By Slanted Light

I think the publisher had to purchase some kind of security software to ensure that only people with permission got access to the download site
Hmmn - but isn't that just the same as me having to purchase Word for Windows in order to write fic (which actually I can't afford to do, so I'm struggling along on Open Office, which is free and commendable, but a bloody bugger in many important ways), or Dreamweaver in order to run my fannish website, or a vidder to buy decent vidding software... Why does the publisher feel that she should be compensated for her outlay, when other fans spend their own money because it enables them to take part in fandom in the way that they want to? And if she didn't lock that fic up, then she wouldn't need the expensive software in the first place! Open it up to everyone, for free - then she wouldn't need to recoup what she's spent on security software!

I like print zines, and will buy them when I can afford them
Me too - I run a zine website, I'm quite fond of them! *vbg* And I can just about go with the huge prices that publishers ask for printed zines, on the basis that it does cost money to print and bind them. But as you say, an e-zine is the worst of all worlds - worse than you think even, because you can't actually print out the examples I linked to above - that's presumably where some of that money spent on security software goes, on locking them up so that they can't be printed out... waah!