Amassment Message Board

How do you deal with making fansites for characters that, by definition, are walking spoilers?

Some context, here: the next fansite I'm working on is for a character whose very name is a spoiler. I can't use his name anywhere on the site index, because if I do, it'll completely ruin the show. I want to preserve the twist and encourage people to check out the source material, not ruin it for them.

Has anyone else made fansites for spoiler characters? How did you go about it?

In a similar vein, since the character itself is a spoiler, can you go ahead and assume that the reader is familiar with the source material and write your content in that manner, or would you still feel the need to explain and give context for the things you talk about? (On most sites, while I assume the reader has at least a passing familiarity with the content, I tend to give at least a passing explanation for what I'm talking about -- but on a site where spoilers are rampant, would you consider that necessary?)

How about a warning page for the index? A bit like I did for Mara, but with the spoiler warning instead of a dick joke warning?

Yeah, I guess like an old school splash page but with a gigantic "IF YOU ENTER YOU WILL BE SPOILED" sign, and maybe just a link to a general page about the series to possibly peak a person's interest in the subject. I was always concerned about spoiling people with the name of my Isshin site, but I figure that's old enough news now so I'm less concerned.

I think I'd also still provide context, because personally I have read shrines that are chock full of spoilers for a subject I may not actually know that well if they're interesting and well written. I do think it could potentially get someone into a series. And I know some people who happily spoil themselves for stuff, so I do think there's a chance that not everyone who reads the site will be familiar with the work.

Ha, I guess I'm so conditioned against the idea of splash pages nowadays that it never would've occurred to me to use one. Makes sense, though. :|a I wouldn't have to worry so much about having spoilers on the layout that way, either. (This character's appearance is kind of a spoiler, but you have to have context for it first, so.)

Emma wrote:I think I'd also still provide context, because personally I have read shrines that are chock full of spoilers for a subject I may not actually know that well if they're interesting and well written. I do think it could potentially get someone into a series. And I know some people who happily spoil themselves for stuff, so I do think there's a chance that not everyone who reads the site will be familiar with the work.

That's a really good way of looking at it! I'll keep that in mind as I work on it.

Thank you both for your input! If anyone else has any thoughts I'd love to hear them. I've never made a site where I had to worry about spoilers like this before so I'm really curious what others have done.

My sites are generally filled with spoilers. If I find out some secret about the character, I'll not only include it, but I'll also explain it, analyze it, theorize about it & generally take it apart. That's part of the fun for me, it's not just a taste, it's the whole cake. I guess part of that may be because I like spoilers. ^^;; Sometimes I put a spoiler warning on the main page warning about every other page. XD

To be safe I would say going the splash page route is the best--better safe than sorry, right? Maybe even indicate up to what point in the series (?) the visitor should be at for it to be acceptable for them to view the page? I know that I as a fan trying to avoid spoilers would appreciate it wholeheartedly!

I think context is always good, but since it is a "spoiler character", you probably don't need to go into inane detail or anything. :) Maybe even just framing it on your home page would be fine.

I normally put a bunch of warnings around the index page, they are bolded so they are seen - and also when I plug my shrine I warn saying it's full of spoilers. And that it's their fault if they keep reading it.

I just slap an alert about it on the page in bold style. So far no one has yelled at me XD

Thanks for all the input!

Aku wrote:To be safe I would say going the splash page route is the best--better safe than sorry, right? Maybe even indicate up to what point in the series (?) the visitor should be at for it to be acceptable for them to view the page? I know that I as a fan trying to avoid spoilers would appreciate it wholeheartedly!

I think context is always good, but since it is a "spoiler character", you probably don't need to go into inane detail or anything. :) Maybe even just framing it on your home page would be fine.

I hadn't thought about mentioning which point in the series to be familiar with! That's very relevant to this character (the twist is after a certain season ending about halfway through the show) so I'll use that. Thanks! C:

I personally like spoilers so I'm really laid back when it comes to it. I usually just write a sentence somewhere on the main page about it then just put it wherever. Most of the time the stuff I write about is so old or sometimes obscure that it doesn't matter.

It would be like making a Star Wars shrine and worrying about if people who haven't seen the movie are just learning that Darth Vader is Luke's Dad. (Wait, I feel like I've made this analogy before. LOL) Is there a point when a spoiler stops being a spoiler?