Wowhead Statement on Datamining Season of Discovery Phase 2

Classic Posted 2024/01/30 at 1:44 PM by Wowhead

The first build of Phase 2 of Season of Discovery is now live! Having heard your feedback throughout Phase 1, and in the spirit of discovery, we have decided to refrain from publishing any datamined information about how players will obtain new Runes or Profession Recipes until after it has been discovered on live servers, or unless it has already been published by another source. We hope that others also follow suit and refrain from posting information about how to obtain many of the new Runes and Profession Recipes.

Once Phase 2 officially launches, we will resume posting detailed information regarding new quests and rune acquisition, hidden behind spoiler tags, much in the same way we did throughout Phase 1. Database comments from independent users are similarly not restricted, and we look forward to working together with the community to discover all the secrets of Phase 2 once it goes live.

We will attempt to avoid spoilers on:

New quest text
How to obtain new runes
How to obtain new profession recipes

We will be posting general information such as:

New items
Boss abilities
New runes and their effects

Thanks for using Wowhead, and we'll see you in Season of Discovery Phase 2.

Comment by mybelovedchaosI dont play season of discovery but I really like this for those that do!Comment by EphemeraThe right choice, thank you for doing this.Comment by SealtestWhy not just post all your findings but make the " spoilery " ones hidden unless people actually WANT to see them. As a site who wants clicks this just will take people elsewhere.Comment by PaytimeHuge L. As if it wasn't just a vocal minority who complained about it.
I am sure that <1% of all players actually discovered stuff by themselves and the rest just either went on to WoWHead or asked on Discord, general chat etc.Comment by WhosthechickenWe will attempting to avoid spoilers on:

How to Obtain Runes
New Quest Text
How to Obtain New Profession Recipes

We will still be posting general information such as:

What the new Runes are
New Items
Boss AbilitiesComment by Josephcurwenthannk you.Comment by klausdieterWhy not just post all your findings but make the " spoilery " ones hidden unless people actually WANT to see them. As a site who wants clicks this just will take people elsewhere.Comment by Chuckrutisthis site exists because of this...Comment by AutrielJust put it behind a spoiler alert instead..Comment by zequillgood, with all the botched guides, the new reposted 2-3 times for more clicks, the posting as news of every single new D4 set, I was about to look for a new website about WoW, thanks to make it easier.Comment by mcwhitenoizGreat to hear! I know it may be difficult to survive in today's economy as a website and doing this means missing out on peak traffic during exciting times. But I really have to hand it to you for embracing the spirit of things.

We need more of this in life and I'll defend anyone who picks the right way over the "best" way.

I've come to only use wowhead over the last decade and think you're a vital part of the game. Great power, great responsibility etc.

(I've also been very vocal of my frustration with wowhead, inb4 I'm a shill)Comment by mdpswe will not be publishing any datamined information about how players will obtain new Runes or Professions Recipes, unless it has already been published by another source.Comment by MadSoritmihcraLmI dont play season of discovery but I really like this for those that do!Comment by FiggmahYes, let's not do the one thing that everyone comes to this site for. To read new relevant information for the game that people are actively playing. If people don't want to see the news, then don't click the link or come to the site. Limiting "spoilers" for the minority that want this, but can't actively police themselves to not visit a site for their own feel goods, is just a big L.Comment by Thunderhooffwe will not be publishing any datamined information about how players will obtain new Runes or Professions Recipes, unless it has already been published by another source.Comment by schmilblickThen I'll be visiting another website.Comment by ExiusThis is dumb as $%^&. If they dont want to see how its done....THEN DONT OPEN THE ^&*!ING LINK.

Personally i want all the info so im not running around like a damn chicken with my head cut off. and this is a wack ass decisionComment by FiggmahIf you don't have time to watch a football game, but have it recorded to watch when you get home from work. Should NFL.com actively hide the highlights and scores to a game so you can visit the site freely? What kind of logic is this.Comment by CronoArinThis is literally baffling.

Let's walk through this statement.

- This is wowhead. A wow database where users come to get information on how to do something or look something up.
- There is a game version where some people (maybe even most people!) are enjoying the spirit of Discovery. That is very good - for those people.
- Some people (not all people!) prefer to have access to what information is datamined and available. They use wowhead for that information. Because that what wowhead is. The best source for immediate sourced wow information.
- Wowhead makes a statement that because the game version is supposed to be 'ABOUT' discovery to Some People, they will not publish certain information until another source publishes it.
- So now me, who wants to come to wowhead to find something - which is what this website is for - just won't find it.

If you didn't want to read datamining notes, just don't read them. You have that power. Just because you don't want to read something doesn't mean a database website should go and deny it to me.

This isn't a statement about what the right or wrong way to play is. The people who don't want spoilers don't need to read it. The people who want information as is their own preference shouldn't randomly be told that they can't. It doesn't even matter if one camp or the other is in a minority, both are completely valid ways of consuming the content and neither way needs to be outright halted systematically by a tool or policy.

Just control yourself and leave what I want to do alone.

The <Spoiler> tag solution is fine, don't randomly prune out info.Comment by davesignalunless it has already been published by another source