What I am arguing is that the academic and legal discussions are not, really, part of most vidding cultures or communities.

You're absolutely right of course. And I've probably got a distorted perspective as an outsider, both because I gravitate to the academic and legal discussions, and because I'm fascinated by how the particular vidding community that I see on LJ seems unusally aware of and engaged with those discussions (compared to other kinds of communities beyond vidding).

[I'm no doubt also displacing or projecting my own perpetual angst and anxiety around advocacy and representation....]