Apparently there's quite a fuss going on here about Harry Potter. I haven't been able to post for quite a while, so my comment might be a little out of date now...
I really see what your point is. Of course, spoilers are a horrible thing (I'd probably go up the walls if I'd come across one before having finished the book), and it's not fair to post them without a warning. And yes, there are loads of Harry Potter threads here which are not all necessary.
But still - and I really don't mean to offend anybody! - there are quite a few people who have already finished the fifth book and are dying to talk about it. I don't quite see where the problem is if there's a thread (only one, though!), clearly marked as containing spoilers, where all those people can discuss. I mean, isn't it a natural thing to talk about the book as a whole in a thread about it? The same with the predictions. If someone is going to make a prediction on the sixth or seventh book, it's quite a natural thing to base this prediction on something they've read in the fifth one. I repeat, this is NOT meant to sound arrogant or oblivious or (can't think of another good word now), but what I want to say is the following, speaking from my own point of view: If I haven't finished a book yet, then why the heck should I go and see a thread where this very book is discussed??? I'm bound to come across a spoiler!
Yes, it's different with Harry Potter due to all the fuss about it. And yes, there are other websites which are solely about Harry Potter. But we could discuss the previous four HP books here as well, and we had a predictions thread for the fifth one (and it was a great one!) and no one bothered about that, either.
Just a thought.
Oh, and as to that chat room/message board - maybe there should be a bigger link to it. I only discovered it yesterday, and there were maybe two or three people who had posted there. I don't think that everyone knows about it.
I just want to repeat that I really do understand what annoyed you, spoilers and that stuff. But I also think that there would have been another way not to come across the spoilers in the first place.
I hope that you don't get me wrong.
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