From: marky@quip.eecs.umich.edu (Mark Anthony Young)
Subject: Major Spoilers -- NOT!
Organization: University of Michigan EECS Dept., Ann Arbor
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 21:11:35 GMT

Some of the less evolved life forms in this forum are posting MAJOR
SPOILERS to the net WITHOUT SPOILER PROTECTION!  In this day and age, not
using proper protection can get you killed (in other words, guns are cheap
and plentiful).

Everyone, please, please, please, PLEASE use spoiler protection.

Now I know that certain FCC regulations have in the past been used to
prevent important protection information from being disseminated over
public lines in the US, but that's all changed now.  Now we can urge people
to practise safe posting so long as we don't actually tell them what safe
posting is -- tho' we are allowed to allude to the objects involved.

So, there's this particular letter (supposedly invented by the French)
that, when used properly, provides an easy way for people to avoid unwanted
contamination.  You can get this letter from any major editor, tho' in some
cases it may not be obvious how to get it, and you may have to ask someone
behind the counter.  DO NOT BE EMBARRASSED!  They will not laugh at you (to
your face, anyway).

Here are some important tips that may seem obvious to many of you, but
which some people may not be aware of:

-- To be useful, these letters must be applied _before_ the climax of the
article (when the spoiler is released).

-- These letters should only be used once.  Once quoted, these letters no
longer provide protection.  It is possible to recycle these letters by
thoroughly cleaning them of any quotation markers, but it is much safer
(not to mention less disgusting) to use a new one each time.

-- If possible, you should test your protection before using it.  Some news
posting software gives you a chance to see what your article will look like
before you send it (NOTE:  This is illegal in _MANY_ US states -- in some
of those states your posting can only be checked out by your spouse, tho'
others allow a friend to do it, so long as they are of the opposite sex).
If your protection fails this test, you should not post your article, but
go back to your editor and try again.

-- If you accidentally send out a spoiler without protection, you can
sometimes _cancel_ the article.  Note that the spoiler may spread quite far
before it is stopped, and that some people will become infected anyway.
While cancelling an article is not actually illegal in any US state, some
states do make it quite difficult to do.  You should check with your local
authorities on how you can best accomplish this, if you feel that that is
the best decision for you.

-- Some people do not have access to spoiler protection of the kind alluded
to above.  For them, there are alternate methods.  One that allows people
to enjoy the act of posting is to provide a large number of blank lines
before the spoiler.  Note that this method is not foolproof because
different people have different lengths of "lead in lines".  Some people
require only twenty lines, while others may need fifty or more.  This
"leakage" may allow the spoiler to spread.

-- Of course, the best way to avoid the spread of spoilers is to avoid
posting or reading articles on the net.  Of course for many people,
probably including everyone reading this article, this is not an option.

...mark young