unforum

[rose]

META: Posting answers in contests

[madmad59]

DAY 6

[madmad59]

DAY 7 XMARKS THE SPOT SPOILER

[konamouse]

I think this thread is to DISCUSS the idea about sharing answers, not specifically to POST the answers.

Despoiler wiki was created for posting contest answers. You might want to head over there with your contributions.

[vpisteve]

[konamouse]

[FLmutant]

[jamesi]

Let the community play how they want to play, as long as the following things are kept in mind:

1) There is a TOS here. Follow it.
2) When you spoil the game for others, then the others may turn on you.
3) If you criticize those that spoil the game for others, be prepared to hear their point of view.
4) This discussion area is neither a democracy, autocracy nor monarchy. It's just a place to share thoughts and ideas. Don't expect everyone to agree with your point of view all the time.
5) See rule 1.

So, regarding this specific topic, as a community member I believe that sharing answers is fine. I also believe that keeping answers to yourself is acceptable, although my personal views differ somewhat. I also believe that the sharing of answers is situation-specific and that the dynamic of sharing is different than the dynamic of collaboration. I'm also inclined to believe that if people use the SPOILER tag properly*, then there will never be an issue with how information is shared within these forums, for the shared information is then only shared with those who choose to view it.

* Spoiler tags are useful, but only if you give the other players an indication as to what you are spoiling. Example:

[madmad59]

Xmarks the spot day 10 answers

[madmad59]

spoilers removed

[konamouse]

Interesting you felt the need to post publically something I sent to you in a PM (trying to be polite and not point it out in the public thread). And, not to split hairs, but I *asked* you, not *told* you.

So, taking it back to the discussion about if we should posts answers or not. I like that this forum is a place for open dialogue about puzzles and clues and stories. The spoiler is appropriate for covering up the final answer in a puzzle for those who want the opportunity to figure out the steps and the answer themselves.

The spoiler serves no purpose if there is nothing preceding it to alert the reader if they dare or not look underneath. And spoilering emails or items on a website is pointless - thus I find in some threads that people overuse the spoiler and it makes following the story/game near to impossible.

And if someone does present the answer to a puzzle, it would also be nice if they explain HOW they come to that solution.

[madmad59]

I am sorry

[Rogi Ocnorb]

I'm inclined to agree with jamesi's overall assessment.

I think we've been pretty good about honoring requests from developers in the past when they ask us nicely not to just give away the answers to their offerings.

Puzzle trails are a good example. Some developers don't care one lick about it either way and let the players police themselves. So, those can have everything from solves posted in the clear to spoilered hints. Others indicate their level of (dis)comfort up front and the players tend to respect their wishes. Of course there will always be the occasional "drive-by" solve that gets blasted out there.

We can get a little ornery when they demand zipped-lips, though.

I plan to be much more careful, regarding the prefacing of a spoilered item, in the future, though.

[Rekidk]

I think a good rule with spoilers is to just use good judgment. Always spoiler puzzle solves; other than that, use them sparingly.

An example of a good non-solve spoiler tag is when the video revealing Keir's supposed death in MeiGeist was discovered. The person who started the uF topic for the video linked to it and described it, but spoilered the fact that Keir had died. This was to preserve the experience for the other players.

[aliendial]

ARGs started out as cooperative storytelling - there was no real 'prize' that we knew of (although later there was a growing interest in game swag - intrinsically not valuable but fun items), and generally the active players chose to share - using spoilers - so that everyone could enjoy the experience. That was the mode for many years.

Then came the first "arg" (I use the term loosely) with something much more substantial than tickets to a movie preview and a poster at stake. People promptly became more coy. Some still played wholeheartedly in the open (their choice), others played offline, and everything in between. It was an uncomfortable transition but a necessary one, IMHO. There are no 'rules' about this. As sad as it made me feel about the impact on the sharing nature of the players, this was a completely understandable and appropriate reaction. When there's real money at stake I would do the same. And I think the effort to make people share if they don't want to is wrong.

That said, I also think it's wrong for the people who want to hold back to tell those who are willing to share not to post spoilers. There will be spoiling. Here and elsewhere. As long as <spoilers> are used to preserve the game experience a bit (a labelling issue).