I am copying and pasting this from the DLP link because I think it needs explicit exposure.
For reference, here is the last message he sent out before shutting down the original Potter's Place. He went by the name 'Jason Mysterious' on the group if memory serves. It was sent sometime around Dec. 21, 2004.
I know this is going to be rather short notice for most of you, and for that I really do apologize. The fact of the matter is that I'm tired. Tired of a lot of things, really...
But basically, I'm tired of people telling me how they've been reading my stories from places I've never heard of. I'm tired of seeing people trading or asking others to trade them, when I've made clear that I have never given anyone the permission to do that. I'm tired of asking people not to do this and being ignored.
I've gotten at least three mails in the last week from people who 'just finished reading' certain stories of mine that I no longer have in circulation anywhere. This put the final nail in the coffin of my fan fiction days.
I've seen numerous requests on this group for people to post mine, and others', works without even any attempt at getting permission from the author. When told not to do it, that they'd be banned if they did, people started suggesting ways around the fact that I didn't want people doing it at all, by telling them to 'mail them off the list.'
There is another discussion on another list I'm on that is going around about a similar problem, where an author simply cut and pasted chunks of one story and changed the names. Which one was at fault seems to be up in the air... but this kind of thing makes it easier, especially since those works are no longer in circulation, for people to do that. Worse it makes it easier for them to GET AWAY WITH IT.
This is making me, more and more, not want to be involved in writing of any form, let alone fan fiction... which my urge for that has finally been slaughtered totally and completely.
I'm flattered that many of you joined to read my works, but it looks very much as if I will not be continuing any of them. When I made this group, I was quite stoked about writing again... as was evidenced by the fact that I was poking and prodding at Steffis to work on his stuff (and even wrote a chapter of it myself).
Now, I'm just really, really tired.
Regardless of that fact, when this is sent out I'm going to wait about five minutes... just long enough that I know this message was out beforehand. Then I'm going to delete the group.
For those of you who don't store your stories in another place other than here (which I find rather unlikely and quite thickheaded, since it was mentioned quite recently that another group vanished unexpectedly), ask around. I'm sure you'll find someone, eventually, who is more than willing to send them to you... probably to anyone else who asks, too.
In any case, for those who liked my work and didn't do this, for those who liked this group and didn't do this, or those who don't really know what's going on, I apologize. The rest of you? Congrats, you finished what FFN started.
-Mr. Mysterious