Spoiler Alert

The Doctor: These books are from your future. You wanna read all ahead, spoil the surprises, not peeking at the end.
Donna: Isn't travelling with you one big spoiler?
The Doctor: I try to keep you away from major plot developments.
From the Doctor Who episode Silence in the Library

The Doctor: River, you know my name. You whispered my name in my ear. There's only one reason I would ever tell anyone my name. There's only one time I could…
Professor River Song: Hush now. Spoilers.
From the Doctor Who episode Forest of the Dead

Spoilers have probably been around as long as modern forms of entertainment have, perhaps even longer whether its sneaking a peak at the end of a whodunnit to see who actually did it or giving away plot details of a recent film. When Psycho was being released in the sixties Alfred Hitchcock came up with different measures for stopping audiences from knowing anything about the film going as far as buying as many copies of the book the film was based on and sending messages to theater bosses instructing them not to allow anyone in to be admitted into the film once it had begun. There were even advertisements in newspapers that told people to not give away the ending as it is the only one they had.

With the internet containing pretty much everything on it these days spoilers are easily accessible especially when you consider that Hollywood films, TV shows and comics are generally released in the US before they are released in the UK which means that blogs and forums (or even Wikipedia) which are frequented by American's will contain some spoilers. Often the spoiler tag is there and so users have the choice as to whether or not they click onto the link. Of course with adaptations there is the case of having experienced the original and knowing what happens in it but there is also the case of experiencing it in a new form.

Having the choice whether or not to click for spoilers can be a double edged sword, on the one hand it may entice you enough to check something out, but then its a case of seeing if something lives up to the expectations that have been built up by the spolier.

I used to enjoy being spoilt by spoilers, it often helped me decide whether or not to grab a comic, or to go see a film/TV show based on the spoilers posted by users on the internet. However while it has gotten me into things I may or may not have tried myself, it has also ruined what I was once enjoying because there isn't a surprise anymore, now its more 'lets get to the part of the story that everyones talking about' so I've gone cold turkey from spoilers. While watching all five series of The Wire I was able to resist the urge to read about what happens to characters and so when something did happen it was unexpected and made the experience of watching the show much more enjoyable. In comparison I was reading the spoilers for DC Comic's latest event Blackest Night the day the comics where being released in the US (Wednesday) before going to check it out in stores the day after, often leaving it behind.

But how about you? Do you like being spoiled? Or do you hate it when someone talks about something your interested in?