I put some definite Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince spoilers in posts the other day, and didn't use spoiler warnings. Now, this is a journal, wherein I write about how I'm feeling. I (mostly) tried to be vague in the actual posts, but I went into some serious detail in the comments. At the time, I thought I was being fair, and didn't really see a problem. It's not like I was going around to other people's websites and posting the biggest spoiler of all on an unrelated post where everyone would see it, like some asshole did on Websnark. (Don't click that link if you don't want to know!)
However, Simon's latest post rather shockingly reminded me that this is a public thing I'm doing here, and that I should have shown more consideration for casual readers.
So, if I spoiled anything for anyone, I apologize. I've gone back and added spoiler warnings to my post titles, where appropriate.
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3 comments:
Whew, Simon, I'm so relieved!
Thanks for the words of support, JDS.
I love you, Mari :)
This all echoes debates I've had with myself about what I should and shouldn't blog about.
In the past, I held to the belief that I could write about whatever I wanted to. I didn't have to answer to anybody. It's my webspace. If I feel like meticulously analyzing the faults of people I know, for example, that's my business. They don't have to read it.
This complete lack of accountability completely ignores the fact that my writing here does not occur in vacuum. I have hurt people with what I've written here. I made the mistake of thinking that I was "above" mundane issues, that because I was writing about them, I was removed, an observer free to speculate and dissect. The fact was that what I was writing had a direct effect on my relationships.
Ever since learning that lesson the hard way, I have tried to be more sensitive about what I write here.
It's not pleasant to me. Part of me rages that I should be able to write whatever I want whenever I want to. That the Internet is free. That nothing is more important than my writing.
But I am not superior. My writing is not more important than the feelings of others. Not when I'm posting it publicly. If I want to write things that could hurt someone, I can open up a text editor and save it to my hard drive. There is simply no reason for me to publish it where the entire world can see it.
The fact is that spoilers do hurt people. Ruining a surprise for someone may not be as severe as picking apart their flaws, but it is certainly not a negligible offense. People have been waiting years for this book, and a lot of them didn't have the chance to read it immediately.
I wanted to write about what I felt about the book, and get feedback about those feelings, and I should be able to do that. But again, I do not exist in vacuum. My writing about the book could affect someone else's enjoyment of it. A spoiler warning does not hurt me, and it may save someone's reading experience.
I very much disagree with the idea that self-regulation undermines the spirit of a blog. Self-regulation is the only regulation a blog gets. In society, we must all show some restraint, some consideration for other people. We are not islands; our actions have palpable effects.
I am not going to put spoiler warnings on every little thing. It is because Harry Potter is such a cultural phenomenon that spoiler warnings would have been the right thing to do. Everyone knows that this book is highly anticipated, after all.
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