Interesting question. I can only give my opinion of course. That opinion is that a deathfic is whenever one of the main characters(Lois, Clark, Perry, Jimmy, Jonathan, Martha, Sam, Ellen, and maybe Lucy) die. That said I really don't consider this a problem unless the character's life is cut short, the shorter the more problem I have with it. As I have said before in the FDK of your current work, I did not like the character death and it was right on the edge of being a problem for me due to it the character's life being truly cut short. I still go back and forth as to whether you cut the life too short. Other times the life is a long and eventful one and the story covers the impact of that life on the rest of the characters and sometimes the world. Those stories have absolutely no problem with.
Virginia has begun using a technical capability of the new boards to put a WHAM warning in her into/opening. It is hidden behind a button and the author can put information regarding the type of WHAM under that feature and so those who want to be shocked by whatever the author has in store can not click the button and read it but those who have limits to what they want to/will read and don't mind a potential spoiler can click the button and determine whether they want to read the story or not. Warning: if you have setup your profile to get e-mails whenever a posting is made this feature does not work and the 'spoiler' is in the e-mail. I have not problem with this as the journey not the shocking WHAM is what I read for.
My two cents.
Mike
