Mr McAvoy raises some valid points in his essay and the deluge of mail
responding to this essay also makes some convincing arguements. I'm of the
school of thought such that fancition is a reflection of the author. No
matter how wretched the story, no matter how garbled the syntax, how lousy
the spelling and grammar, remember that the author has invested a lot of
time and effort to write it. At the very least respect that. Not everyone
is gifted with eloquence, not everyone can be a stellar author. The writers
on the ffml IMHO write mainly as a means of expression. If the fanfic turns
out to be bad (and boy have I read <and written..sob> some REALLY bad stuff
in my day) then so be it. You can always stop after the first few
paragraphs. What Mr McAvoy has done is compile a list of do's and don't's
for the aspiring author. If you chose to follow it, it is your perogative. 

I remember reading that the FFML is a "good ole boys club". Well, it's not
strictly true. The prominent members just happen to be very good at what
they do. Although God knows just how hard it is for an unknown to get a
piece of positive mail on his writing.

Well I've said my piece. 

Regards, Mechamorph