On Thu, 24 May 2007, Steve Bennett wrote:
The solution to this is to reword the spoiler warning, not to eliminate it. How about
"Spoiler warning: plot or ending details follow that some readers may not wish to see".
This creeping "may" is pretty ugly and weasly.
Spoiler warning: The surprise ending to this story is revealed below.
That's too specific. It may reveal a surprise fact (the identity of Valen, for instance) that is not an ending, or it may reveal something that is part of an ending but not an ending in itself.