Something rather odd is going on over at IROSF. In the new issue Kristine Kathryn Rusch wrote an article asking people not to be too gloomy about the state of the economy, and publishing in particular, because you know the world isn’t ending and people often read more during a recession. It didn’t seem particularly controversial, but as is the way of these things it attracted a few people who are more pessimistic. Lois Tilton wrote:

I see print fiction disappearing, except for the few Bestselling Names, while the internet becomes a sort of small press ghetto of the unpaid and underpaid. If there is a lesson from the last couple of decades, it’s that people aren’t going to pay for internet content.

That seemed to me rather over the top, but more silly than controversial. However, very quickly things got heated. And here comes the bit that stunned me. Kristine wrote:

When this column appeared, I e-mailed a bunch of industry pros who blog, asking them to link to it. Today, I received 6 e-mails about why they can’t link. All six cited your post as potentially harmful.

Wow. Really? I know Lois can be a bit gloomy at times, but do we really need to be protected from her in this way? I am boggled.

And for the record, I think Kristine is basically right. There will be bad times, but the world won’t end, despite the earnest predictions of people who love to feel unhappy. I’m always far more depressed about the willingness of human beings to predict disaster at the slightest excuse than I am about the actual state of the world.