Talk:The Quiet Gentleman

Discussion

Attribution to Citizendium for the more generic plot summary

I wrote the more generic plot summary (placed above the one which spoils the mystery) from Citizendium and I'm copying it here with attribution, as allowed.Harborsparrow (talk) 18:43, 9 January 2023 (UTC)

we might consider going back to the previous situation re: plot summary

Someone has recently radically changed the more generic plot summary I wrote, sucking bits of it into the pre-existing summary which contained, in my opinion, not only too much extraneous detail such as names (which are unnecessary for a plot), which was too long, and worse, which spoiled the mystery. I did not initiate a discussion about that here because I did not wreck the previous plot summary at all but instead left it entirely intact, only amending the header to indicate that it contained spoilers and placing the generic, short, non-spoiler version above it. So what rule did I break to distinguish between a short, pithy summary with no spoilers and the very long Cliff Notes version we now have that students could use to make a book report without even bothering to read the book?Harborsparrow (talk) 21:03, 27 January 2023 (UTC)

Here is the text which I added that was basically wrecked and mostly removed without adequate explanation or prior discussion:Harborsparrow (talk) 21:08, 27 January 2023 (UTC)

The story revolves around an earl's firstborn son who became estranged from his father as a young boy, was reared by his maternal grandmother, and spent years serving in the military during the Napoleonic wars.

A year after the father passed away, and after the war's end, the son arrives to claim the ancient rambling castle of the earldom. His stepmother and her son, the hot-tempered teenage half-brother of the new earl, have spent their entire lives at the castle living as rulers-in-waiting, doubting that the firstborn son would survive the war. Also resident is a first cousin who manages the estate. The earl urges his relations to remain as before. The stepmother also has a houseguest, the well-born daughter of intellectuals who makes no attempts to attract, gets along with the irascible stepmother, and deftly mediates certain household clashes.

The young earl has a suspicious riding accident, discovers a secret passage leading into his bedroom, and survives being shot after his life is saved by quick action on the part of the female guest. She then assists the earl's valet in nursing the earl back to health. The earl makes a big push to discover which of his cantankerous relations wants him dead. The young lady is alarmed by the earl's absence and has an accident herself. Her parents arrive, planning to take her home. Having discreetly resolved a plot to kill him, the young earl arrives back just in time to reveal his affection for the young lady and persuade her parents to let them marry.

Harborsparrow, your long WP history ought to have taught you that editing guidelines are not subject to negotiation. WP:PLOTSUM was cited for the changes to which you object and from that you'll learn that there is a suggested word limit of 700, that spoilers are most definitely not to be avoided, and that names and locations are a necessary part of the summary. Other guidelines deprecate the use of a character list as a means of extending the plot by other means, an imbalace reversed in May last year. I've no WP:OWN objections to discussing a more nuanced plot section, but it must be in accord with the encyclopedic guidelines. & another point, it's not the job of WP editors to do the work of teachers in policing school assignments! Sweetpool50 (talk) 12:35, 28 January 2023 (UTC)

Sweetpool50, It clearly is allowed that there be a spoiler, but I'm asking you if its really a good idea in this case. That spoiler is the biggest tension the book has going for it; the reader cannot tell whether the obvious culprit is really the culprit. As for how the book ends, that is not a spoiler in this case, because all her books are formulaic and the expected positive outcome is part of the safety framework within which Heyer wrote. What might be worth considering, in the case of a complex plot like this one, is whether some of the details now in the plot summary are needed, such as person names and place names (to me, those are just window-dressing). The Lucy subplot, for example, is really not relevant; its main purpose seems to be to expand upon the younger brother's character and tendencies. For a book like this , I think people read the plot summary for one of two reasons: 1) they never read the book and want to decide if they might like to, and 2) they've read many Heyer books and want to be reminded which book this one is. Especially in the latter case, a stripped down summary would be a relief. Please think about it. I won't edit this article any more, because we seen to have differing approaches and I don't want to butt heads with anyone here. But I think a streamlined approach is better. I actually liked offering the readers either version, as I had done before you stopped by. Best regards, HS.Harborsparrow (talk) 13:34, 28 January 2023 (UTC)

Once again, editing guidelines are not negotiable. Much of your reasoning above lies outside Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines and is beside the point. Meanwhile, I've replied to you message on my own talk page. Sweetpool50 (talk) 13:57, 28 January 2023 (UTC)