I write. You write. Any of us who has submitted something of their own work here has written. A writer is somebody who writes.
So we're all writers. How could we not be?
I'm a bit baffled at the suggestion that making the decision that we should have enough respect for other writers to not use their stuff unless we've asked them for permission somehow makes us "pussies". Even if it weren't the law, it's simply the polite and honest thing to do.
Right. Perfect example. If your "author" friends are taking themselves so seriously that some fucking lyrics writeups are enough to turn them off of the site, then there is every possibility that they are pussies and should go away. I'm sorry, but really.
It's not a matter of anyone taking themselves too seriously, friend.
It's about respect.
Say that you go into a pawn shop hidden in an out-of-the way alley, and you see a lot of stuff that you suspect is stolen. You ask the shopkeeper about it, and he winks at you and says, "Yeah, it all came from some rich rock stars' houses. They trash their stuff all the time; they'll never miss it. If the police come looking we give it back. What's the problem?"
If you felt that stealing from people's houses is A Bad Thing, why would you do business at this shop, knowing that you would be tacitly supporting activities you felt would ultimately harm people you respected and cared about?
A lot of people have passed E2 by for a lot of reasons, and seeing copyright violations going unchecked here is one of them.
Those who think I'm being an unreasonable, no-good oppressor of the masses for thinking E2 should honor the spirit of intellectual property laws should read Harlan Ellison's take on things at http://harlanellison.com/KICK/kick_rls.htm. And lots of people totally agree with Ellison, and they got lawyers. Trust me, I'm a moderate in the grand scheme of things, else I wouldn't have stuck around here as long as I have or sunk so much time and effort into trying to help out here.