--- Gaertk at aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 3/26/2004 9:04:22 AM Eastern > Standard Time, "Howard Brazee" <howard at brazee.net> > writes: > > > 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. > > Is _Brokedown Palace_ still in print? And how many > people > knew it was a Dragaera book before coming here? > > And not long ago you had to pay $20+ if you wanted a > copy of > _Athyra_ or _Phoenix_. > > > --KG > Speaking as a person who hasn't yet gotten around to some of the older Brust books, I have no expectation that listees on an author's mailing list should observe spoiler space for years and years just in case they mention something I don't know about. When you join a list, you run the risk of seeing spoilers. If that were not the case, we would have to start literally almost every single email to this list with spoiler space because everything from geography to the outcome of various duels would be something that a new reader potentially did not know and therefore, would be a spoiler. You could get into arguments about different levels of spoilers, but I think it is just asking for a huge argument that will not help matters in the end. I am one of those readers who considers even small things to be spoilers that I don't want to know in advance, so I would be equally annoyed by seeing those before I read a book as I would seeing a major spoiler. I think that spoiler space for recent books is reasonable because a) even die-hard fans need a few months to acquire and read a new book and b) sheer statistics argues that you are more likely to spoil people when discussing a recent book than an older book (a larger number of people will not have had the time/ money to acquire something newer). Spoiler space for older books, as I said, seems a little extreme because it would encompass nearly every single post to the group. A person who is genuinely interested in acquiring and reading them can get their hands on them if they try hard enough (I waited for a year and a half on a waiting list for _Athyra_ and paid a reasonable price). Why not just give a general warning on the sign-up page about how long a book is under spoiler protection and let people take their chances? My two cents, Amy __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html