Talk:The Mousetrap/FAQ
 | Below are answers to frequently asked questions about the corresponding page The Mousetrap. They address concerns, questions, and misconceptions which have repeatedly arisen on the talk page. Please feel free to change this material in light of new discussion. |
Q1: Should the article include the identity of the murderer? (Short answer: Yes.)
A1: Per Wikipedia's policy on "spoilers", "Spoilers are no different from any other content and should not be deleted solely because they are spoilers." This has been discussed numerous times on this article's talk page, and consensus among Wikipedia editors has consistently been in favor of keeping them. Keep in mind that there is an encyclopaedic benefit to researchers and other readers who have not and will not likely ever see the play.
Q2: Should the article have a spoiler warning? (Short answer: No.)
A2: Wikipedia does not use spoiler warnings in conjunction with its policy against censoring content, observing that "No other academic, scholarly, or other professional publication that describes or analyze works of fiction, such as other encyclopedias, includes disclaimers about spoilers when discussing said works." Consensus has shown that separating the end of the play into a separate section titled "Identity of the murderer" is sufficient to warn readers that they are about to read the end of the play.
Q3: Should we place the "Identity of the murder" section into a collapsible box/table/area? (Short answer: No.)
A3: Collapsible areas can make it difficult for mobile browsers or accessibility tools such as those used by the visually impaired to correctly display the page, which is contrary to Wikipedia's goal to be accessible to everyone. Because of this, using such techniques to hide text is generally discouraged in articles unless it is used to collapse long lists or other such information that would otherwise be disadvantageous to simply scroll through.
Q4: Should Wikipedia respect the tradition to not spoil the end of the play? (Short answer: No.)
A4: The play itself, including the ending, has been in publication since 1954 and is widely available, and the article's plot summary reflects that. As a worldwide information resource, Wikipedia is not censored, and does not remove spoilers simply because they are spoilers. There is an encyclopaedic benefit to researchers and other readers who have not and will not likely ever be able to see the play. Discussions on the article have determined that these benefits outweigh the tradition to not spoil it.