Hmm, must just make a small comment on Dons' opinion of
long fanfics. For me, usually the best stories are the long ones
Gives me more time to get into the story. Also I read very fast
so a short story is over before I know it. Not that I don't like
good short stories as well, but in general, I'll have more fun with
a long story than a short one. A friend of mine who also reads
these stories feels the same way.
There are certainly a lot of bad fanfics out there, although I
think I find a lower percentage 'bad' than most people. One
reason that I've not rated the stories in my index is that in all
the reviews/rating places out there I've seen, the opinion of a good
story varies wildly. What I may find great, they may find to be crap
, what I find crap, they give 5 stars to :-). A good case in point is
'Curse of Darkness', which I've seen rated as 'great'. Personally I
find it crap :-)

OOC vs IC. Again that's a thorny issue, since people disagree
what IC is for a character, witness the Ryoga/Ranma wars. I
have no trouble with an OOC character, but I do like some
explanation of why a character is that way, if it is decidedly
different from the manga/anime characterisation.

I personally don't think that fanfiction harms the original material
in any way. I enjoy reading the stories, but I regard them as
'sidestories' to the original series. Unless you read a lot of fics
before reading the original series, you are unlikely to become
confused, I wouldn't think.

--Rakhal