How to Build a Spoiler-Proof Bubble
Tuesday, June 17th, 2014 09:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vampthenewblackvamp's guide to avoiding spoilers, 4th wall fuckery, and/or conspiracy-theory-esque speculation
thraceadams woke me with a semi-panicked tweet this morning. It's not so much the spoilers themselves that are getting to her, but the reactions that are a bit much. I totally get that, it's actually a large part of why I bubble. @AbyNormal22 requested bubble tips as well, so here goes!
Unfollow EVERYONE
Kidding! OMG, I can hear the screams of terror from here.
The short answer is 'hide in your mentions and never venture out for any reason'. That can be a little scary for some, though.
Make a 'safe' list of the non-fandom people you follow and replace your timeline with it. DO NOT put 4th wall accounts (actors, official accounts etc) on this list! They're the worst offenders of spoilers and hype. For this exact reason, make sure you've turned off the 'what's happening on twitter' emails in your Twitter settings or MTV will send the fuckers straight to you.
Get an app that allows you to remove the main timeline completely. Tweetdeck and Hootsuite do the job for desktop and Android. For iThings, I have no frickin clue, sorry.
Filters are an option, but the set up is intensive. You're looking at filtering not only the fandom, but every single character name, actor name, big bad (problematic when you don't know it yet and don't want to know it), plus all the abbreviations, smooshes, and countless other things you won't think of till it's too late. Not for the faint of heart or the occasional blocking of reaction insanity.
Tumblr
If your Savior Fu is strong, and you trust other fans to tag their shit (ahahahahah...ahahah...huh...nope), you can blacklist all the things. Mostly I'm just going to tell you to stay the fuck away from your dash, though.
If you have non-fandom tumblrs that you absolutely must see, check them on the web or set up an rss reader.
Comms
If they don't have an enforced spoiler policy, don't even go there.
If you're invested in a community, however, it's worth saying something. Be a squeaky wheel and request a spoiler policy. Most LJ/DW comms should respect this common fandom courtesy as they tend to be a little more old school (as opposed to tumblr which doesn't remember what life was like before streaming video).
AO3
Weirdly bad for spoilers, new things pop up in tags and summaries before episodes even air. There is was1 a userscript available to filter out specified terms, but you have to know what to filter for, and if you know, then you've already been spoilered.
Best to maintain a good TBR during the non-spoiler months so you can still read when it's not safe to ficdive.
1 The userscripts site has apparently been down for some time now. At least one replacement exists, but as yet none of the AO3 scripts have been uploaded yet.
Will Power
Don't go on twitter because you're lonely. Don't peek at tumblr because you're bored or want to ogle Dylan's ass. You'll regret it, and you'll have no one to blame but yourself. Distract yourself with other things. I write and hang out on filofax blogs, but I'm sure you'll find your own methods ;)
Be Annoying
It'll take time, but if you constantly throw around bitchy comments regarding spoilers and your hatred of them, you'll eventually be known as that crazy spoiler-bubble person and unless someone decides to be a complete and utter dick, people will learn to refrain from sending the stuff straight to you.
Post-Ep Social Media Insanity
If spoilers don't bother you but the conspiracy theories and related madness does, stay off all the things after an episode or trailer. Le Gasp! No, seriously. Just don't look at your timeline or dash for a couple of hours, a day or so. It won't kill you and I promise you won't miss anything important.
I'm going to watch along this coming season (delayed by about half a day to allow me to download the ep). I won't be as susceptible to spoilers as the last few seasons, but I'm still staying in a full bubble.
I like being able to deconstruct in my own head first, before I'm influenced by tiny seeds that blow up on the internet and become bigger than they really are.
Annnnnd once again I've proved that I'm a crazy person. *drags Thrace into the bubble*
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