Comment policy: Spoilers

[andrewducker]

Because it's come up several times in the past, and I want people to be able to feel they can read the comments without bumping into things that they don't want to, I figured that an actual policy would be useful. Particularly with Dr Who being back

Comments

[momentsmusicaux]

So hang on -- no referring to any revelation in ANY work of fiction, EVER? Who Darth Vader is? What happens to Lizzie and Darcy? Whether Ulysses gets home?

[andrewducker]

Yes.

Because _I_ have no idea what happens to Lizzie and Darcy*, and only the vaguest of ideas what happens to Ulysses.

And at some point I will probably get around to watching (or reading) Pride & Prejudice, and I would rather discover the plot in the order the author meant me to.

But feel free to talk about it, as much as you like. So long as you obfuscate it.

*Ok, I assume they get together. But I don't actually know.

[momentsmusicaux]

That seems rather draconian to me. I mean, how can you prevent people in real life from revealing whether Ulysses gets home? I suppose if it's people you're talking to at a party or in the pub, you could stop them in time. What if it's strangers sitting behind you on the bus? What if it's a conversation between characters in a film?

I think surprising revelations expire at some point. Take The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, for example. That was hugely surprising when it was published. The first time I even read about it was in something that revealed the identity of the murderer. Things are surprising and new for a while, and then they seep into general culture.

[andrewducker]

"how can you prevent people in real life from revealing whether Ulysses gets home?"

I can't. This spoiler policy doesn't affect people down the pub.

This spoiler policy affects _comments on my journal_.

[momentsmusicaux]

Well quite, you can't. Hence my feeling it's a draconian policy that's a little Canute-ish.

[andrewducker]

But I don't see why my rules have to be the lowest common denominator for the world.

"You can't prevent genocide in Sudan, so you might as well let it happen in your living room." doesn't feel like very good reasoning, if I can quasi-Godwin myself :->

[momentsmusicaux]

True. And I do see your point that it's your LJ. After all, just the other week I told people off for the comments they made to a FB post of mine.

I just also now feel rather worried about making comments on your LJ, and feel I'm going to keep having to mentally repeat to myself 'Don't mention any work of fiction EVER' over and over any time I'm near it, in case I slip up.

Does non-fiction count too? I mean, something like Brutus and Caesar? Or Robespierre?

[andrewducker]

History strikes me as absolutely fine.

And it's not like you're constantly talking in metaphors based on historical fiction.

You've completely failed to tell me about whether Ulysses gets a new pet cat on his way home, and you've been commenting here for _years_.

[bart_calendar]

You didn't answer his initial question on whether or not it's fine to talk about Darth Vader being Arya Stark's father.

[andrewducker]

Yes I did.

First word, sentence, and line of that response.

"Yes"

As in "Yes, it is not ok"

[andrewducker]

Oh, and I _was_ tempted to carve out a special exemption for Star Wars. On the grounds that it's Star Wars.

But decided that it was simpler not to.

[bart_calendar]

Fair enough.

[andrewducker]

Oh - one favour - the article in the latest links, on the South and the Tea Party.

I know next to fuck all about US history, so if you could take a look and tell me if it's true, conspiracy theory, or somewhere in-between, I'd really appreciate it.

[bart_calendar]

Nice timing!

I'm halfway through reading it now!

[andrewducker]

Oh, and I agree that pub rules are different.

But then conversations are easier, because by the time you've finished saying "I thought Game of Thrones was really good last week, the bit where Joffrey..." there's generally enough time for someone to have said "Noooooooo!" and then excused themselves for thirty seconds to go to the loo/bar.

[ashfae]

...just as a point, I had somehow managed to not know the secret of the Murder of Roger Ackroyd when I first read it, and was absolutely delighted. I'd have been terribly disappointed for it to have been ruined for me in advance. It might be an older work of fiction, but that's still not guarantee that its tricks are common knowledge.

I congratulate you on using that example without spoiling it here, however; excellent work and in keeping with Andy's policy. Tricky to keep up, I know, but so very appreciated by some of us!