiled. But that's just an observation on spoilers not having a shelf life and has no real bearing on this discussion.
The bonus part is that we can retire a template without the need for a sysop. --Stux 12:40, 12 December 2024 (UTC)
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