Spoilers... the eternal question

[timepiececlock]

[Poll #799321]
Edit: I should probably clarify that the fact that it might have an affect on my ship really doesn't matter to me, as my ship would take a good 5 seasons to realistically be canon, and this show is only ever going to have 3. And all that really really doesn't factor into my actual fandom activities with regards to ship. I could read good news or bad news and it's all moot.

I'm thinking I should just read it because I've been spoiled for a few basic things already. But... I'm concerned about detailed plot events. I don't want the whole episode to be ruined for me. But at the same time, I doubt it's THAT detailed, being that it's only an article.

::sigh:: It's hard to be spoiler-free when you want to read fanfic. Stupid negligent fanficcers with their stupid unlabelled spoilery fic summaries. And the REALLY bastardly ones who put spoilers in their fics and then don't tell you, but after five or ten fics you start to clue in to the reality of the spoilage you've been given against your will.

At this point, I fear most of the dammage is done.

On the other hand... I hate being spoiled! I want surprises!

But I also want to get the problem over with so that I don't have to get annoyed about it anymore.

I've already totally given up almost all Fruits Basket fanfic on ff.net for TWO YEARS because I didn't want to be spoiled for that series. I haven't even BROWSED the Furuba section of ff.net in all that time. How loyal do I need to be to EVERY show I watch, when it comes to avoiding spoilers?

... but I *like* surprises, you know?

Okay, lets look at the facts about me spoiling myself for A:TLA.

Reasons Against
-I'm a long time anti-spoiler campaigner
-I like to go into something with as little foreknowledge of major plot/character events as possible
-Being spoiled for the "big surprise" sucks all my enjoyment out of it.

Reasons For
-I'm already half-spoiled, including a major suprise casting spoiler that I would rather not have known
-It really won't affect my fanfic much, especially considering that I'm writing all AUs at this point
-It's clearly impossible to be spoiler-free in this fandom because they're all a bunch of babies who can't help gushing out the newest spoilers in their friggin' fic summaries and all over the major LJ comm
-They *never* cut for mood spoilers, and often that's enough to infer something and get spoiled for big stuff
-I'm grumpy and impatient

Comments

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

Myself, I run hot and cold with spoilering. Some times, I want to know what's upcoming in a series. Some times, I don't. Depends on how much I want to be surprised or how much I don't care at the moment in ruining the surprise. If you don't think it's going to affect anything, why not read it?

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Myself, I run hot and cold with spoilering. Some times, I want to know what's upcoming in a series. Some times, I don't.

I don't "want" to know what's coming up, though. I just want to make my annoyance over the whole issue go away. And it's not even that big of a deal-- but when I'm annoyed I fixate on issues like this, and then can't make up my mind. I'm terribly indecisive.

If you don't think it's going to affect anything, why not read it?

Because I'm afraid there might be some really cool thing that by pure luck I haven't been spoiled for yet, and spoiling myself will ruin it for me.

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

In that case, I'd avoid the spoilers and let the chips fall where they may. I learned in the ATLAB fandom real quick they have absolutely no courtesy for other fans. Maybe some of us who haven't had the chance to see the episode don't want to know "OMG Katara/Zuko this that and the other!".

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I learned in the ATLAB fandom real quick they have absolutely no courtesy for other fans.

That's the part I really hate about being such an active member of the fandom, and a mod. Because I'm active, if there's an uncut spoiler I usually see it before it gets rightfully deleted-- or I'm the one who has to delete/edit it. I like being a mod but I hate having to babysit and thus risk spoiling myself. It's the principle of the thing, you know? And most of the Avatar fans get that, but just enough of them don't, or they don't get it as clearly as they should, and that bit ruins the whole apple. I've managed to put together a friends list of people that always, always, cut. That, barring a few coding mistakes that are usually fixed within two minutes of the post being made, do not spoil me accidentally except maybe once a year. The only flaw is Avatar fandom. And given that, for me, Avatar fandom includes The Pit of Voles, I'm pretty much screwed.


And it's not like the show is so terribly brilliant that I'm going to be bowled over by the "omg!ness" of it, anyway, so what surprises there can be I want to actually BE surprises.

On the other hand, I do already feel mostly spoiled. ... But what if I'm *not* mostly spoiled, and I only *think* I'm mostly spoiled? What do I do then?


...See? I'm a Wembley. I waffle and can't make up my mind about anything. I could go on like this for pages.

kinda OT, but:

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I found a well-written, non-spoilery future AU Zuko/Katara fic that has long chapters and well-done characterization and actual, believable angst. It's probably a blue moon or something, because a wel-written Z/K fic with long chapters almost never, ever happens.

It's only three chapters so far, but grab it while it's hot, my friend.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I wish there were no spoilers ever. So no one would ever have the chance to spoil me and I would never have to decide whether to try and remain spoiler-free or just spoil myself to stop the problem of other people spoiling me.

It just... wouldn't be an issue. That'd be nice.

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

That's why fan-life was easier before the Internet. I never knew you could find out what they'd planned for a show - or so much of it - until the Internet. It certainly changed the way I regard my current series'.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I'm just glad I wasn't spoiled for either of the two DW finales. And I wasn't spoiled for Veronica Mars (though the speculation was almost as bad as being spoiled for that show), or for Life On Mars, or for most tv shows I'm watching. My flist is pretty good about the tv spoilers, you know? But anime fandoms seem to be the achilles heel in my anti-spoiler lifestyle. I just keep finding out stuff I don't want to know, and it makes me want to just spoil myself to get it over with. ... there's some kind of metaphor about either shooting yourself in the foot or self-anesthesizing in there, but I can't quite find the right note for it.