Quote:
Originally Posted by Catlady
Really? No matter how deluded a person is, you'll just accept his self-perception? There's no objective standard to judge by?
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Sure. Especially when them "really" being an author or not has no bearing on me. There's no prize for "catching someone out." Why would I care if someone was deluding themselves? I have no need to judge someone's self-perception. It doesn't really gain me anything.
Provided I don't ever find myself in a life or death situation that only a "legitimate" author could bail me out of, I don't see any real need for the title to have its honor defended.
EDIT: but just to be clear... I'm perfectly fine with anyone having their own personal ideas about what the word "author" should (or should not) encompass. I just don't think there's any need to have any kind of socially dictated "standard" that everyone's expected to abide by. There'd be no advantage over the existing situation that's already working for everybody (unless you're only concerned with saving the poor unwashed masses--who don't know any better--from the evils of self-proclaimed authors. But that's another phenomenon entirely).