Yahoo Forum Archive

Hey guys,

Here is your weekly admin post. This week, we're looking at spoilers in
reviews. Some people love spoilers; others try to do everything they can
to avoid them  and that means they'd prefer not to stumble across them
in MEFA reviews for stories they hope to read and review themselves.

First of all, what are spoilers? They're typically significant plot
details, but they can include anything an author might not want the
reader to know in advance (or which the reader would prefer to be
surprised by), such as the identity of one of the protagonists in the
story.

Including spoilers in reviews isn't against the MEFA rules, but we do
ask you to warn readers if you do include a spoiler. You can do that by
checking the box for "Spoilers" at the bottom of the review form, just
under the area where you enter the text of your review. This means the
review will be marked with the text "Spoilers!" in red, so that readers
can choose whether or not to read it. (You can see an example of what
such a review will look like at
http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2008/spoilers.png.) Apart from this,
reviews marked as containing spoilers will be displayed in exactly the
same way as all other reviews.

Another way you can make sure people reading reviews don't accidentally
get spoiled is to set the status of the review containing the spoiler to
"hidden" rather than "final". That way, it won't be displayed until
after MEFA voting closes, but it will still be counted when the votes
are added up without you needing to do anything else.

What should you do if you see a review that you think contains spoilers
for the story being reviewed, but which isn't labelled with a spoiler
warning? In that case, email the MEFA administrator at mefasupport at
mefawards.net. Please put the word "spoilers" in the subject line and
include the reviewer's name, the story ID #, the text of the review, and
why you think it contains spoilers. The administrator will investigate
and add a spoiler warning if appropriate.

You'll find FAQs about spoilers at
http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2008/index.php?page=FAQvoting#vot_16 and
http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2008/index.php?page=FAQvoting#vot_17.

Happy (spoiler-free) reviewing!

Tanaqui
(MEFA Tech Support)

I am very sorry to see so much time and effort go to something so mundane.
It is a tempest in a teapot.

The global economy is going to hell in a handbag, the elections are turning
into a farce, and I am still unemployed after three month's of serious
searching. People are losing their homes, their jobs, their hope.

And you want me to look for spoilers because it might 'spoil' someone's
enjoyment of a story??? What about all the movie trailers that show you the
end before you've even seen the movie. I will never forget when Peter
Jackson showed Gandalf the White in the trailers for Two Towers. Now, he's
dead, but not. And so anyone who hadn't read the books... Oh well, I'll stop
ranting.

I will not spend my time 'policing' this site for spoilers.

On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 5:39 PM, Tanaqui <tanaqui@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

> Hey guys,
>
> Here is your weekly admin post. This week, we're looking at spoilers in
> reviews. Some people love spoilers; others try to do everything they can
> to avoid them ý and that means they'd prefer not to stumble across them
> in MEFA reviews for stories they hope to read and review themselves.
>
> First of all, what are spoilers? They're typically significant plot
> details, but they can include anything an author might not want the
> reader to know in advance (or which the reader would prefer to be
> surprised by), such as the identity of one of the protagonists in the
> story.
>
> Including spoilers in reviews isn't against the MEFA rules, but we do
> ask you to warn readers if you do include a spoiler. You can do that by
> checking the box for "Spoilers" at the bottom of the review form, just
> under the area where you enter the text of your review. This means the
> review will be marked with the text "Spoilers!" in red, so that readers
> can choose whether or not to read it. (You can see an example of what
> such a review will look like at
> http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2008/spoilers.png.) Apart from this,
> reviews marked as containing spoilers will be displayed in exactly the
> same way as all other reviews.
>
> Another way you can make sure people reading reviews don't accidentally
> get spoiled is to set the status of the review containing the spoiler to
> "hidden" rather than "final". That way, it won't be displayed until
> after MEFA voting closes, but it will still be counted when the votes
> are added up without you needing to do anything else.
>
> What should you do if you see a review that you think contains spoilers
> for the story being reviewed, but which isn't labelled with a spoiler
> warning? In that case, email the MEFA administrator at mefasupport at
> mefawards.net. Please put the word "spoilers" in the subject line and
> include the reviewer's name, the story ID #, the text of the review, and
> why you think it contains spoilers. The administrator will investigate
> and add a spoiler warning if appropriate.
>
> You'll find FAQs about spoilers at
> http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2008/index.php?page=FAQvoting#vot_16 and
> http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2008/index.php?page=FAQvoting#vot_17.
>
> Happy (spoiler-free) reviewing!
>
> Tanaqui
> (MEFA Tech Support)
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Visit our website: http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2008/Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


--
Life's been good to me so far!!! Praise God!


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In a message dated 10/9/2008 9:29:23 PM Eastern Standard Time,
agape4rivendell@gmail.com writes:

I am very sorry to see so much time and effort go to something so mundane.
It is a tempest in a teapot.

The global economy is going to hell in a handbag, the elections are turning
into a farce, and I am still unemployed after three month's of serious
searching. People are losing their homes, their jobs, their hope.

And you want me to look for spoilers because it might 'spoil' someone's
enjoyment of a story??? What about all the movie trailers that show you the
end before you've even seen the movie. I will never forget when Peter
Jackson showed Gandalf the White in the trailers for Two Towers.


I'm sorry, Agape, you made me giggle. My feelings exactly, but I have been
beater back by readers nearly in tears over the question and irrate writers who
apparently spent endless hours of thought trying to build suspense (needless
to say, I take a pick at the end whenever I get tense, nervous or just
restless, doesn't mean I don't enjoy the stories). I am trying to respect those
feelings by using the spoilers tag. I refuse to consider details in the books
spoilers however. This is fanfiction.



**************New MapQuest Local shows what's happening at your destination.
Dining, Movies, Events, News & more. Try it out!
(http://local.mapquest.com/?ncid=emlcntnew00000001)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I find it delightful that there is still a small corner of the world that
worries about such things in the midst of all the trouble. Such simple and
'mudane' things have saved my sanity through what has been a rough year in
RL.

Sulriel

On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:29 PM, Agape 4Rivendell
<agape4rivendell@gmail.com>wrote:

> I am very sorry to see so much time and effort go to something so mundane.
> It is a tempest in a teapot.
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Agape,

I hear you on RL being really hard for a lot of people right now. I know
that that for some people, RL struggles can make little issues like
marking spoilers seem petty. So I understand why you might be frustrated.

For a lot of people (like myself), fandom is an escape. It's a break
from the harsh real world where we can enjoy hobbits and elves and hunky
Gondorians, if just for a half-hour. That's why I try really hard not to
let RL impose on fandom, as much as I can. I'm sure you can appreciate
how important these havens can be. If fandom (or the MEFAs in
particular) ever get to be more stress than they're worth, you're
welcome not to participate or to participate only as much as you'd like.
I'd appreciate it, though, if you'd be careful of other peoples' need
for a break from RL. :-)

I don't think Tanaqui asked anyone to "police" reviews. At least that's
not the impression I got. As a MEFA volunteer, I can safely say that no
one has to read through all the reviews, or report every mistake they
see. But if you *do* see something and want to take the time to let us
know so the volunteers can look at the problem, the announcement tells
you how to do that.

The spoiler warning is a new feature this year, and I know it's made me
feel like I can review more freely without ruining someone else's
reading of the story. (Thanks to the volunteers who made it possible,
btw.) Of course, if a review with spoilers isn't properly marked, it's
not the end of the world. Reviews with spoilers were always unmarked in
the past. If you see any you'd like to report, now you know how; but if
this isn't an area you want to get involved with, that's okay too.

TTYL,

Marta

> In a message dated 10/9/2008 9:29:23 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> agape4rivendell@gmail.com <mailto:agape4rivendell%40gmail.com> writes:
>
> I am very sorry to see so much time and effort go to something so mundane.
> It is a tempest in a teapot.
>
> The global economy is going to hell in a handbag, the elections are turning
> into a farce, and I am still unemployed after three month's of serious
> searching. People are losing their homes, their jobs, their hope.
>
> And you want me to look for spoilers because it might 'spoil' someone's
> enjoyment of a story??? What about all the movie trailers that show you the
> end before you've even seen the movie. I will never forget when Peter
> Jackson showed Gandalf the White in the trailers for Two Towers.

I could not agree more,Sulriel. Thank Goodness, we can escape to M-e
for a while to help keep our sanity during these difficult times.

A big thank you to everyone who writes great stories and the admin
here who help us have a little fun in this contest,

Linda

--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, "Súlriel of Menegroth "
<sulriel@...> wrote:

>
> I find it delightful that there is still a small corner of the

world that

> worries about such things in the midst of all the trouble. Such

simple and

> 'mudane' things have saved my sanity through what has been a rough

year in

> RL.
>
> Sulriel
>
> On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:29 PM, Agape 4Rivendell
> <agape4rivendell@...>wrote:
>
> > I am very sorry to see so much time and effort go to something so

mundane.

> > It is a tempest in a teapot.
> >
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time, Agape.

Perhaps we are all in for some hard times. All the more reason, in
my opinion, to enjoy the MEFA experience.

I am not sure that we are being pushed to hunt for spoilers in the
reviews. Frankly, I rarely notice; since I'm too busy reading the
review, to see if there are spoilers; I think on some level I expect
there to be spoilers. I almost always use the 'Spoiler' button when
I write MEFA reviews...

I hope that things improve in your RL, Agape. Don't lose hope.


Raksha



<<<<--- In MEFAwards@yahoogroups.com, "Agape 4Rivendell"
<agape4rivendell@...> wrote:

>
> I am very sorry to see so much time and effort go to something so

mundane.

> It is a tempest in a teapot.
>
> The global economy is going to hell in a handbag, the elections are

turning

> into a farce, and I am still unemployed after three month's of

serious

> searching. People are losing their homes, their jobs, their hope.
>
> And you want me to look for spoilers because it might 'spoil'

someone's

> enjoyment of a story??? What about all the movie trailers that show

you the

> end before you've even seen the movie. I will never forget when

Peter

> Jackson showed Gandalf the White in the trailers for Two Towers.

Now, he's

> dead, but not. And so anyone who hadn't read the books... Oh well,

I'll stop

> ranting.
>
> I will not spend my time 'policing' this site for spoilers.
>
>
> > Visit our website: http://www.mefawards.net/MEFA2008/Yahoo!

Groups Links

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>