(this can also apply to games, movies, comics... pretty much everything)
1. You must plan for shows you really care about
If you love a show so much that youre obsessed with not having it spoiled, you need to prepare a failure to prepare is preparing to fail when it comes to avoiding spoilers. Buy a calendar.
2. Don't confuse the premise of a show with a spoiler
If you ask, "What's Breaking Bad about?" and someone says, "It's about a high school science teacher who becomes a meth kingpin," that doesn't count as a spoiler. That's literally what the show is about. You're going to need some information about a series before you decide it's worth investing your time in.
3. Tiptoe around (or just STFU about?) twists, character deaths, and final scenes both on and offline for the first 24 hours after the episode airs
There's a spoiler troll inside all of us, waiting to be unleashed in moments of weakness where the drunken pressure of knowing is just too much to hold inside. Fight it, you a-hole!
4. Wait at least three hours before publicly discussing any unexpected moments that aren't technically twists (e.g., [Person] finally [did a thing] we saw coming!)
5. Wait a minimum of 10 days after "binge" shows drop to casually discuss spoilers
Your less marathon-inclined friends deserve time to sample the all-at-once series at their leisure. More specifically, they deserve two weekends: from that debut Friday to the following Sunday.
6. Use a spoiler warning if you absolutely must unload your feelings on your social media of choice
Please do your loved ones a favor and follow the lead of responsible websites: Slap a "spoiler warning" at the top of your lengthy memorial essay. It will let your fellow fans know what's coming and serve as a useful way for everyone else to skip right over your profound musings about the fragility of life for a fictional character.
7. Anything that happens on a reality TV or game show is not a spoiler
This is an important caveat: Pretty much none of these rules apply to reality TV or game shows. There's no such thing as a reality TV spoiler.
8. Discussing the historical event on which a show is based does not count as a spoiler
That's not a spoiler. You just need to watch the news or read a Wikipedia article.
9. "But it's in the book!" is not an excuse to spoil adaptations
TV was obviously invented to help achieve the utopian dream of eliminating books forever; you dont get to ruin someones leisure time because youre "well read."
10. Ask your friends/co-workers if they've seen the episode before talking about last night's "big episode"
Just be polite and kick off the conversation with a gentle, "So, you catch Scandal last night?"
11. In public spaces, conduct all spoiler talk at a "library whisper"
You're a grown-ass adult who should be doing this anyway, but it needs to be said: Do not turn the latest episode of American Horror Story into your version of The Moth.
12. Use headphones while watching spoilable TV in the wild
Don't be brave like those idiots who turn their phones into boomboxes and bump music sans headphones in public.
13. Don't lord your spoiler knowledge over others by hinting at what's to come
It's not hard. Even if your Game of Thrones newbie friend says, "Wow! I love Ned Stark!" and you say, "Awwwwwwwwww, yeah," you're revealing more than you think.
14. Don't quote jokes from the current season of your favorite comedy
Don't be that person who feels the need to rehash all the best jokes before everyone else. Better yet, don't quote jokes from comedies in general. What are you, 15? They pay the professionals to read those lines for a reason.
15. Don't gasp in advance like an idiot if you're rewatching with a first-timer
Act like youve been there before, because you actually have.
16. If you TV cheat on your significant other/viewing partner, hype counts as a spoiler
It is on you not to avoid sales pitches, excessive teasing, and half-spoiler allusions that could undermine the experience. All previous definitions of spoilers are out the window in this scenario -- go full Daniel Day-Lewis in your performance of a clueless first-timer or you stink.
17. Warn your roommate when you're watching spoilable TV in their vicinity
Better to compromise than to start the passive-aggressive, TV-watching version of World War III.
18. Be considerate if you're live-tweeting
Have you heard of these things called time zones? We don't want to say "never live-tweet," but if you have thoughts to share you should just be mindful and considerate about what you post, especially for less zeitgeist-y series and streaming shows.
19. Stop looking at Facebook until you've watched the shows you care about
This rule could probably end with stop looking at Facebook, but thats another discussion altogether. Since you cant control what other people post -- but wow, wouldnt that be great? -- practice some discipline if you cant watch a spoiler-heavy show when it airs and stay off Facebook until you watch.
20. Don't post spoiler freeze-frames on Instagram and/or Snapchat right after an episode
There's no way for your friends to know, for example, that the Snap or Instagram story you've queued up is going to contain the death of Hot New Thing's Hot New So-and-So.
21. If you read, heard, or watched any leaked spoilers, no one wants to hear from you
Just because you're part of some peer-to-peer file-sharing network or have a friend who works "in the industry" and feeds you intel, that doesn't make you a cool hacker from a '90s movie or some big-shot Hollywood insider. You're just a clod spouting spoilers.
22. These old shows are 100% officially spoilable in any context
There are a handful of specific popular television shows that are un-spoilable. That doesn't mean you should feel emboldened to put up a billboard saying "The screen cuts to black in the diner as Journey plays during The Sopranos finale," but you should realize that if you haven't caught up with these 10 series that the internet collectively obsesses over, you've waived your rights to complaining about "spoilers" contained in any jokes on social media, message board threads, or critical essays. Sorry. But not really.
https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/tv-spoilers-rules-etiquette
1. You must plan for shows you really care about
If you love a show so much that youre obsessed with not having it spoiled, you need to prepare a failure to prepare is preparing to fail when it comes to avoiding spoilers. Buy a calendar.
2. Don't confuse the premise of a show with a spoiler
If you ask, "What's Breaking Bad about?" and someone says, "It's about a high school science teacher who becomes a meth kingpin," that doesn't count as a spoiler. That's literally what the show is about. You're going to need some information about a series before you decide it's worth investing your time in.
3. Tiptoe around (or just STFU about?) twists, character deaths, and final scenes both on and offline for the first 24 hours after the episode airs
There's a spoiler troll inside all of us, waiting to be unleashed in moments of weakness where the drunken pressure of knowing is just too much to hold inside. Fight it, you a-hole!
4. Wait at least three hours before publicly discussing any unexpected moments that aren't technically twists (e.g., [Person] finally [did a thing] we saw coming!)
5. Wait a minimum of 10 days after "binge" shows drop to casually discuss spoilers
Your less marathon-inclined friends deserve time to sample the all-at-once series at their leisure. More specifically, they deserve two weekends: from that debut Friday to the following Sunday.
6. Use a spoiler warning if you absolutely must unload your feelings on your social media of choice
Please do your loved ones a favor and follow the lead of responsible websites: Slap a "spoiler warning" at the top of your lengthy memorial essay. It will let your fellow fans know what's coming and serve as a useful way for everyone else to skip right over your profound musings about the fragility of life for a fictional character.
7. Anything that happens on a reality TV or game show is not a spoiler
This is an important caveat: Pretty much none of these rules apply to reality TV or game shows. There's no such thing as a reality TV spoiler.
8. Discussing the historical event on which a show is based does not count as a spoiler
That's not a spoiler. You just need to watch the news or read a Wikipedia article.
9. "But it's in the book!" is not an excuse to spoil adaptations
TV was obviously invented to help achieve the utopian dream of eliminating books forever; you dont get to ruin someones leisure time because youre "well read."
10. Ask your friends/co-workers if they've seen the episode before talking about last night's "big episode"
Just be polite and kick off the conversation with a gentle, "So, you catch Scandal last night?"
11. In public spaces, conduct all spoiler talk at a "library whisper"
You're a grown-ass adult who should be doing this anyway, but it needs to be said: Do not turn the latest episode of American Horror Story into your version of The Moth.
12. Use headphones while watching spoilable TV in the wild
Don't be brave like those idiots who turn their phones into boomboxes and bump music sans headphones in public.
13. Don't lord your spoiler knowledge over others by hinting at what's to come
It's not hard. Even if your Game of Thrones newbie friend says, "Wow! I love Ned Stark!" and you say, "Awwwwwwwwww, yeah," you're revealing more than you think.
14. Don't quote jokes from the current season of your favorite comedy
Don't be that person who feels the need to rehash all the best jokes before everyone else. Better yet, don't quote jokes from comedies in general. What are you, 15? They pay the professionals to read those lines for a reason.
15. Don't gasp in advance like an idiot if you're rewatching with a first-timer
Act like youve been there before, because you actually have.
16. If you TV cheat on your significant other/viewing partner, hype counts as a spoiler
It is on you not to avoid sales pitches, excessive teasing, and half-spoiler allusions that could undermine the experience. All previous definitions of spoilers are out the window in this scenario -- go full Daniel Day-Lewis in your performance of a clueless first-timer or you stink.
17. Warn your roommate when you're watching spoilable TV in their vicinity
Better to compromise than to start the passive-aggressive, TV-watching version of World War III.
18. Be considerate if you're live-tweeting
Have you heard of these things called time zones? We don't want to say "never live-tweet," but if you have thoughts to share you should just be mindful and considerate about what you post, especially for less zeitgeist-y series and streaming shows.
19. Stop looking at Facebook until you've watched the shows you care about
This rule could probably end with stop looking at Facebook, but thats another discussion altogether. Since you cant control what other people post -- but wow, wouldnt that be great? -- practice some discipline if you cant watch a spoiler-heavy show when it airs and stay off Facebook until you watch.
20. Don't post spoiler freeze-frames on Instagram and/or Snapchat right after an episode
There's no way for your friends to know, for example, that the Snap or Instagram story you've queued up is going to contain the death of Hot New Thing's Hot New So-and-So.
21. If you read, heard, or watched any leaked spoilers, no one wants to hear from you
Just because you're part of some peer-to-peer file-sharing network or have a friend who works "in the industry" and feeds you intel, that doesn't make you a cool hacker from a '90s movie or some big-shot Hollywood insider. You're just a clod spouting spoilers.
22. These old shows are 100% officially spoilable in any context
There are a handful of specific popular television shows that are un-spoilable. That doesn't mean you should feel emboldened to put up a billboard saying "The screen cuts to black in the diner as Journey plays during The Sopranos finale," but you should realize that if you haven't caught up with these 10 series that the internet collectively obsesses over, you've waived your rights to complaining about "spoilers" contained in any jokes on social media, message board threads, or critical essays. Sorry. But not really.
- Breaking Bad
- LOST
- 24
- Mad Men
- Pretty Little Liars
- The Sopranos
- The Wire
- Seinfeld
- Friends
- The Simpsons
https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/tv-spoilers-rules-etiquette
