There has been some confusion recently in regards to Spoilers and how to go about them. This thread will be the 'go-to' thread for finding out what constitutes as a spoiler and what doesn't, how to hide spoilers, etc. Please take the time to read this before doing anything else in this subreddit. =]

These rules have been revised as per 16-04-10####

It has recently occurred to us that there are two types of spoilers: [1] spoilers for people who are behind and [2] spoilers about rumors and future episodes.

Thanks to Urdna we now have spoiler tags for rumors and such, what we will call "Big Spoilers."

The below tag should be used for Big Spoilers - any detail about unaired episodes, including the latest promo [big spoiler](/b"The spoiler text goes here")

The below tag should be used for latest-episode details - in threads that don'thave a spoiler warning or episode-number in the title [spoiler](/s"The spoiler text goes here")

The text will show up big spoiler for unaired episode spoilers/rumors or spoiler for latest episode details until the user hovers their mouse over it. This works for comments only, not for titles.

This thread will contain nothing about Season Six, but might contain information about already-aired episodes from previous seasons.

Titles##

No Specific Detail of the Latest Episode

Quotes, Episode Titles, Character Names, Events, from the latest-aired episode in the U.S. should not be in the submission title, as they give away information about the episode. Examples of titles that would be banned are;

"What did Locke mean by 'He wants us to move the island'?!"

"So last night's ep confirmed that Sayid is one of the Oceanic Six."

You get the idea.

To get past this, we feel you should make the title as generic as possible. Like so;

"What did [Character] mean by ... [4x11]" --Put the quote in the 'text' area. Remove Locke's name and replace with a generic placeholder, and reference the episode number (not name). This should make it clear to people who, for example, haven't seen 4x11, to not continue reading that submission.

"So last night's ep confirmed that [Character] is ... [4x03]" --Same thing here. This title spoils nothing for someone who hasn't seen 4x03.

Remember, the 'text box' that you can post self submissions with do not follow the same rules as the titles. As long as the title remains spoiler/detail-free, it should not be banned.

And to people browsing r/lost without having seen the most recent episode, you should be O.K so long as you don't open up any submission. I highly recommend watching before browsing the subreddit. Your frontpage should be fine and spoiler free thanks to the rules above (no need to unsubscribe!).

Comments##

Comments are much more leniant. If you are just watching the show as it airs you will likely never need to use the spoiler tag in your comments. In comments, you can pretty much say anything about any aired episode. The 'spoiler tag' (see below) is reserved only for details about unaired episodes.

This, of course, doesn't include special circumstances (for example in a submission titled "I haven't seen LOST since Season 3 - should I get back into it?", you're expected to 'be a good sport' and not spoil anything major for them just incase they do get back into it).

The Spoiler Tag##

The spoiler tag will block-out any text from your comment. The blue spoiler tag is reserved for any detail about the latest aired episode for threads with no spoiler warning in the title. The red spoiler tag is for any future episode rumors/details, who next week focuses on, what some actress said about her script for the last episode, discussing the promo for next week, etc.

To do the spoiler tag, it's as simple as making a link. [spoiler](/s"The spoiler text goes here")

If the spoiler is about an unaired episode, replace the /s with /b [big spoiler](/b"The spoiler text goes here")

The text will show up spoiler for latest episode details, or big spoiler for unaired episode spoilers until the user hovers their mouse over it. This works for comments only, not for titles.

Of course, special circumstances will also apply here. A submission like "Let's discuss the promo for next week!" will obviously not require you to black out details - otherwise everything on that submission would be blacked out!

I see a spoiler! What do I do?##

If you see a spoiler, either in a title or a comment, it isn't enough to just downvote it. Click the report button. It'll highlight for a mod, and one of us will take care of it. =]