Wikipedia:Spoiler

WP:SW redirects here. For software, see Wikipedia:Software (WP:SOFT); for Spoken Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:WikiProject Spoken Wikipedia (WP:WSW).
For Wikipedia guidelines regarding non-spoiler warnings, see Wikipedia:No disclaimer templates (WP:NDT).

A spoiler is a piece of information in an article about a narrative work (such as a book, feature film, television show or video game) that reveals plot events or twists.

Spoilers on the Internet are sometimes preceded by a spoiler warning. It is ,however, unusual for scholarly reference works (of the sort that Wikipedia aspires to be) either to include detailed discussion of a plot, or to warn for spoilers when discussing fictional works. If they do, they have a tendency to avoid neologisms such as "spoiler". Because of this, spoiler warnings should generally be avoided.

Concerns about spoilers should play no role in decisions about the structure or content of an article, including the article's lead section. When adding a spoiler in the lead section, remember that Wikipedia is written from a real-world perspective; what is exciting in the context of a fictional universe is almost certainly a standard plot device in literary construction. In short, a lead section that contains a spoiler is unlikely to be particularly well written.

If a spoiler is added as trivia, and does not contribute to the article in any meaningful way, that information can be removed. However, the rationale is that the information was removed not because it was a spoiler, but because it was trivial or unnecessary.

Spoiler warnings

When not to use spoiler warnings

• Spoiler warnings must not interfere with the tone or quality of an article.
• Spoiler warnings are usually inappropriate in articles discussing classical works of literature, poetry, film, theatre, and other fields. In grey areas, editors placing spoiler templates should use the article's talk page to discuss the matter.
• Spoiler warnings must never be used for non-fictional subjects. If explicit spoilers are mentioned in non-fiction articles (e.g. articles on authors, real-life locations in which (a) fictional text(s) is set, or literary concepts like climax), consider whether the spoiler improves the encyclopedic quality of the article. It may be better to remove the example.
• Spoiler warnings are redundant when used in ==Plot== or other sections that are self-evidently going to discuss the plot.
• Articles about fictional characters, objects, or places can be expected to include significant elements of the story. They should not typically need spoiler warnings.

When and how to use spoiler warnings

• Spoiler warnings may be used in articles whose primary subject is fictional, and where the editors proposing them have compelling arguments for their insertion. Such reasons should show that the spoiler tag does not diminish article quality, and that knowledge of the spoiler would substantially diminish many readers'/viewers' enjoyment of the work.
• A spoiler warning is a courtesy note to readers, such as those who find articles from search engine results. It is a reminder note, and never guaranteed.
• Very rarely, a spoiler warning may appear in the article lead. If this can be justified, the warning should be placed at the top of the article. The presumption should be that the article lead should not need to warn about plot spoilers that are significant enough to appear in the lead.
• The {{Spoiler}} tag can be used to mark spoilers, with {{Endspoiler}} to mark the end.

Unacceptable alternatives

The following methods should never be used in relation to spoilers:

• Deleting relevant and significant, neutral and verifiable information about a narrative work from an article about that work "because it's a spoiler".
• Structuring an article around spoilers or confining them to a particular area of the article (e.g. under ==Plot==) when unnecessary or in a way that decreases article quality.
• Making "spoiler free" parallel versions (content forks) of an article about a fictional work. Since Wikipedia content is available under the GNU Free Documentation License, creating parallel versions outside of Wikipedia is acceptable.
• On Internet discussion forums, a widespread convention is the insertion of blank (or virtually blank) lines before a spoiler (which removes the offending text from the reader's view, until the reader scrolls to the next page). Obviously, this is unacceptable in a general-purpose encyclopedia.
• On the Usenet computer network, a popular method of concealing spoilers and offensive material is ROT13 encryption. This is unacceptable in a general-purpose encyclopedia.
• Another common method of hiding spoilers from readers is to change the color of the text to match that of the page background, thus rendering the text unreadable until highlighted by the reader in a selection. Hiding text in this manner is unacceptable here because it requires explanation to readers unfamiliar with the practice, and because it may be incompatible with computer accessibility devices such as screen readers. Also, some web browsers highlight text by inverting the colors of the text and background. In these browsers, for white text on a white background, highlighting produces black text on a black background. In addition, it is possible for a user to set their browser to refuse to change text color (just as they can refuse to display images); text-only browsers (such as Lynx) may likewise disregard requests to change text color. Of course, it also renders the text unprintable.