A Further Thought on Spoilers

Apparently all the talk about spoilers is occasioned by a study "showing" that people prefer short stories that have been spoiled. First of all, a short story is extremely different from a long story. Maybe for short stories of the variety they describe the plot is just a medium for the writing, but I really think it's got to be very different for something like the Harry Potter books. I don't know, I'm not a short story writer (though I know someone who is), but it strikes me that one shouldn't draw conclusions about all types of stories based on a study about one particular variety of story, the written short kind.

But more to the point, what are we debating? Suppose we prove that, let's say, in the aggregate people do not mind hearing a story (of whatever variety) spoiled. Where does that get us? That it is sometimes acceptable to spoil a story for someone? That someone has the right to not mind or even to positively desire a spoiler? No one disputes that. That someone, for instance my father, does not actually have the right to say, "no thank you, actually, I'd rather not have stories spoiled for me"? God I hope not. Even if some study claimed that it could prove that even someone who says they don't like spoilers actually won't mind them, I feel like if somebody says "don't spoil this story for me," it's a pretty disrespectful thing to do to then spoil it for them. So all we're really debating, I think, is whether someone has the right to issue a spoiler to someone else whose attitude regarding spoilers they do not know. I feel like the answer to that has to be no, because a) the unwanted spoiler is a worse offense than then not-given-but-would've-been-ok spoiler, and b) it doesn't take that much effort to ask someone if they're okay with spoilers or put a spoiler warning on something.

So maybe most people in the aggregate don't mind spoilers for short stories. Maybe they even don't mind them for other kinds of story. But that doesn't change the fact that someone can still say they'd rather experience a story unspoiled at least the first time, and it doesn't change the fact that one should respect that desire and be cautious of violating it accidentally.