Lostpedia:Spoiler policy

For upcoming episode spoilers, see Season 4/spoilers

This page is an official policy on Lostpedia. It has wide acceptance among editors and is considered a standard that all users should follow. When editing this page, please ensure that your revision reflects consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page.

A spoiler is something that gives away information about future episodes of the show that have not yet been aired. In general, Lostpedia is not a spoiler site but there are a few places where spoilers may be found. In general, try to be courteous and allow people who wish to avoid spoilers to do so.

Motivation

ABC, Bad Robot Productions and the creators and creative talent behind Lost have voiced their desire that the fans of the show not be spoiled by information about upcoming episodes, and only find out this information when they release it for the fans to enjoy. Lostpedia has shaped its spoiler policy to best reflect that wish.

Current policy

• Spoiler content may only be placed on the Lostpedia forum in the specified Spoilers sub-section.
• Official podcast transcripts and summaries may contain spoiler information.
• Spoilers may not be added elsewhere, with the exception of the name of the immediately upcoming episode in very limited areas.
• Images of upcoming episodes or upcoming new cast members may not be uploaded.

Spoiler definition

Lostpedia considers a spoiler to be any information about upcoming episodes, including cast, characters, crew, photographs, and synopses, released by any source (including ABC Medianet). Any and all information about Lost is considered a spoiler until (any of the following):

• It has been revealed in an episode of Lost that has aired on ABC in the Eastern time zone in the United States.
• It has been revealed in officially authorized spin-off media (excluding the Official Lost Podcast) released to the United States general public, including but not limited to:
  • Tie-in novels, such as Bad Twin
  • Video games, such as Lost: Via Domus
  • Alternate reality games, such as The Lost Experience and Find 815
  • Mobisodes, such as Lost: Missing Pieces
  • DVD releases
• Lostpedia administrators have determined by consensus that the information has been revealed by the producers of Lost to the mainstream media and is sufficiently widespread across mainstream and non-Lost related Internet media that it can no longer be considered a spoiler. Such information is not to be added to Lostpedia by users.
  • The producers are considered by Lostpedia to be:
    • Showrunners and executive producers Carlton Cuse and/or Damon Lindelof
    • Executive producers Jack Bender, J.J. Abrams, Jean Higgins, Bryan Burk and Pat Churchill

NOTE: Not all information from ARGs, video games, and other spin-off media can be considered canonical.

Spoilers on Lostpedia

Spoilers are only allowed in the three Season articles that end in "/spoilers" and their respective talk pages:

• Season 4/spoilers

• Talk:Season 4/spoilers

• Season 5/spoilers

• Talk:Season 5/spoilers

• Season 6/spoilers

• Talk:Season 6/spoilers

Spoilers do not belong in any other articles or page on Lostpedia including, but not limited to;

• Articles
• Article talk pages
• Unanswered questions sections
• User pages
• User talk pages
• Theory pages and their respective talk pages

Immediately upcoming episode names

The only information about upcoming episodes allowed on Lostpedia is the name and airdate of the immediately upcoming episode, if released by ABC Medianet, on the following articles only:

• The episode article
• Main Page
• Season navigations
• Season 4, Season 5, or Season 6
• Portal:Episodes
• Airdates

Until an episode is the next to receive its premiere broadcast in the United States:

• A new article may not be created with the episode name.
• The episode name or number may not be added to other articles in Lostpedia, including, but not limited to:
  • The articles listed above
  • Characters
  • Cast
  • Objects
  • Events
  • Talk pages
  • User pages and their respective talk pages

Information related to upcoming episodes

The following items may not be revealed on any existing page or article and new articles on these may not be created, even if these have been revealed by ABC Medianet, until the episode has its premiere airing on ABC in the Eastern time zone:

• The central character
• guest stars
• characters
• directors
• writers
• promotional photography
• PR synopses
• Images
• Details revealed in "Next time on Lost" promotional trailers, even when they are aired at the end of episodes
• etc. (all other information regarding an upcoming episode other than the title, episode number, and airdate)

All violations of spoiler policy are subject to disciplinary action against the editor's account. If you are considering posting an upcoming episode name, it is your responsibility to understand the above guidelines.

Podcasts

Official Lost Podcasts are released weekly during the airing of the season and at special occasions such as Comic-Con. Lostpedia archives information on the podcasts in the form of transcript and summary pages. Because of this, any spoiler information revealed in the Official Lost Podcast is allowed only on the podcast transcript or summary pages, and nowhere else on Lostpedia. The transcript or summary page must carry the spoiler warning template if it contains any content that is considered a spoiler based upon the guidelines of this policy. Once this information is revealed via canon sources (as detailed in the spoiler definition section above), it can then be placed into main articles.

Information from the Official Podcast that clarifies already-released content from canon sources is not considered spoiler, and can be placed on the site as normal.

Guidelines for spoiler pages

When editing the Season 4/spoilers, Season 5/spoilers, Season 6/spoilers, Talk:Season 4/spoilers, Talk:Season 5/spoilers, or Talk:Season 6/spoilers articles:

• Do not describe spoilers in the edit summary field. They will show up in "recent changes" and be visible by everyone.
• Do not mention any spoiler content in the section headers. Content in section headers (formatted ==Like this==) will also appear in "recent changes" and be visible by everyone. This includes but is not limited to character names, guest stars, titles, events, locations, objects, etc. For titles of sections, use very general terms. For example:

• "Episode 4x04", "status", "event", "place", "character", or "flash"

instead of

• "Eggtown", "death", "purge", "Pearl", "Jack", or "flashforward".

International broadcast dates

The English language Lostpedia is updated based upon U.S. television airdates. All non-U.S. visitors should take care not to visit pages that have been edited following newly-aired episodes and which may contain spoilers for international viewers. This may differ for other Lostpedia languages.

Spoiler template banner

The spoiler template banner {{spoilers}} (shown below) should be placed at the top of any article that includes spoilers. Any spoilers placed in an article should come deep within the article or near its end, and under no circumstances in the lead of the article.

Spoiler alert!