Spoilers on DramaWiki

ruisu · Post by **ruisu** » Jun 12th, '07, 17:59

I usually read the DramaWiki's for drama's I'm thinking about downloading. And a lot of the time I feel like the reviews/plots are just spoilers.

I don't think there's anything wrong with spoilers in reviews/synopsis, but a warning would be nice.

Here's an example of what I think a good description is:

Sachiko, recently divorced by her husband, has taken her son Masakazu and moved away to start a new life. While looking for a job, she meets Oyama, who arranges for her employment at the local cable TV station at which he works. However the station has entered hard times, and Oyama and his co-workers are fighting to keep up their independent production operations. In order to do so, they have to make a sales quota, and are at their wit's end. Oyama decides he has no choice but to draw his trump card: Shintaro Sakuragai, and ex-caster with a history of scandal. The story which unfolds depicts the trials and travails of the group as they try to keep the station on its feet. --TBS

And here's an example of what I think is really just a spoiler (from Satorare):

I just don't think details like the ones in red are necessary to convey the plot. If you think they are, please at least write a warning first!

groink · Post by **groink** » Jun 12th, '07, 18:35

The big problem here is that most of the editors have NEVER watched the shows they're editing. So they find synopses from other sources and, without reading and understanding the contents, add them to DramaWiki. This has always been my big beef on DramaWiki. I myself haven't watched many of the shows listed there, so I can't tell if something's a spoiler.

My recommendation: Anyone can be an editor! If you see a synopsis that contains a spoiler, I'd just delete the entire synopsis, and a comment as to why you did so. I've always said there that I'd rather have NO synopsis than to have a synopsis that is either badly written, contains spoilers, or is too long.

BTW, watch out for Wikipedia... Right now, they've passed a guidelines that actually requires for all synopses to contain details of the ENTIRE story. DramaWiki is the total opposite, so at no time should any editor use Wikipedia as a guideline for DramaWiki regarding synopses.

--- groink

ruisu · Post by **ruisu** » Jun 12th, '07, 18:52

I kind of like that about wikipedia, because sometimes I don't understand a movie...and sometimes there are some interesting interpretations on there (they usually get edited into oblivion though).

But on DramaWiki I'd rather just kinda of see what I'm getting into...and if someone wants to write a full blown essay on it that's fine by me, as long as they give a warning first.

marienella_m · Post by **marienella_m** » Jun 13th, '07, 02:21

if that is the case, then can we just ban synopsis that are copied from the TV network's official websites? i agree that most of the editors have not even seen the dramas they edit, so for the sake of convenience, they just copy & paste the synopsis, they dont even bother to simplify or rephrase it.

groink · Post by **groink** » Jun 13th, '07, 02:46

marienella_m wrote:if that is the case, then can we just ban synopsis that are copied from the TV network's official websites? i agree that most of the editors have not even seen the dramas they edit, so for the sake of convenience, they just copy & paste the synopsis, they dont even bother to simplify or rephrase it.

I seriously doubt those spoilers came from the TV networks. In the past, editors pop in and add their two-cents to the synopsis, but still leave the credits as-is, making the synopsis appear to have come from the TV network. Therefore, I don't think it is a problem copying the TV network-provided synopses. It is just that the group of people who moderate DramaWiki must catch these edits and remove them. Personally I don't read every edit; I just don't have the time. So these spoilers will slip through the cracks. And I'm also a lousy proofreader at that; I don't watch today's dramas.

Korean and Chinese dramas are a different case. The TV networks tend to write an entire novel on their web sites regarding their TV shows. This is why I limit the synopses to 150 words or less - to keep the details out and force the editor to focus solely on the primary premise. The smaller the synopsis, the more concise the synopsis, and lessen the likelihood of a spoiler sneaking in.

Sachiko, recently divorced by her husband, has taken her son Masakazu and moved away to start a new life. While looking for a job, she meets Oyama, who arranges for her employment at the local cable TV station at which he works. However the station has entered hard times, and Oyama and his co-workers are fighting to keep up their independent production operations. In order to do so, they have to make a sales quota, and are at their wit's end. Oyama decides he has no choice but to draw his trump card: Shintaro Sakuragai, and ex-caster with a history of scandal. The story which unfolds depicts the trials and travails of the group as they try to keep the station on its feet. --TBS

This is a great example of a properly written synopsis. And it is 126-words, too.

--- groink

marienella_m · Post by **marienella_m** » Jun 13th, '07, 03:05

actually, if you go to the Japanese TV network websites, they all have an English webpage and they list the English synopsis of their dramas, and some of the editors get their summaries there.

groink · Post by **groink** » Jun 13th, '07, 03:15

marienella_m wrote:actually, if you go to the Japanese TV network websites, they all have an English webpage and they list the English synopsis of their dramas, and some of the editors get their summaries there.

Read the two spoilers mentioned in the first post. The spoiler text highlighted in red is written in a very un-professional manner. You would not see this in any of those official web sites. Given that even the Japanese TV networks have English web sites, they do not contain comments like those. That had to have come from a fan.

marienella_m · Post by **marienella_m** » Jun 13th, '07, 03:27

actually the second spoiler that he posted came from a review, so should we be strict on reviews as well? or should they just be removed from drama entries?

ruisu · Post by **ruisu** » Jun 13th, '07, 03:32

Yeah, sorry about that...the point I was trying to make was simply for editors to give warnings.

groink · Post by **groink** » Jun 13th, '07, 03:35

marienella_m wrote:actually the second spoiler that he posted came from a review, so should we be strict on reviews as well? or should they just be removed from drama entries?

Yes, we must screen reviews as well. The difference between the synopsis and a review is that the review is original writing of the viewer. If we go in and start editing reviews, they no longer become the words of the viewer. I'd rather remove the entire review than to edit it.

ruisu · Post by **ruisu** » Jun 13th, '07, 03:46

I restored the original review, but I added "This review may contain spoilers."
I put that in italics. Would it be best to use italics or no emphasis?

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