At 09:50 PM 1/21/97 +0200, you wrote:

Hmm. I've been on this list long enough to know that this subject has been
debated several times over and the outcome is always the same: some folks
don't care for the self-insertion fic, claiming the author has been
self-indulgent, while some folks like them alot, claiming that the author
has provided an original tangent that fulfills the reader's desire for a
completed series to live on. Like any enduring debate, there really is no
clear winner.

<snip lotsa text>

Now, there are otakufics I like. (Bubblegum zone eps. 1, 8&9 for example)

But about 90% of otakufics I've read the new charas are too powerful-all-good-
all-knowing for my taste. 

Right, which moved me to write 'Gratuitous Self' in the first place. Guys,
it's just satire, alright? Don't take it too personally.

And about Integration vs. Insertion, you raise a valid point. If the
character inserted/integrated fits into the working universe well, then the
fanfic is good. If he/she/it takes away the spotlight by a) outrageously
powerful abilities that imbalance the universe the char is inserted into or
b) by totally changing the personality of another established character
without a logical or at least maginally rational reason (i.e. Nabiki
abandoning all hope for fame and fortune by falling head-over-heels for the
exchange-student-from-[insert country here] whom she just met in one
day....Whew. What a mouthful), then...It's blatant self-gratification.

Two and a half cents,

TimeRunner
"Kimi ni zutto soban ittehoshi!"
		-Morisato Keiichi