I've been an active member of this community since TT, and I disagree. The concept of the "anti-spoiler" did not exist until this past May, apparently created out of thin air during the incident that Cindy mentioned. The policy of white-fonting BtVS stuff in the AtS thread, and vice versa, was likewise created out of thin air after the creation of the Firefly thread, with no discussion.

We have different perceptions on this. I recall we've always tried to be cautious and considerate about spoiling people, even if it meant going to sometimes ridiculous lengths.

Can you"virgins" please take a moment to try to understand why we do want to talk about it in the show threads.

Say the virgins do understand that. And you understand they don't want to know.

What do you propose?

I think some of us are getting a little upset over this because we feel like there is a one-way giving going on here, and there's very little reciprocation of understanding.

Funny, 'cause it feels a lot like that on this side, too. And please don't take that as a slam, when it really is not meant that way. But we're not finding much middle ground here, are we?

Also? This is really improtant...

Either way, it has nothing to do with the actor's project that was mentioned here earlier, since that was probably filmed some time ago.

YES THIS!!!

The vagaries of when things are filmed and when they air makes this weird blurry line about what is a spoiler and what isn't, that Jess was talking about, even weirder...

It's possible that somebody filmed a thing during a summer break two years ago, and it's only just now airing.

And as far as NBs show goes, people got bent out of shape when it was talked about, because they felt it ruled out NB as the person moving over to A:tS.

Except that now, the show didn't get picked up, and NB could go over to Angel.

Things change constantly in this business. A casting spoiler today could very easily be totally wrong tomorrow.

However, the news on all those casting changes have made the major media outlets. It's not an on-air promo, but it has been talked about on air, and in print.

I've not seen one of them anywhere but here. Honestly.

I and several other people have been wanting to discuss the news since we heard it, because we're excited.

Okay. And I and several other people do not want to dicuss it because we worry that it will spoil people.

Can you"virgins" please take a moment to try to understand why we do want to talk about it in the show threads.

I would love to - please go ahead and explain it to me. Also, I'm unfortunately not a virgin on this/these issue(s) any longer. And I hope that those that are and want to be remain that way as long as they like.

Things change constantly in this business. A casting spoiler today could very easily be totally wrong tomorrow.

Huh. So we're fussing about this why?

(edited because I wasn't being snarky)

By which I mean, if that's the case then aren't these things all just still rumour?

Like I say, I think the current proposal is middle ground.

ita - the balance for me here is that people who find the particular type of casting information we are considering legalizing a spoiler is a minority, even among people who consider casting info spoilers. Now the people who are hugely frustrated by this are also a minority - but my sense is a much larger minority. In short this compromise will frustrate a smaller number of people than keeping the current policy. Of course I can't prove this - but that is why we are having a vote.

Basically the new policy would say that stuff that will be known anyway for the overwhelming majority of people (like 95%) before the show airs can be discussed. Because most people will know it before the show starts. If you are going to know the information before the next broadcast of the show anyway, then you have lost the HSQ factor in any case and might as well include it in the discussion so as not to frustrate people who want to dicuss in combination with topics that are not mainly spoiler focused.

Now I understand that it is not quite 100% of the Buffista population who will get this infor. But for this particular type of "spoiler" it seems you are frustrating a large minority to protect a really tiny one. (The majority I think caring only for the sake of other people.)

Basically the new policy would say that stuff that will be known anyway for the overwhelming majority of people (like 95%) before the show airs can be discussed.

And I've stated, repeatedly, that if this really is common knowledge the issue is moot. It's not a spoiler.

But how can we know when the issue really is known by 'everyone'. Because that is not an assumption that can be made. Not at all.

ita - the reason we want to discuss stuff that (for most of us) is not a spoiler is that it intergrates with the other discussion. For example, if there was a NAFTA 24 thread on the board, and it was widely known that Depp was joining the cast, then it would be very frustrating to discuss what next seasons 24 was going to be like without mentioning this. And the vast majority of people, including otherwise unspoiled people, would not be able to take part in Depp discussions, because they would not want to converse in the hard core spoiler thread, and might not want to take part in spoilers light thread, because they would not want to hear other spoiling casters that were not new permanent additions to the show.

This. Exactly.

To me, knowing who is and isn't in the main credits of a show months before a new season premieres is just a fact of television life. People who leave have new projects they want to publicize. When someone new comes aboard, if the actor or character is prominent enough to draw new viewers, the network and creative team have a vested interest in promoting them. It's a fact of the genre. Calling it a spoiler, TO ME, is like calling it a spoiler that in a mystery, the detective will solve the murder, or in a romance, a couple will pair off happily. Because the TV industry works in such a way that casting information is well-publicized, the writers know they'll have to get rid of or introduce characters in such a way that the HSQ comes from the What, When, Where, Why, and How, rather than the Who.

But in both cases, just because we decided to discuss them doesn't mean they weren't actually spoilers by our own stated definition. People just didn't object because the one was so extreme and the other comparatively minor.

Thank you, brenda. That is how I saw the events after season 5. We circumvented our own rules, but that didn't mean that we eliminated them for future events.

The concept of the "anti-spoiler" did not exist until this past May, apparently created out of thin air during the incident that Cindy mentioned. The policy of white-fonting BtVS stuff in the AtS thread, and vice versa, was likewise created out of thin air after the creation of the Firefly thread, with no discussion.

I thought there was some discussion about it, and then a false consensus formed and the new policy was implemented. I think it was this type of resolution that led to the formal voting policy discussion, and the codifying of the rules.

[Edit - mega, delayed X-post.]