This week, a major plot twist happened in the Game Of Thrones TV show.

It was a moment spoiled for many in advance.

We may as well start with those words just up there.

See how clear that bit in bold at the top is?

Note that the headline doesnt include spoilers, either.

It does the job.

Its a system used around the planet by many far better websites than this one.

Unfortunately, its not a system used by all.

But at the very least, its worth examining the key questions in a bit more detail.

Lets start with one of the most frustrating…

The show has been transmitted!

Surely that means its fair game?

Its not fair game at all.

Sky Atlantic, which screensGame Of Thronesin the UK, broadcast the episode nearly a day later.

Such a consideration was lacking when spoilers started being liberally posted online, pretty much immediately.

And woe betide anyone who recorded the show to watch later.

That is not an excuse the spoiler machine will tolerate.

Its the latter two words that are critical here.

Part of the fun in shows such asGame Of Thronesis digesting it and discussing it online.

I wouldnt for a second suggest not doing that.

But I would suggest that simple spoiler warnings, or spoiler tags, are a courtesy.

At least give people achanceto swerve a spoiler.

Why shouldnt the same apply with a TV show?

And that, as statistics continually show, is something that decreasingly happens.

But itsGame Of Thrones!

Everythings in the books anyway!

These spoilers have been around for years!

One of the people who attracted criticism for tweeting a spoiler aboutGame Of Throneswas author Stephen King.

King, though, defended his position in a subsequent Tweet.

Heres what he wrote…

And this is a fair point.

Furthermore, pretty much every spoiler for the next few seasons ofGame Of Thronesalready exists in print.

Doesnt that mean that the spoilers are suddenly fair game, goes the argument?

This should not be a crime punishable by having things ruined for you.

Dare I suggest, then, that theres an innate snobbery at work here?

That you almost deserve to have it spoiled?

By not reading theGame Of Thronesbooks that are on there too, it doesnt mean that I cant read.

It just means Ive chosen to read other books first.

Does that make me a bad person?

Does that mean Ive lost my rights to watch the TV show spoiler-free?

Im not sure it does, but fully appreciate not everyone shares my point of view here.

But people wont choose the article if we dont put what the surprise is in the title.

What are we supposed to do?

Easy: not put the surprise in the title.

Ive actually seen this argument a few times, sometimes from quite major media outlets.

Theres truth in this, too.

Its also, in my humble opinion, a really shitty way to treat your readers.

I genuinely cant think of a single instance.

Television, though, works to different rules.

Two-dimensional arguments, in my view, that shift the blame onto someone else.

That doesnt mean you cant offer clues.

Its not a straight on/off switch here.

Whats wrong with running a headline such as Major spoiler!

Where doesGame Of Thronesgo now?

or Game Of Thrones: spoiler-filled look at tonights huge plot twist?

If you go on Twitter, what do you expect?

The tried and trusted argument.

I hadGame Of Thrones big spoiler ruined for me by a casual tweet from Deadline.

There was no warning of it, I couldnt avoid it.

Deadline was not alone, and itd be easy to put together a hall of shame here.

But thats not the intention.

But even at our most vigilant, things slip through the gaps.

So: if you leave the keys in the ignition of your car, someone will steal it.

If you leave your front door open, theres a sporting chance that someone will burgle your house.

The surprise is often the reason for their impact.

The BBC, last year, ran a surprise clip reintroducing Paul McGann temporarily toDoctor Who.

It was a wonderful few minutes for those who had no idea what to expect.

Unfortunately, lots of big media outlets denied people the right to said surprise.

My question is: why do we have to accept this?

Why is it right that its assumed that on Twitter that its okay to spoil things without warning?

I should be clear: Den Of Geek has made mistakes with regards spoilers in the past.

But what I can say is that the mistakes here were honest ones, and deeply regretted too.

Thats the way it should be as well.

To not work on the assumption that because something is out there, that everybody knows about it.