I don't think it will ruin anything for anyone as long as no one also give away story spoilers with the casting like "I just read on TheWB site that Xander is joining the cast of Angel to fix and marry Cordelia!"

This can't be emphasized enough. Remember that the WB had pictures of Lorne's severed head from "Through the Looking Glass" before it aired.

The important thing in this case is that there are no new episodes between now and then. I wouldn't want to know about a departure or addition in the middle of the season because then I'd be watching every episode until the casting change with a "spoiled eye" (I can't explain it any better than that). So I guess I would also like to restrict the proposal to casting changes announced over the summer, between seasons.

Jon posts for me in this instance.

Here's a weird kink that may not apply to many people. Here in Ontario, and on at least some of the other channels that broadcast Angel in Canada, we don't get the WB promos because most people aren't watching the show on the WB, but rather a licensee. I have to watch the WB broadcast (on digital cable) to even get "Next week, on Angel ...". So, I don't tend even to get spoiled by promos, although I used to seek them out on the Net, back in the day (was it aleXander's site?).

So for me, cast changes are spoily, -even- if they are in WB promos, as I don't tend to see the promos. Now, I realize this is pretty unreasonable spoilerphobia, but just giving you a sense of how unspoiled some people may want to be and are fairly successful at so remaining.

Personally, I'd rather not have the Big Angel Casting Spoiler talked about in the main thread until it has to be because other boards have shown that that subject will be all that gets talked about. I suppose it is fairly inevitable come September, so why delay people's fun. But that's just mememe talk.

Personally, I'd rather not have the Big Angel Casting Spoiler talked about in the main thread until it has to be because other boards have shown that that subject will be all that gets talked about

That hasn't been the case in our Spoilers thread; I have the compltely unsubstantiated opinion that many of the people who wanted to talk about it have found other outlets, since we've known about this for two months now.

I'm with Jeff and Jon.

One thing this discussion reminds me is the way Joss jumped and told anyone he could, at the end of the 5th season, that Buffy comes back, that SMG is still with the show, and that she's going to get back to life. As far as I understand it, he's as nearly as anti-spoiler as it's humanly possible, so if the he, the teller of the story, doesn't mind revealing that point, it's not considered a spoiler in his eyes. It was all about the "how", not the "what", is the way I saw it.

Now, I have far less access to the relevant press than most of you, since I don't really risk anything being all over newspapers when I just stand in line in the grocery store or something, so if I don't seek spoilers the chance of them finding me is very slim. I have no idea what casting changes raised this proposal, but what I'd like to know is whether Joss talks about them openly. If he does, I'm willing to risk a guess that he's not revealing any plot point connected to them, as is his way.

I'm not sure exactly how the answer to my question is relevant to the discussion and the actual steps we may or may not take. [Edit: in the summer between the 5th and 6th season we did discuss Buffy's return, since we thought that if Joss had declared it so openly, it's fair game] This is just what is going around in my mind when reading this thread.

So for me, cast changes are spoily, -even- if they are in WB promos, as I don't tend to see the promos. Now, I realize this is pretty unreasonable spoilerphobia, but just giving you a sense of how unspoiled some people may want to be and are fairly successful at so remaining.

Yeah, but our spoiler definition as stands already specifically includes promos, so once it's aired (which will happen before the season starts), those peeps are, as they say in my family, shit out of luck.

My love for all things Canadian nonwithstanding, I'm hoping that most of our spoilerphobes are not so sensitive that "move to Canada to avoid promos" is a viable option.

The worry that The Big Spoiler will take over the thread is not unfounded, but personally, I'd rather have it take over now, when it's not interrupting discussion of new episodes, than later, when it will be.

Just my $.02.

Oh I grok shit out of luck, I realize that's the current policy, and I already get that the Big Casting Spoiler will be all that people talk about by September or sooner, (respectfully Lyra Jane, I don't just mean the spoiler, I mean The Spoiler), depending on the WB, so I'm only losing one month's (or so) access to a thread about Angel I can actually read.

Shrug.

There is no question in my mind that the casting spoiler will make it's way to a WB TV promo before the first episode has aired. To a spoilerphobe like me, there's no difference between knowing the spoiler two months ahead of time, or one week.

Jon, I completely agree with your view - that since there'll never be an in-show HSQ moment, it shouldn't be treated as a spoiler now.

The reason I'm worried is that a month or so ago, when people first wanted to talk about the casting spoiler for A:ts, a lot of people came out against doing so, even though we pointed out that surely the WB would spoil it in promotional material and had already put it on its website. That's why I think some people might vote this down. The people I'm thinking of, I haven't actually seen weigh in on this, or even on the board at all today, I don't think. But they're out there. Also? When I got called on the anti-spoiler and vented about it in the spoiler thread, a few people came in an agreed. We have a lot of agreement now. I don't trust it to stay that way, but I hope your prediction is right.

I already get that the Big Casting Spoiler will be all that people talk about by September or sooner, (respectfully Lyra Jane, I don't just mean the spoiler, I mean The Spoiler),

Not sure I understand this.

What I said was that people have known for two months now, we've been talking about it in Spoilers and Spoilage light, and it's *not* the only topic of discussion. That could change if it was in the main threads, but it would kinda surprise me.

Just to raise another concern/point of discussion - what about Angel coming back season 3 of Buffy? Does anyone remember if that was discussed during the summer leading up? That would be back in the TT days, so my recall is dim. I know I knew, I think because A:tS had already been announced. But seeing how they played Angel for the first several episodes of Buffy season 3, there was no reason to assume he was actually coming back physically.