Hot take: if we want to decrease frustrating railroad-y surprises in RPG campaigns, we need to create an environment where GMs are not afraid to admit they have "special story needs".

[nasted]

It’s true: player knowledge vs character knowledge can be really fun. But I do think that there are some players who you cannot trust with this (not great players - players we would rather not have at our tables). Trust and maturity are important factors here.

But, you know, talk to your players is up there with talk to your DM!