Survivor Wiki's Spoiler Policy states that leaking information about a current or future season will result in a wiki ban for at least the duration of the season.
What is a Spoiler?
A spoiler is any major game information regarding a current or future season that has not yet been revealed by CBS or any other official source, televised, seen in a promo, or seen in a deleted scene on CBS's website.
Anything regarding challenge results, eliminations/boot orders, or the specific placement of events within the season is major game information. For the purposes of this rule, the point at which the jury starts is considered an event.
The following pieces of information were spoilers prior to the episodes airing or promos revealing the information in question:
- "I heard that Survivor: Cagayan has a Final Two." (this is a spoiler because the finalist/jury configuration is major game information)
- "Colton is evacuated in episode 6 of Survivor: One World." (this is a spoiler because it involves an elimination)
- "Malcolm wins immunity next episode." (this is a spoiler because it involves the result of a challenge, and also indirectly involves an elimination by revealing Malcolm cannot be voted out)
- "Survivor Sucks says that Season 29 uses the Blood vs. Water twist."(this is a spoiler because it is not from an official source)
- "I heard that Cochran is returning for Survivor: Caramoan." (this is a spoiler because it involves an officially unrevealed contestant)
The following pieces of information are not spoilers:
- "All three remaining Brains are switched to the same tribe, I saw it in the promo." (not a spoiler because it has been seen in a promo)
- "The next immunity challenge is Battle Dig, CBS revealed it today." (not a spoiler because CBS has officially revealed it)
- "Episode 2 airs on September 27." (not a spoiler because it is not relevant to the outcome of the game; note that the number of episodes may be considered a spoiler if it indirectly spoils game information)
Where Can Spoilers Be Posted?
There are very few pages in which spoilers are allowed on the wiki.
- The Template: namespace allows unrevealed tribe names and colors, provided that the template in question does not transclude these tribe names into any mainspace articles. In Template:Tribename and all templates that depend on it, there must be a comment in the template source stating that these tribes are not officially revealed.
- Subpages in the User: namespace (such as User:Bwburke94/Season Format) allow spoilers for the current season that do not qualify as major game information. However, actual userpages (such as User:IAmNothing712) are subject to the same spoiler restrictions as mainspace articles.
Season Names and Locations
The names and locations of future seasons not revealed by CBS are considered spoilers.
- For the purpose of this rule, the location of an even-numbered (spring) season is not a spoiler if it is the same location as the preceding odd-numbered (fall) season. However, the name and theme of the season are still spoilers, and the season cannot have an article in mainspace until it is officially announced.
Tribe Names and Colors
The names and colors of a season's starting tribes are spoilers until officially revealed. However, as mentioned above, certain exceptions apply.
- If a non-starting/non-merged tribe is officially revealed by CBS or PlanetBuff, they are allowed a page, but no one can be mentioned as being a member of the tribe as it spoils that they are not eliminated while on their original tribe.
Tribe Switches
A Tribe Switch (or any similar twist) ceases to be a spoiler once the twist has been revealed in a promo. In addition, if the promo shows the new tribes, that information ceases to be a spoiler as well, unless the promo also spoils an elimination.
- This rule does not apply to promo pictures accidentally showing someone in a differently-colored buff, and only applies to deliberate reveals of a switch.
- If the existence of a switch is revealed in a promo, but the exact point the switch takes place is not revealed, the switch can be listed on the season article as it is now a known twist in the season.
The Merge
The merged tribe name and color of Survivor (U.S.) seasons cannot be mentioned on the wiki, except in the Template: namespace and user subpages, until officially revealed by CBS. This is because PlanetBuff often leaks the merged color a few weeks before the merge actually happens, and revealing the color before the merge is revealed to the viewers spoils the approximate time when the merge occurs.
- If a merged color is revealed by CBS but no name is given, this can be added to the "Castaways" and "Voting History" section of the season's articles, but not to the Season template on the article or to the castaways' articles. Because the Tribecolor template requires a tribe name, a RGB value may be used to avoid usage of a placeholder tribe name, but this is not required.
Challenge/Tribal Council Results
The results of challenges (including Redemption Island duels) and Tribal Councils are spoilers until the episode has aired regardless of whether CBS has revealed the results beforehand. So if a promo says that Aras loses the next duel and joins the jury, that information is a spoiler until it has actually aired.
- Challenge results cannot be posted in the main namespace until the challenge is over and Jeff Probst has announced "_______ wins reward/immunity". Redemption Island duel results cannot be posted in the main namespace until Jeff Probst announces "_____ wins the duel" or "______ is eliminated from the game". In challenges with three or more contestants/tribes, no challenge results can be posted until the challenge is actually over.
- In the event that a tribe forfeits a challenge without playing it, this can be posted as soon as the forfeiture is official, regardless of whether Jeff Probst technically announces "_______ wins reward/immunity".
- Tribal Council results cannot be posted in the main namespace until the voted-out contestant has had their torch snuffed in the East Coast airing of the episode. Under normal circumstances, this is at roughly 9:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Wednesday. If an episode includes two or more Tribal Councils, results for each Tribal Council can be posted as soon as they air.
- Final Tribal Council results cannot be posted in the main namespace until the Sole Survivor is officially announced in the East Coast airing of the episode. For Wednesday finales, this is at roughly 10:05 PM (Eastern Time); for Sunday finales, this can be as late as 11:05 PM (Eastern Time) depending on sports coverage overruns. If there are two separate East Coast airings of a finale due to sports coverage, the first airing takes precedence.
- If a contestant quits or is evacuated, this can be posted in the main namespace as soon as it airs on the East Coast, unless it takes place at Tribal Council in which case the normal Tribal Council rules apply.
Unusual Cases
In cases such as Mellisa McNulty's where a contestant drops out of the game last-minute and no replacement is found, this information is no longer a spoiler once it has been officially revealed. Note, however, that the identity of the dropped contestant can be a spoiler if not revealed, as happened with So Kim when she and her sister Doo were dropped from Survivor: San Juan del Sur; her identity was not revealed officially until she was announced to be part of the Survivor: Worlds Apart cast.
Spinoff Wikis
All spoiler policies also apply on Survivor Fanon Wiki and other spinoff wikis. The policy also applies to events in fanon seasons that have not yet occurred or been revealed by the fanon author(s).
Survivor Wiki Facebook Group
The Survivor Wiki Facebook group and the groups for spinoff wikis fall under the jurisdiction of the wiki, and the Spoiler Policy applies there as well to a limited extent.
- On the Facebook group, tribe names and colors are not spoilers, though the number of tribes can still be a spoiler.
- On the Facebook group, information about the currently airing episode can be posted as soon as the event in question airs.
- On the Facebook group, rumors about future seasons' locations/themes are fair game, as long as no contestant names are given.