Dragaera

META: Proposed Spoiler Warning Policy text

Jon_Lincicum at stream.com Jon_Lincicum at stream.com
Thu May 18 11:57:40 PDT 2006

Using recent posts as a guideline, I've been working on revising the rules 
page for the list in order to address list policies that have been 
heretofore untouched by the official rules.

The following is a draft proposal for an "official" spoiler policy, 
submitted here for comments and suggestions, prior to implementation.

Any and all feedback--of the constructive variety--is encouraged and 
appreciated.

Jon

(Note: Other parts of the rules will also be undergoing revision, but I'm 
awaiting some verification of some technical details before revising those 
sections. In other words, more will follow soon.)

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Spoilers & Spoiler Warnings

In general, it should be assumed that most readers of this list will be 
familiar with the basic characters and general world of Dragaera. 

When mentioning specific plot points, especially major revelations from 
the later works it is considered polite to place a spoiler warning in the 
subject line of the message.  This most notably concerns certain facts 
revealed late in _Orca_, and many of the events in _Issola_ and _The 
Viscount of Adrilankha_. 

It is essential to include spoiler warnings when discussing virtually any 
topic related to a book published by Steven Brust within the past 6 
months. (Currently [May-06] there are none, but _Dzur_ is forthcoming, 
[August-06].)

Examples of appropriate spoiler warnings: "The best thief in Dragaera? 
(Orca Spoilers)" or "The undead and Dark Water (Athyra Spoilers)".

When writing a message marked with a spoiler warning, in cases where the 
spoiler itself would normally occur very early in the text of the message, 
it is a good idea to provide several blank lines (15-20 is usually a good 
number) at the top of your message to make it less likely for a mail 
client to display the spoiler text by accident.

Spoiler warnings should be used with greater discipline when discussing 
Steven's non-Dragaera works, such as _Agyar_, _Freedom & Necessity_,  _The 
Gypsy_ and _To Reign in Hell_. 

Spoiler warnings should also be used when making revealing references to 
works by other authors, including books, short stories, movies, or plays 
that list members may not be familiar with.