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Like Goodreads, can we feature the spoiler feature here as well (both in questions and answers) to make it a better experience for the users?

What I mean by this is using it like we see it on Puzzling SE: answers are hidden by default and you can toggle between showing it or keeping it hidden, so there should be a spoiler tag under which both questions and answers can encapsulate the spoiler part. By users I mean all the users - especially those who are just interested in that question, but yet to read that book/part

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    What do you mean by "feature the spoiler feature"? I assume you're talking about spoiler formatting, but how would you propose to "feature" it? How would this make "a better experience for the users"? Which "users"?
    – bobble
    Jun 18, 2021 at 3:13
  • Like we see on Puzzling SE that answers are hidden by default and you can toggle between showing it or keeping it hidden, so there should be a spoiler tag under which both questions and answers can encapsulate the spoiler part. By users I mean all the users - especially those who are just interested in that question, but yet to read that book/part.
    – Failed Scientist
    Jun 18, 2021 at 5:19
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    You can do the exact same thing here as on Puzzling - same syntax, same result. You haven't answered hope you propose to feature this, and why it would improve the user experience.
    – bobble
    Jun 18, 2021 at 5:21

2 Answers 2

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No, we should not encourage the use of spoiler markup (the type described in Gallifreyan's answer) because spoiler markup is inaccessible to keyboard users. This includes both blind users (who obviously don't use a mouse because they can't see the mouse pointer) and motor-impaired users who can't use a mouse or similar pointing device (a group that is larger than blind users). More specifically, the issue is that you can't make the hidden content visible or readable using only the keyboard.

Until the accessibility issue with spoiler markup have been fixed, the use of this type of markup is exclusionary and should be discouraged.

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    I understand your concern for keyboard users. However, what would you propose to prevent sighted people (or I supposed in this context it could be as broad as "mouse users") from encountering spoilers? Do you think the accessibility issue will be corrected soon?
    – Skooba
    Jun 29, 2021 at 15:20
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    @Skooba This is simply not a serious issue. Over a decade ago, some language version of Wikipedia had a "spoiler warning" at the top of every plot synopsis in an article of a work of fiction. They removed it because it was obvious that when someone looks up information about a book, they should be smart enough to know that they can encounter "spoilers". There is no need to baby the reader. Second, readers who read fiction for its literary qualities aren't really all that concerned about having the plot spoiled because it is not the main aspect of enjoying serious literature.
    – Tsundoku Mod
    Jun 29, 2021 at 18:55
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    Looking up general information about a book is different than asking a plot/character related question. We have no way of knowing what information an asker knows beyond what they put in their question. Also, is site this only for "serious literature" and questions about "literary qualities"? Plenty of other sites use spoiler markdown without this issue, so again while I understand your concern for disadvantaged users, this seems to be a network problem and I am unaware of any attempts to fix that globally (correct me if I am mistaken), so why should we discourage the use of a feature?
    – Skooba
    Jun 29, 2021 at 20:05
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    The site's FAQ explicitly explains how and why to use spoiler markdown; literature.stackexchange.com/editing-help. If you have an issue with its accessibility, a local meta isn't the place to air those concerns.
    – Valorum
    Jun 29, 2021 at 20:11
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    @Valorum Did you read my answer at all? I raised the issue of the inaccessibility of spoiler markup on Meta SE three years and eight months ago.
    – Tsundoku Mod
    Jun 30, 2021 at 9:33
  • I did read your answer, hence my surprise that you're making your personal objection into other people's problem.
    – Valorum
    Jun 30, 2021 at 11:29
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    @Valorum Could you please explain what you mean by "you're making your personal objection into other people's problem". Do you mean that accessibility is just "my personal objection"? I thought it was a human right recognised by the United Nations.
    – Tsundoku Mod
    Jun 30, 2021 at 12:29
  • @Tsundoku - Telling people not to use spoiler markdown when the site instructions clearly tell them to do so is not a sustainable position for a moderator. Are you going to use your position to punish them if they do so, despite the fact that this is your own bugbear rather than site policy?
    – Valorum
    Jun 30, 2021 at 15:29
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    @Valorum I don't think it is fair to call a genuine accessibility concern as Tsundoku's own bugbear. Moreover, Tsundoku only says that spoiler markup is to be discouraged (which, to me at least, is quite agreeable); so, I think you're extrapolating to an extreme scenario in your last comment.
    – Namaskaram
    Jun 30, 2021 at 16:18
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    @Valorum Could you please tell me where "the site instructions clearly tell" users to use spoiler markup? There is nothing about it in the Help Centre.
    – Tsundoku Mod
    Jun 30, 2021 at 18:41
  • @Tsondoku - I linked it above.
    – Valorum
    Jun 30, 2021 at 20:56
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    @Valorum The markdown documentation tells users how spoiler markup works and what it can be used for. I don't see how "the site instructions clearly tell them to do so". Going from "x exists" to "x should be used" is a logical fallacy.
    – Tsundoku Mod
    Jul 1, 2021 at 12:16
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Assuming I understand you correctly, you're referring to the following feature, where the text is initially hidden and one needs to hover over/click on it to reveal it:

like so.

This is achieved by starting a line with >!, not dissimilar to how a blockquote is generated.

Regarding the use of spoilers, we've discussed this before: Should we assume that questions about a book spoil that book, or should we use spoiler markup?

The current consensus dictates that we don't spoil anything in titles, make a reasonable effort in order not to spoil things in question body, but when it comes to answers all bets are off. This philosophy is a compromise between spoiler-safety and readability (among other things, the spoiler markup can be wonky and buggy when used with screenreaders).

To avoid getting, one should check the title and the tags of a question. If it's about a work you haven't finished and don't want to spoil for yourself, consider the title and the tags the last line of defence, and this - your final warning ;)

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