I do keep up. But there are a number of older books that I have not yet read. I've read most Star Trek books for sure though and chances are, a spoiler won't be about what I've not read. But I'm not really worried about myself. I'm more concerned about others who have not yet read much or have a lot unread. It is unfair to divulge spoilers (out in the open) for books not part of the threads topic. That would be like a thread about A Stitch in Time and someone posting open spoilers for The Crimson Shadow.
Not a mod post But the problem is it's not just that black and white issue - it's not just people taking the time to put in spoiler code. We're talking about the whole history of Trek Lit. Say there's a thread about Scotty's lovelife and I want to make an off-hand reference to Mira Romaine, do I also have to stop and figure out if that's a spoiler for Memory Prime, a novel I haven't read in years? I just don't think it's just feasible to ask people to make that sort of a judgement while in the middle of a discussion.
I think most people have enough common sense and discretion to understand when and how the spoiler codes should be used. Newer books need the spoiler code because not everyone has had the chance to buy or read the novels in question. But older novels that have been out for years don't need the spoiler tags. Why? Because it's generally assumed that one could find a copy of the book to read it and that anyone sharing information about said book isn't revealing anything Earth-shattering. --Sran
As one of those people who has a lot unread, I'm fine with it the way it is. It's on me that I'm so far behind. I don't need conversations stifled on my behalf.
But posters are unlikely to do that if they're following the current guidelines. New people might be ignorant of the rules, or on how to use spoiler tags but, if they goof it up, that's what the notify button is for. But "The Crimson Shadow" is a current book, so such a spoiler without warning is already against the guidelines. I thought the argument was more about about if people dropped spoilers about "A Stitch in Time" into the current discussion of "The Crimson Shadow"?
It SHOULD have been, if he was looking for any reasonable leg to stand on. And in that instance, ASIT came out 13 years ago, so who are we protecting from what? Seems like if it was a priority, they may have gotten to it by now. There's behind, and there's behind... After a point, need to be able to discuss SOMETHING in a discussion forum, after all