Etiquette on posting spoilers on Facebook?

[Outdoor Girl]

As long as the show has aired in whatever time zone you and most of your friends are in, I think it is fair game to post something about said show.  However, I think there should be a spoiler tag on it for exactly the reasons the OP indicated.

But my view point is more about consideration than etiquette, I think.

[Fleur-de-Lis]

I think it's on one who waits to see the ending to not look at anticipated sources of spoilers. Sure, some people use TiVo, some watch only on Hulu, some watch later by other means. 

Once a show has aired, the information is out there - and sometimes even before the show has aired.

Expecting the world at large - or even family and close friends - to "sit" on the information - including stifling their response to the outcome - is at best unrealistic and at worst unreasonable. 

[Moray]

I think it's on one who waits to see the ending to not look at anticipated sources of spoilers. Sure, some people use TiVo, some watch only on Hulu, some watch later by other means. 

Once a show has aired, the information is out there - and sometimes even before the show has aired.

Expecting the world at large - or even family and close friends - to "sit" on the information - including stifling their response to the outcome - is at best unrealistic and at worst unreasonable.

I'm inclined to agree with this. Even if the delay isn't voluntary (staggered programming for different time zones, for example), I think the onus is on the person who doesn't want to be "spoiled" to steer clear if remaining surprised is really that important. I also think it's a really good idea/nice thing to tag a post as *Spoilers*, just as a courtesy.

[LifeOnPluto]

My personal preference is for people to tag spoilers at least for a day or two after the show.

I was "spoiled" recently on Facebook. There was a huge event in the first episode of Season 4 of "Being Human" (UK). I'm in Australia which means we probably won't get this season until months later. I was subscribed to the official Facebook fan page of "Being Human", which revealed the huge event only minutes after the show ended. No spoiler tags or anything. I was NOT impressed when I saw it on my news feed. And it turns out I wasn't alone. On the wall, many people who were out and had taped the show were extremely annoyed.

[JillyJ]

My personal preference is for people to tag spoilers at least for a day or two after the show.

I was "spoiled" recently on Facebook. There was a huge event in the first episode of Season 4 of "Being Human" (UK). I'm in Australia which means we probably won't get this season until months later. I was subscribed to the official Facebook fan page of "Being Human", which revealed the huge event only minutes after the show ended. No spoiler tags or anything. I was NOT impressed when I saw it on my news feed. And it turns out I wasn't alone. On the wall, many people who were out and had taped the show were extremely annoyed.

That's actually the exact reason I unsubscribed from, and stopped subscribing to, fan pages.

[blarg314]

From an etiquette perspective, I would say that for TV shows, once a show has aired in your country, then that's long enough to wait. For movies, if it's a big plot twist, a couple of weeks is good, for books, about a month.  That gives people who really want to watch it fresh a reasonable period of time in which to see it.

I would say from a practical perspective, if it really, really matters that you watch a TV show 'fresh' then it's probably best to avoid Facebook for the couple of hours until it airs in your area, for those to the west. If you miss a show, or choose to record it and watch it later, then that's the price you pay for the convenience.

I'm speaking from the point of view of someone who has totally given up on the idea of consuming media in its unspoiled state, as I tend to get things months to years after it's original air date (a month to six months for new movies, for most English TV shows the soonest I can legally watch them is about 2 weeks after they come out on DVD).

[FoxPaws]

I think it would be considerate to wait until the show has aired in all time zones, but I agree with this:

I think it's up to the person who doesn't want to be spoiled (the spoileree?) to avoid the places they will get spoiled.

And since we're specifically talking about Facebook, the "you cannot tell other people what to post on their own walls" rule applies, too.

[Perfect Circle]

I think it would be considerate to wait until the show has aired in all time zones, but I agree with this:

I think it's up to the person who doesn't want to be spoiled (the spoileree?) to avoid the places they will get spoiled.

And since we're specifically talking about Facebook, the "you cannot tell other people what to post on their own walls" rule applies, too.

I agree. If you don't want news of a show or a contest or a sporting event, the onus is on you to keep away from social media until you have had a chance to catch up.

[lollylegs]

While I don't actually think that people should refrain from posting spoilers for those who are waiting to watch the show online or whatever, let's just pretend for a second that we should.  In that case, how long would you wait?

[FoxPaws]

^Until it has aired in all time zones of your home country.

[JillyJ]

While I don't actually think that people should refrain from posting spoilers for those who are waiting to watch the show online or whatever, let's just pretend for a second that we should.  In that case, how long would you wait?

I think most online shows are available the next day, right?  So, I'd say 24 hours or so.

[KenveeB]

Unfortunately, she did not include a spoiler tag and her reasoning was that since it's been aired on the West Coast, it's now fair game.  I disagreed saying that in this day and age, we're not tied to our TV's if we want to watch a certain show.  We have the luxury of watching online according to our own schedules.

That's definitely true. But if you choose to do that, it's on you to avoid spoilers if you don't want them. There have been times I've completely avoided FB because I knew there would like be spoilers from a significant number of my friends. (If it's just one or two likely, I'll just be careful when reaching their posts.)

I have very fond memories of last baseball season with all the Rangers fans on my friendslist all watching the playoff games and commenting on the plays and scores. Spoilers to those who are watching the game delayed, but enhanced enjoyment of the game to all of those sharing the experience. Why should the person watching on delayed have the right to keep everyone else from that?

[Bluenomi]

Ahh the joys of the internet. The problem is there are so many ways to watch things and so many people in so many different time zones. I've got friends overseas on my facebook, if I had to save comment until they saw something it could be years.

I think if it has been to air in all time zones in your country, you're fine to comment. I wouldn't post about something just after I saw it in Canberra since a friend in Perth won't get it for another 3 hours. But 4 hours later I happily would.

Movies and books are a bit different, I'd leave that for longer since people don't always get to race out and see something new at the movies.

You can get caught out in the oddest places though. I know something about Secon 2 of the Walking Dead thanks to Pintrest and we've only just got the start of that season here  Lucky for me I'm really good at forgetting these things and only remember I know when I see it.

[Twik]

Honestly, I think it is unreasonable to expect people to wait until you have a chance to watch it online.

I think nowadays spoilers are ubiquitous. If you have a particular interest in the results of a TV show, it's now your responsibility to avoid other media (personal or broadcast) that could ruin the surprise.

[Mr Hero]

And welcome to the forum, Mr. Hero!

Thanks!  I've mostly been a lurker for now, but I'm enjoying the posts I've read on the forum.