I have a beef.
Yeah, I know I don't want ruin people's online fan club fun by saying to be a bit considerate of those of us who are also fans of the same show but we haven't seen the episode yet. But there you go. Case in point is my experience this morning on Facebook. I found out before seeing the episode what the big deal was with last night's episode of "The Walking Dead". A few people posted about it on their walls, and I saw the updates on my Facebook feed. The show still made my jaw drop, but knowing what "the big deal" was kinda ruined it for me. Not that I didn't see it coming. Still, I prefer how River Song won't ruin the Doctor's life experiences by smiling and saying, "spoilers!"
I'm not a member of any online fan clubs except for Facebook's "Once Upon A Time" Rumbelle group, but even that group is careful to not spoil things. I normally don't see much detail about a TV show or new movie online because I don't belong to those groups that discuss them. The same applies to Fetlife, Kindle Boards, and Goodreads. Even with those groups, I don't look at the discussions because I know people are talking specifics.
Maybe I don't have a right to complain about this. I know I'm not the only one who's mentioned it. I've seen at least one other person on Facebook say the same thing. I know people who enjoy talking about their favorite shows and movies aren't acting like Lucy in the above Peanuts cartoon. I just wish there was a way of creating a "spoilers" tab in online posts so people like me don't see what we don't want to see and those who want to discuss things are free to do so. I've seen these kinds of spoilers tabs in some forums. The code blocks out the text until you click on it and then it's revealed. Pretty ingenious. I wish there was something like that on more forums, but I guess it means I have to stay off Facebook and especially Twitter until I've seen "The Walking Dead" every week.
By the way, the episode rocked.
I posted about this in your thread on Facebook this morning. "The Walking Dead" is a VERY POPULAR SHOW. The article I wrote for Yahoo! OMG! on Andrew Lincoln got lots of hits. I just submitted one on Norman Reedus, and I expect that one to get a ton of hits also. So I have a question. (Not to be rude, just being honest.) Why does it become the fans fault if a person does not get to see an episode of "The Walking Dead" when it comes on? I was unable to see "The Walking Dead" last week. I made sure I didn't read anything that was posted about "The Walking Dead" that night. I stayed off of Facebook and especially Twitter. I don't expect fans to hide their enthusiasm for an episode once the episode comes on, especially when a show is the number one most popular. It's one thing to not talk about it before it's on, but once it's on that's another thing. I had one reader bitch at me for posting in an article what Andrew Lincoln HIMSELF said about an episode that had been on at least a week before. It's not my fault that she's not caught up. I get on Twitter and tweet with the rest of "The Walking Dead" fans when an episode airs. I don't intend to stop.
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing - I don't really think it's the fans fault if a person doesn't get to see an episode when it comes on. Fans are free to discuss the show as much as they like to any extent they like. That's the way it should be. The problem is that there are fans who may not have seen a particular episode for a number of reasons - they're recording it later that night; they're on the west coast which gets the show several hours later; they can't see it until the next day. I just wanted to see if there was some way a compromise could be made, but that doesn't seem to be very realistic. I liked the forums where spoilers about a show could be blacked out so the fans could discuss the show to their heart's content whilst those who hadn't seen the episode yet weren't given too much information. If you wanted to read the blacked out content you just clicked on it. That was one way to handle fans not being caught up on episodes. I don't want to see anyone stop talking about "The Walking Dead" or any other show they love. I ran into the same problem with "The X Files" but I was in the opposite position. I was one of the ones talking about the show as it was airing and an hour later in some "X Files" forums. I heard complaints, too, from people who hadn't seen the show yet. I guess the best thing to do is to avoid forums before you see a particular episode. I didn't go to forums this morning, though. I saw several posts on my Facebook feed that told me what had happened. I guess there's no way around it.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I appreciate about sites like Goodreads etc (I know, it's a book, but that's not the point). Reviews can be left with "Spoiler Alert", blog posts can contain a warning. Maybe there should also be warnings where spoilers may be listed, just a general "Read at your own risk, may contain spoilers". That way, they read at their own risk.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing those spoiler alerts on Goodreads. They're a good idea. I just want to see fans get the full experience of enjoying their favorite shows, movies, and yes, books. I don't want to shut anyone down.
ReplyDeleteI don't really mind spoilers, because even if I know *what* happened, I don't necessarily know *how*. Then again, I'm one of those who'll skip to the end of a book to find out what happens and then read the thing all the way through. But I can see how it could be annoying for some people to have the spoilers.
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