Spoilers

Among fans, somebody's gotta go first. Maybe this time you binged that streaming, or were first through a novel, or perhaps you're the early bird listening to audio drama. That took some doing and it's an act of passion to have run ahead of the pack. Why wouldn't you sing that joy?

The rest of us may take our leisure at a leisurely pace. We all value pastimes to varying degrees and life is a busy place. We don't want others playing that video game for us. To avoid spoilers in the run-up to something, avoiding places of discourse is probably best. But when marketing campaigns can last a year or more, staying offline is often not practical.

As to what a spoiler actually is, here's Wikipedia's mic drop: 'any piece of information regarding any part of a given media that a potential consumer would not want to know beforehand'.

The above definition offers comfort to the spoiler-averse but frustration to the spoiler-prone. Hard-won joy is the worst to sit on so when is Spoiler Amnesty Day? The answer ranges from 'after release date' to 'after a while' and even those two markers raise questions abut time zones and 

For new things they bring to market, artists and studios have put in staggering amounts of work. They want us fans to get as much love out as they put in – but we will never be enough for them. They're playing to the whole house, not just us in the opera boxes. Understandably, they love it when their promos and first looks go viral – it increases the chances they'll sway the undecided. And as fans, we're best placed to catch and spread the word. So why wouldn't we?

The measure of a man’s bravery is not archery; rather he who stands fast in his rank and gazes unflinchingly at the swift gash of the spear is the brave man. – Euripides

The pioneer dramatist above points out that it's easier to inflict harm from a distance than to do it face to face. It's not a moment's effort to drop things into the feeds of our followers and we do it constantly. But too many of us overlook just how some of that sharing will land.

We can choose our moments – and our weapons. Podcasts, reaction vids or even proper writing offer much greater scope to celebrate something seen. Plus you get to really stretch out in the Social. Bloggers and podcasters are my hometown heroes. They don't abuse my attention cos they're happy to land on my schedule. If you just can't sit on the love another second, some are ready and waiting for guest post or extra mic. Give it a go, it's fun!

I won't save the world from spoilers with an essay. Premature scraps of someone else's shiny are going to pop up now and again. It's done me a world of good though, to take the issue to bits and maybe put it back together in better shape.