James Burbidge wrote: >> Is that standard for all news groups? If so, it is too generous >> for this particular list server, which has a more narrow population. >> >> > > It varies. > > On rasfw, it's considered good form to spoiler just about any detail > which would ruin enjoyment of any book, including ones several decades > old, since the readership of the group is very widely varied indeed. > However, this frequently done via rot13 rather than spoiler space. Varying standards make sense to me. If the readership is wide and should not be expected to read everything on-topic, then the spoiler warnings should be liberal. In this list server though, I wouldn't be surprised if some of us waited until Brust's books made it to paperback. Certainly any Vlad books should be assumed to be read within a month of that. I would say any other Dragaeran books would be close behind. If you want to make a case for any Brust books, I'll agree with you. Stories that are harder to find are a different story - and any literary references from elsewhere should be protected - even if they are over a century old.