It's very likely they can. Maybe they just don't want to. So when they get home, they can watch it "live" on their VCR.

Not everyone has the pleasure showing up for work at their leisure, like I do, and can watch it in the a.m.

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but I can deal with the angels, cause it ain’t me they’re here to claim. it’s a good night for blowing ‘em off til some other day

I have the ABILITY to monitor it online, I'd just rather enjoy watching it unfold on TV as if I were watching it live. Reading written updates isn't quite the same.

And headers aren't too deadly right now, they can only impart so much info...did Lance lose the Yellow due to a big crash, or more likely did a break away succeed? But "Lance gains 2 min. on Alpe d'Huez" kinda takes the fun out of watching it.

Free world, people can post what they want, even if they realize they are decreasing people's enjoyment of watching the tour...I just wish they wouldn't and may have to change my slowtwitch usage due to it...

<<I have the ABILITY to monitor it online, I'd just rather enjoy watching it unfold on TV as if I were watching it live. Reading written updates isn't quite the same. >>

I've found I prefer the written web updates. More suspence as you have to wait the 3-5 minutes between updates wondering what is going to happen.

Matt

Then you have more threads than me that you can read during a weekday....

doesn't change my preference to watch it unfold....

Is it reasonable for one to visit internet forums focused on cycling and not anticipate discussion regarding a huge race that happens each July in France?

Visit the home page of Yahoo News or CNN or MSN and you'll see spoilers there also. Should they not post these headlines until each time zone has gone home for the day, fixed dinner, mowed the grass, washed dishes and than finally sat down to watch their TiVo? Who decides when that time is? I'd have to tell my co-workers to not discuss the race also. They all know I race and want to know more about the racing. I gladly share what I know to help explain the tactics of stage racing. What better why of educating others about racing than discussing a stage they just read about? Many people find cycle racing boring, by sharing the tactical side, I get a chance to bring more fans to the sport, biased as they may be to Lance. But, they are watching and learning. I cannot say to them, talk to me in August.

The thing about the internet that draws us all here is the immediency. Some will wish to dicuss the events as they happen, perhaps they are already home watching their TiVO? The subjects are meant to grab the attention of others so that'll discuss those items.

If I was concerned about catching something about the day's stage, I'd not visit the internet at all. Asking the rest of the planet to avoid conversation regarding something so that you can be surprised at home is the heighth of misplaced self-entitlement, the pinnicle of selfish, borrish behavior.

I visit Yahoo regularly, and sometimes CNN, MSN and Netscape. Usually they have a link for "Tour de France". I choose not to follow it. Sometimes the headline is "Lance in Yellow" or similar. I realize that I can't avoid it all.

Of course you want to talk about it, if I didn't want to watch it later I would as well. We of course anticipate that there will be discussion about it. Hence several threads last week about "Please don't spoil stuff in the headers". Why is there a need to post who won the stage, by what margin, who crashed, etc. in the subject line, if many people in this forum had asked that it not be done.

"STAGE 5 RESULTS...WOW!!!!". That seems like it would grab the attention of those who want to discuss it. Such a header does not affect one's ability to have an immediate discussion about the day's events one little bit. The "forum moderator" (Dan) has even requested that people not put spoilers in the headers.

I was casually talking about this at first, but now it is getting to me. I have a coworker who knows nothing about bike racing, knows I'm interested, and we talk about it like you mentioned. No need for him to say "Hey, some Spanish guy named Mayo crashed and lost four minutes. Armstrong is now winning by 30 seconds." He has enough common courtesy to not do that. He will ask about team time trial rules, how much do you really gain by riding in a line, does the winner of the stage get the yellow jersey or the overall leader, etc. A little disingenuous to say that nothing can be discussed until August.

Many people here are very interested in seeing the tour on TV, but must work during the day. They would PREFER to be "surprised" by as much as possible. Hence, requests have been made that people use some discretion in what they put in the header. Asking people to censor themselves a bit so they can enjoy something a little more. Asking for some common courtesy. A bit selfish, I guess. But boys, it doesn't seem like its asking "DO NOT DISCUSS THE TOUR DE FRANCE OR ANYTHING ABOUT IT". Just watch the headlines.

If someone asks about something on this forum that I know anything about, I will write a detailed note and/or email them directly. Glad to help out when I can. Do a favor for someone. Is the person who asked for advice selfish for asking something of the group?

I don't feel entitled to this. I (and others) asked a favor. I wrote earlier "post what you want", but just know that people had politely asked (well, Dan threatened peoples' lives) for a favor.

Pretend you were a big Yankeees fan and didn't want to know the result of the afternoon game because you were taping it, and you told your coworker you sit next to that, and he yells over the wall "Hey, Yankees just won 8-6 on a Jeter homer!!"...who is the boorish one?

This has nothing to do with "asking the rest of the planet to avoid conversation". It has to do with asking people who have a community here for a small favor. Don't want to play along? Spoil away. And then I may choose to avoid the site on weekdays later in the Tour.

I don't often start threads and haven't posted any spoiler threads. That said, we must have different viewpoints as I would think that one who is most looking forward to watching on the VCR would be one who would avoid places of instant communication.

Simply said, the onus in on the one who perfers to not know. I think it is unreasonable to come to a place of discussion and dictate the topics and how they are presented. If I really didn't want to know, a cycling centric forum is one place I would avoid along with TV and radio.

I agree, the onus is on those who "don't want to know".

At this point, I couldn't care less who one today's stage and how. It is a philosophical discussion of what was requested and responding to accusations it is "selfish" and "boorish" to request such things.

No one is trying to dictate what can be discussed or how, as I and others have repeatedly stated. We asked a FAVOR so that we could continue to enjoy wasting time on slowtwitch while we also remained as ignorant as possible about the results of that days stage. We asked a favor so that we didn't have to avoid slowtwitch for 3 weeks.

Others obviously disagree. And they'd rather type out the results in the subject line than grant the favor of others. So be it.