It's not that I think we have the same... dunno... right to feel possessive? about a fic that we beta as the author does. (Although I do look at stuff I've beta'd and thought, "Jeez, how did I miss that? My name is up there as beta, people'll think I'm stupid that I missed that mistake." So in that sense, I suppose I'm protective and possessive.) More that the act of creation has become a community-based one, rather than an individual one. Sorta like telling stories around a camp fire, keeping old tales alive, and the story becomes community property that way. Like old myths and fairy tales being told, you know? Only the original characters here still technically belong to the media company/publisher/etc.