User summary:
The Small Net Spellbook contents were extracted from The Great Net Spellbook; the spells selected were considered the best, or most-usable, spells contained in the much larger product. Despite its vastly improved usability, The Small Net Spellbook enjoyed far less circulation and notoriety than its much larger source.
The document was distributed with a two-page DOC "introductory" statement which stated, in part:
To start with, I decided to exclude all "humourous" spells. Then, I removed all spells that you could classify as stronger versions of already existing spells (these you can easily make up yourself: there's not that much difference between a fireball and an acidball). After that, I deleted most other spells that were primarily intended to just inflict (or avoid) large amounts of damage. Next, I removed all spells that granted a wizard abilities that are meant to be the domain of the other classes (turning undead, picking pockets, etc.). Then, most spells from the Carnal Knowledge Guide were removed. Lastly, I deleted the cantrips and 10th-level spells that appeared in the complete sixth edition.