An unusual spoiler problem: Haloid

Specifically, rather than the usual "Way too many unmarked spoilers!", it's almost the exact opposite- One specific spoiler that, for whatever reason, isn't allowed to be listed on the page, marked or otherwise. Now, while I can somewhat understand this from the perspective of someone who actually cares about spoilers, it's pretty annoying from the perspective of someone like me who's long since forsook the ability to be surprised about any media and just wants to list information about it.

Now, I've seen the video in question, and it really doesn't seem like all that big a spoiler. Certainly not a Mousetrap-level one, as the page claims. Add to that the fact that the way people are trying to avoid listing it leads a lot to be desired, since it's pretty... awkward.

I brought this to the page's discussion page a few months ago and tried to work something out, but it didn't exactly work out. (Basically came up with the solution of using the supersecretspoiler markup, until I was informed that that is, in fact, stupid) so, bringin' it here, to see if the TRS hivemind and the people who actually curate that page can come up with a solution of some sort.

edited 11th Jun '11 2:03:17 PM by Wulf

They lost me. Forgot me. Made you from parts of me. If you're the One, my father's son, what am I supposed to be?

It was a lot more than a few months ago, if I remember correctly. Well, I'll give you points for determination. As the one who came up with the whole restriction,*

I apologise for the trouble I've started and hereby officially yield and give permission to talk about whatever you want on the page.

However, you might still have a problem with a few other editors, who have taken over the overzealous page guardian role. I'd prefer if this was handled without edit wars and bans if possible, but looking at the edit history, I'm not so sure we can reason with the new whippersnappers.

By the way, you can get the same effect as a supersecret spoiler, if you use white text. I've tested it on my contributor page, as you can (not) see. Still not a very good solution.

edited 11th Jun '11 3:14:56 PM by Killomatic

Regulated fun - the best kind! I don't make the rules, just enforce them with an iron fist.

The spoiler is a trope use. Put the trope in, spoiler text around the trope or not, you might even throw in some misleading plain text. I don't mind that this is not one of those pages where people feel the need to put the spoiler after every sentence but...

It's a trope use. This is tvtropes. you could have a divine covenant with God not to post a word about what happens in this machinima but God's in heaven and Fast Eddie's on earth, you don't stop tropes from being written.

And you're not The Mousetrap until you've had Richard Attenborough come out at the beginning of your work and make you promise not to give away the ending.

edited 11th Jun '11 4:25:04 PM by SomeSortOfTroper

I've never thought the spoiler in question was anything special. Certainly nothing compared to Knights Of The Old Republic, to give an example of a contemporary twist that actually, genuinely shocked me, and I feel was foreshadowed excellently while still not giving it away.

Actually, if I personally had to pick one page to put a 'don't spoil the twist, ever' warning on, it would be -that- one. It's a better twist than The Empire Strikes Back, and that's one that I try my best not to spoil if I -ever- come across someone who doesn't know it. But, I don't make the policies here. :P

edited 11th Jun '11 7:57:04 PM by savage

Want to rename a trope? Step one: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I agree completely. Unfortunately, good luck talking about the latter half of the game without spoiling that. Oh, it can be done, to be sure, but it would be a bitch to curate the page to make sure it stays that way. Haloid has the advantage of a very small trope list.

@Kill-O-Matic: Yeah, definitely more than a few months now that I think about it. Maybe a year and a half? It was certainly within the last two years. Anyhow, it's nothing personal- I certainly don't want to see anyone banned over this, it's just been kinda nagging me in the back of my mind, making me go "argh!" every time someone re-removes it from the page. Also, totally agree about SSS being a crappy solution.

They lost me. Forgot me. Made you from parts of me. If you're the One, my father's son, what am I supposed to be?

I don't get how this is anywhere close to The Mousetrap. The spoiler here has nothing to do with the main content of the video, to that point that if you didn't watch the last minute (not counting the credits) you'd miss out on . . . only the surprise twist in the last minute. It's not something like The Usual Suspects or The Sixth Sense, where knowing the twist ending causes you to see the entire rest of the movie in a different light—or like Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind or Curse Of The Golden Flower where it's unclear whether or not the protagonists will succeed—it just means that you won't be surprised by the surprise twist in the only minute of the movie that doesn't run on Rule of Cool.

So, yes, keep calling the protagonists "Samus" and "MC", and not spoiling of the twist outside of spoiler text, but allow for mentions of the spoiler—when relevant—in spoiler text.

I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.

All we need to do is change

• Samus Is a Girl: MC was surprised to find this out.

to

• Samus Is a Girl: MC was surprised to find this out. Also that ambiguous looking pig thing, it turns out nah, just kidding, no pig thing, MC is a girl too which we find out after the crotch spark and all that that implies.

^ That made me laugh. And it would work beautifully.

But really, how much of a twist is it that Samus is a girl, considering we have a freakin' trope named for it, and have had since 2007?

edited 12th Jun '11 5:06:55 PM by Madrugada

...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.

OK from this point in the thread we are probably just going to have to be open about the spoiler.

So Spoilers

Samus Is a Girl, the literal case, isn't a spoiler, it is in fact an in-universe surprise for Master Chief. However it turns out at the end that Master Chief is also female. They do still get it on in the end. Cue Korean Pop dance number.

Yes, all the epicness of the spoiler comes down to a little girl on girl action. Welcome to the internet.

edited 12th Jun '11 5:21:39 PM by SomeSortOfTroper

Well, it seems good. Lock?

A much better way to end the description while keeping the informalness intact.

Ok, the edit is up, it has been assimilated into the edit history. Let's call this one done and dusted at least as far asthe forum goes.