In 1971, National Lampoon founder Doug Kenney ran a feature titled "Spoilers" that revealed the endings of classic films like Citizen Kane and Psycho .
Both the Oxford English Dictionary and Cambridge University Press date the first written occurrence of the exact phrase "spoiler alert" to a 1982 Usenet post . The post was part of a discussion regarding the Star Trek film The Wrath of Khan . Spoiler AlertHD
There is ongoing debate regarding whether spoilers actually ruin the entertainment experience: In 1971, National Lampoon founder Doug Kenney ran
While the concept of "spoiling" an ending has existed for decades, the specific terminology evolved through fan culture: There is ongoing debate regarding whether spoilers actually
By the late 1980s, the term became a staple of "netiquette," often followed by "spoiler space"—several blank lines intended to prevent accidental reading. The Psychological Impact of Spoilers