A lot of wonderful stories have tackled similar themes, and fandom would be far poorer if only one author were allowed to explore any one idea.

Exactly.

It's unfortunate that the accusation was made and hils has had a tough couple of days as a result. It's not something to take lightly or just ignore considering the size of the flists/communities involved.

I'm distressed because as I noted, I take my beta work seriously. I'm not going to let it stop me from writing or encouraging others in their writing. I just hope it gets resolved soon, for everyone's sake. I hate the thought of the fandom getting dragged down by something like this.