Same procedure as last year?

I'm in procrastination overdrive, therefore the recent flood of posts in this journal. I hope I'll get into working mode soon so y'all should be saved overly excessive future posting.

John Scalzi apparently received several emails regarding the Cassie Claire debacle (for what purpose exactly is beyond me). He counters rather provocatively with: "I recognize this attitude probably won't sit well with fanficcers, but this is really an "honor among thieves" sort of issue, isn't it? If you've already morally justified intellectual theft so you can play with Harry and Hermione and Draco and whomever else you want to play with, I'm not entirely sure how one couldn't also quite easily justify taking juicy chunks of other people's text to play with as well. "

I find the discussion that's going on in the comments right now interesting even though, yeah, it's a rehash of the old Fanfic - Harmless Fun or Ultimate Evil? argument.

Because of the provocative nature of Scalzi's question, the liberal use of words like 'theft', and the usual bold-but-nonetheless-unfounded statements regarding fanfic's legal status, I had to sit on my hands to keep from commenting... the only thing more time-consuming than reading these discussions is getting involved yourself. Luckily, by now several very eloquent folks (like Patrick Nielsen Hayden and kate_nepveu) have said it all much better than I could ever hope to.

And, argh, if I hear this tired old argument once more (by a Sean Fodera): "[...] fanfic hurts fanfic writers, who are spending their valuable writing time on unsaleable material in other people's universes, when they should be working on their own original fiction. If you have a way with words, and a drive to write, then every minute you spend working with someone else's creations, without permission, you are wasting your talent and time."

Considerate as it is to think of the poor fanfic writers, I think we can decide for ourselves how we spend our spare time, thank you very much. I could write the whole long list of reasons why this argument is bullshit... but since my friends list doesn't need convincing, and the other side never seems interested in listening, I shall instead save the time and get back to my desk to bang my head against it.