I think if people want to seek them out then that’s absolutely fine, I know there are people for whom not knowing things hampers enjoyment. A friend of mine cannot read a book without first reading the last page. Not how I enjoy stuff but I’d never tell her she was wrong for doing it, she can do her.
Why they’re called ‘spoilers’ is because they spoil other people enjoyment, not because they spoil an episode per se outright. Knowing there are people who do not want any foreknowledge at all, or as little as possible, and revealing things anyway is spoiling it for them and so while I don’t mind people seeking out spoilers and leaks, people who deliberately spoil other people aren’t playing fair.
Like if my friend told me how a book she was lending me ended, I’d be annoyed. But I understand why she does it, even though I don’t want her to dictate that I do the same.
Also, for me personally on the issue of leaks with regards to Doctor Who, I have a slightly different outlook from my view on them with other media I consume and that’s down to how I’ve engaged with the show since the 90s. I usually watched every story knowing how it panned out already. That isn’t to say I like or need to know everything for a new episode, the newness and unfamiliarity with a new episode never gets old (seriously, every time the titles kick in I can still can’t believe there’s a new episode of Doctor Who, even 20 years later). But because of how I engaged with this show historically, I find a little bit of an extra frisson in finding out which spoilers are true, half-true and just plain false.
I can understand why discussing them adds to the hype of certain episodes for a lot of people, but naturally try not to involve people who are actively trying to avoid them. And it’s not like I always do it, I’ve had spells of avoiding them completely too but, well, I’m not as invested in this year to be honest and kind of want to know a bit more going forward because of how poorly I thought things were handled last year. So I’ve had a glance at them as an extra layer of enjoying the show when I’m finding the episodes harder to like.
Spoilers for Story & the Engine:
So I had read beforehand that the Fugitive Doctor was meant to show up, but it didn’t ruin the episode for me and the reveal when she did. Though I understand why it would for others.
I’d say a ban on a dedicated leaks discussion thread is maybe a tad too far in my own personal opinion but if there is a ban if there’s a next series then there’ll still be other places people can discuss them elsewhere so it isn’t a massive deal.
