1. knowing in advance detracts from the overall fic experience 2. knowing in advance means I won't have a nervous breakdown when someone dies 3. Other, please explain in comments
I like knowing that there are dark parts to a fic, which may or may not include a character death (ie - 3). This means that I won't spend the entire story waiting for the death to happen (ie - 1), but also that I won't be annoyed when a seemingly shmoopy fic turns very sad (ie - 2).
As far as warnings, I think for me it depends on where I'm reading it. On LJs, I expect less detail given, as it is assumed that most readers know the author's style. On archives where I'm wading through a lot of other unknown variables, I'd prefer to be given more detail about the story that I'm choosing. In general, I'm happiest when readers can choose whether or not to see extended headers.
no subject
2. knowing in advance means I won't have a nervous breakdown when someone dies
3. Other, please explain in comments
I like knowing that there are dark parts to a fic, which may or may not include a character death (ie - 3). This means that I won't spend the entire story waiting for the death to happen (ie - 1), but also that I won't be annoyed when a seemingly shmoopy fic turns very sad (ie - 2).
As far as warnings, I think for me it depends on where I'm reading it. On LJs, I expect less detail given, as it is assumed that most readers know the author's style. On archives where I'm wading through a lot of other unknown variables, I'd prefer to be given more detail about the story that I'm choosing. In general, I'm happiest when readers can choose whether or not to see extended headers.