On Fri, 18 May 2007, David Gerard wrote:
Here's a question: do we have a source for the fact
that a given fact
is the spoiler? Or is it just an editor deciding?
That question is like asking "do we have a source for the fact that something
is notable enough to have an article?" Meta decisions don't require sources.
No, not at all - by analogy to living biographies, where we do need
sources for facts being important, rather than merely documented.
Not in the same sense. We need sources as evidence for importance, but we
don't require that a source actually say "this fact is important".
Importance
is something we deduce from sources, not something which must be explicitly
stated in them.
You aren't addressing the question though. It was about the fact that a
given fact is a spoiler, or that it does in fact spoil someone's
enjoyment. The question said nothing about "importance" or
"notability". Referring to these throws in red herrings for the sole
purpose of having a question that was easier to answer than the one that
was actually asked.
When you say that these plot outlines, or other facts about the work of
fiction, will spoil someone's enjoyment of the work how do you know
that? The whole idea that it will happen seems like nothing more than
wishful thinking fan-cruft.
Ec