Dragaera

META: Proposed Spoiler Warning Policy text

Jon_Lincicum at stream.com Jon_Lincicum at stream.com
Mon May 22 07:35:33 PDT 2006

Kenneth Gorelick <pulmon at mac.com> 
05/19/06 03:14 PM

To
Jon_Lincicum at stream.com
cc
David Dyer-Bennet <dd-b at dd-b.net>, dragaera at dragaera.info
Subject
Re: META: Proposed Spoiler Warning Policy text




>Speaking as a leader of the anarchist movement, I personally hate 
>policies. Draconian or not, it will lead to some feeling Issolated, 
>others feeling Dzur, and some even going Vallistic. I say leave well 
>enough alone. The topless posting rule is more than enough; let's 
>leave well-enough a-Lyorn.

Not knowing exactly how much of this is serious, and how much is just in 
Pun, let me just say that the "rules" are not really meant to be 
constrictive. The point here is that these "policies" are already being 
enforced (vigilante style) on the list, and are therefore de facto rules 
of the list... But ones that, in many cases, such as the spoiler warnings, 
have no written explanation.

Personally, I don't like rules for the sake of having rules, either. The 
real point here is to allow polite communication between list members. 
Since different folks have different ideas about what polite behavior 
consists of, it is helpful to have a set standard for common points of 
disagreement. 

I'm trying to keep these as limited as possible, and phrased mostly in the 
form of suggestions. 

And with that, here is the first revision of the Spoiler Policy text with 
some of the changes you guys have suggested:

---

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 later events in _Issola_ and _The 
Viscount of Adrilankha_. 

It is essential to include spoiler warnings when discussing virtually any 
topic related to a book recently published by Steven Brust. ("Recent" in 
this case means within 6 months of the release of the paperback edition. 
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_, _To Reign in Hell_, and also _Brokedown Palace_ which has been out 
of print for many years. 

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.