Dragaera

A question re: Beginning Fantasy for Youth

Tue Nov 26 17:24:00 PST 2002

Baralier wrote:
> "Nytemuse" <nytemuse at auros.org> said...
>> On Tue, 26 Nov 2002, David Goldfarb wrote:
>>> Um, I'm sorry, but if we have to use spoiler space for classic works
>>> of literature that are a half-century old, then we have to use
>>> spoiler space for EVERYTHING; and in my humble opinion that is just
>>> not reasonable. (I'm envisioning putting in spoiler space before
>>> talking about how Jesus came back from the dead....)
>>
>> Do you really make THAT many references to events in literature?
>> This is the first time, in the months that I've been on the list,
>> that I've seen a citation of plot w/o space.  Besides, I don't care
>> so much about the actual 20 lines of blank space as I do of just
>> mentioning in ONE LINE at the beginning of the post that there are
>> possible spoilers for some book, which doesn't seem too
>> _unreasonable_ to me. Not everyone is obviously as advanced in
>> literature and history as you.
>
> We already mentioned the rape scene from Lord Foul's Bane, we've had
> detailed descriptions of the Christian elements in Narnia, and we're
> currently discussing plot points to FHYA.
>
> All without spoiler spaces.
>
> And since the details of how Frodo lost a finger weren't given I
> wouldn't have thought it needed a spoiler space anyway.
>
> Baralier

Oh for crying out loud I had missed that it was frodo who lost a finger (and
I too am reading the trilogy for the first time about half way in thus far)
as I quickly skimmed that e-mail... Jeepers... but is doesn't help me
because I can't 'un-read' it  We could all use spoiler space for anything
that has to do with anything else but then we'd get nowhere

Really though I think that if you are trying to keep a secret from yourself
about something in a story or movie the best way to do that is stick you
fingers in your ears and go nah-nah-nah while mumbling that you in fact
don't want to hear about something or other otherwise at any given moment
someone else may reveal that to you, even though it does infact suck to have
happen you can consloe yourself what without thinking about it you are
likely doing it to someone else and that there are in fact other stories, or
for fun you can practice putting titles and key information together like so
when you refer to star-wars you can instead say "Star Wars Darth Vader is
Lukes Father" followed by whatever it is you want to say about star wars.

I think my problem is I agree with both of you, It sucks either way what you
do defines who you are though.