For the record ...

1. I don't hate darkfic. I don't tend to enjoy dark for the sake of dark (any more than I enjoy porny for the sake of porny -- unless it's written by Nautibitz, 'cause that's just hot -- but then again her stuff usually has a plot and loads of humor so I don't know that it really qualifies as PWP. But I digress). If that's your thing? Yay on you. I even occasionally enjoy a good angst-fest, provided the characterization is good and whatnot. What I do hate is the attitude that darkfic is inherently superior to or more artistic than all other fic. That's just bullshit. If you don't trumpet this attitude in my vicinity? Then we're not gonna have a problem. If you do, then we'll likely have words. It's called debate, by the way. It's an integral part of cyberlife. If you can't handle having your opionions discussed and debated then do us all a favor and keep your opinions to yourself. The same goes for opinions re: the show and, well, pretty much anything you discuss publicly in cyberspace.

2. I do, in fact, respect opionions that differ from my own, just as I respect other people's fic preferences. I've never flamed anybody in my life. I really do try to be respectful. If you feel that I'm not being respectful, talk to me about it! Chances are I'm not saying something right and it's all a misunderstanding. I do that a lot. Often in misguided attempts to be funny and lighten the mood. If you let me know that I've unwittingly hurt your feelings or made you feel belittled I'll more likely than not apologize and try to make it up to you. If you would make an effort (gasp!) to get to know me and where I'm coming from instead of just labeling me a bitch and deciding to hate me, we'd probably both be a lot happier for it. That said, if you're comfortable in your hatred of me, I certainly don't want to take that away from you.

3. The DL Crew is all of the people, writers and betas, involved in the production of Dancing Lessons. There are currently 16 of us. In the two years that this project has been in progress we've had a pretty steady turnover rate. Some of these folks I'm friends with. A few have become close 3D friends. Others are just acquaintances whom I work with. I like them all. But they're not all my friends, at least not in terms of how I define friendship. If you want to refer to me and my rather widely-extended circle of e-friends and label us all as a clique or, even better, a faction (though, don't we need to have some kind of common uniting cause in order to be a faction? Something other than that we just like to hang together?), then you need to come up with another name, because The DL Crew is really not appropriate and it's lumping in innocent folks with whom you've probably never, ever communicated and have no bones to pick.

4. I and many of the folks I do consider my friends on most days have the collective maturity of a 6 year old. But most of us can and do pull it together to be all mature and adult about the stuff that really matters.

5. It's okay if you don't like my fic. Honest. You won't hurt my feelings. Well, you might a little but I'll get over it. Especially if you offer me some constructive criticism. I like constructive criticism. It's how I learn and grow. It's even okay if you don't like DL. You can feel free to say so, in public. Just know that some folks tend to be kinda rabid about it and that you'd better be prepared to back up your opinions. See #1 re: sharing opinions in cyberspace. I myself can be somewhat vehement about defending it against what I perceive as unfair criticism, considering it's not just my work on the line but that of a lot of other people who've put in long, sometimes frustrated hours to create this story. On the other hand, I've also been known to cop to criticism I think is fair and also to shift the blame on story decisions that I voted against (*cough*Anya*cough*). Even I have criticisms about DL. Some of which I often can't shut up about once I get going.

That felt good to get off my chest. In other news? Eeeeeeeeeeeee! for New Buffy!