1. So creators riffing off of Shakespeare, Homer, Murasaki, Andersen, and Child ballads are fair game? In the speclit community, at least, there's this little concept called "the genre conversation." This concept acknowledges that nothing is created in a vacuum, and most works of art are responses, often to other works of art. Fanfic can be viewed through that lens.

Alternatively, fanfic can be viewed as a critique/exploration of a source. I write book reviews. I have as much respect for the creator when I write fanfic as when I write a review, and sometimes more.

2. How so? I'm not the one throwing tantrums that people are responding to something I put out in public to be responded to.

3. Actually, I suspect that bad fan stories, like good fan stories, bring more consumers to the original source. People want to see what inspired something, good or bad. They want to know the source for themselves in order to determine if the fan story is good or bad, and why. Often, those who read fan stories end up writing fan stories, and that means they'll want their own copies of the source for reference. It's a happy little capitalist circle, in some respects.

4. As a survivor of sexual assault, my response to this one is: I'm waiting for your apology for even going there.

5. I'm not trying to make a profit off your trademark, so my understanding is that no, it's not.