Obstacle #2 to my writing more fiction is that my writing so far has had negative, as well as positive, consequences for public relations. My writing tends to be controversial and stomp all over certain sorts of minefields. Worse, there is some quality of it that seems to attract a certain sort of Sneer mindset – not just social-media sneertrolls, but the seething pools of corruption that are mainstream journalists.

This is something that has made me feel rather conflicted about HPMOR - on the one hand, I've really enjoyed reading it, but on the other I fear it makes a whole range of important beliefs look ridiculous by association.

But most of the damage that can been done, already has been done. The ways to minimise the damage are fairly straightforwards:

(1) Make it obvious that HPMOR is not a day job, so that people can't say "MIRI gave EY time off work to work on HPMOR! People donate large amounts of money to MIRI to produce fanfiction!"

(2) Stay out of politics. There are mines that don't actually need to be stomped on. This means removing small sections of writing which do not advance the plot, but make a political point, such as in three worlds collide rape is legal (I struggle to imagine how this could work), or the section of HPMOR where it is explained that not believing in open borders (which the average person does not believe in) makes you as bad as Voldemort and that if you don't want someone in your country that means you think that they are not even worth spitting on.

Does he realise that there are non-racist reasons for wanting closed borders?

EY wrote 'politics is the mindkiller', which makes it even stranger when he mindkills his readers.

This came out more critical then I would prefer. But I just don't like to see pointless landmine-stamping in otherwise pretty awesome fiction.

From chapter 38, when Harry buys the Quibbler:

"Gosh," Harry said half a minute later, "you get a seer smashed on six slugs of Scotch and she spills all sorts of secret stuff. I mean, who'd have thought that Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew were secretly the same person?"

EDIT: Then,

"And I'm secretly sixty-five years old."

Which is also true, because of Voldemort inside him. Which leaves....

"And I'm betrothed to Hermione Granger, and Bellatrix Black, and Luna Lovegood, and oh yes, Draco Malfoy too..."

Did they? I don't recall seeing any.

Hey what ever happened with Snape's complicated potion in the Chamber of Secrets? Was that just a red herring?

Edit: I mean the other chamber.

For many people it will look too easy, but only with the benefit of hindsight.

Only with the benefit of hindsight? I bet 3 people that the solution won't involve PT, 2 of them within hour(s) of chapter 113 coming out, as it was the most obvious (while impausible for some) solution for many people. Specifically transfiguring the tip of wand/leg/earth/air into nanowires was mentioned by so many people within minutes of posting the chapter.. There was no hindsight involved.

Planning thread over at /r/HPMOR for centralized discussion. It's probably better to have segregated groups working on this, but I don't really think that'll be a problem.

I am defining winning as damage control. EY has been trying to control the damage, and in that pursuit, I'm starting to wonder if damage control, to the extent it could be considered successful by many people, is even possible.

He's a public figure + He made a mistake = People are going to try and get mileage out of this, no matter how he handles it. That's very predictable.

Further, it's very easy to come along after the fact and say, "he should have done this and all the bad press could have been avoided!"

A page on LW might work. Or it might be more fodder for critics. If there were an easy answer to how to win via damage control, then in wouldn't be quite as tricky as it always seems to be.

In his defense, is it possible EY can't win at this point, regardless of his approach? Maybe the internet has grabbed this thing and the PR whirlwinds are going to do with it whatever they like?

I've read apologies from EY where he seems to admit pretty clearly he screwed up. He comes off as defensive and pissy sometimes in my opinion, but he seems sincerely irked about how RW and other outlets have twisted to whole story to discredit LW and himself. From my recall, one comment he made on the reddit sub dedicated to his HP fanfic indicated he was very hurt by the whole kerfuffle, in addition to his obvious frustration.

that status-regulation-blind thing Eliezer often has going on.

Maybe he should have it going on, and damn the consequences. Sometimes you have to get up and say, these are the facts, you are wrong. Not the vapid temporising recommended by thakil.