Sean wrote:

1) My evidence for the dislike of Ukyou by Darren Demaine was his
comment along the lines of "This is it for now; I'll throw up (sorry,
*think* up) something later.  That sounds to me like an author who
is reluctantly writing a character.

Oh.  Never mind my comments on that matter, then. 

2) No one is arguing that Ukyou has been canonized by the fanfic

You're confusing two different meanings of the word "canon."  
You're referring to the process of sanctifying people, as in 
"No doubt Mother Theresa will one day be canonized."  In my 
post, I used the noun "canon" and the adjective "canonical" to 
refer to authoritative truths, as in "The Vatican's 
interpretation of scripture is regarded as canon by Roman 
Catholics."  I've probably not explained the difference well 
here; you should check a dictionary for clearer explanations.
 
Anyway, I have described (somewhat facetiously) the prevailing 
fanfic characterization of Ukyou as "canon" to contrast it with 
a competing "canon," the notion that the original 
characterizations and situations from the manga/anime should
be honored.

community.  However, I really don't see what the harm is.  If we

I certainly see no harm either.  As I have written elsewhere, a 
primary attraction of fanfics are the opportunities they 
present for alternative interpretations ( and outright 
redefinitions) of characters, motivations, relationships. etc.  
My point in "The Ukyou Heresy" was not to denigrate any 
particular interpretation of Ukyou's character in fanfic.  
Rather, I was pointing out how remarkable it is that one 
particular interpretation (Ukyou as the tragic runner-up in the 
Ranma no iinazuke competition) has prevailed over all others, 
most notably the original characterization of Ukyou from the 
manga/anime. 

Taleswapper