Do spoilers ruin a story for readers and viewers?

In 2026 Hank called walking into a film knowing nothing about it one of the best media experiences of his life.

Axis: spoilers ruin stories ... spoilers do not matter

Positions by date: 6 records in 6 videos. shift and revise mean the position moved; tension — disagreement with the other speaker.

John

date	how	position	video
2011-05-23	shift	John says that after years of not believing in spoilers he now believes in them, because his new book is quite spoilable.	Eating the Unicorn 00:01:50
2011-12-23	restate	John says he does not want TFiOS spoiled for anyone, and that even seven-year-old Looking for Alaska should not be spoiled for new readers.	There Will Be NO SPOILERS!!! 00:00:53
2026-06-02	restate	John wants readers to know as little as possible before his novel Hollywood, Ending (out September 22), but wants Hank to know something about Andy Warhol.	The Instagramification of Human Experience 00:00:00

date	how	position	video
2011-08-12	first on record	Hank says he may stop seeing movies of books he hasn't read, because seeing the film first ruins it.	The Fair: Testacular! 00:01:56
2014-02-21	restate	Hank objects to spoilers in back-cover descriptions: he doesn't want to read half a book waiting for an event he already knows is coming.	Ranting about Books 00:00:27
2026-09-25	restate	Hank says one of the best media experiences of his life was walking into the film Cold Comfort Farm knowing nothing about it.	Who Has Signed Their Name the Most Times? 00:00:00

date	how	position	video
2026-09-22	background	As a writer John wants as many readers as possible to go in cold, knowing only the title, so the book is probably about Hollywood, endings or commas. (playful)	I Want You to Know Nothing About This 00:02:15

Timeline notes

John: first recorded event is shift (earlier stance may be outside 2007–2026 or unrecorded)