I am not sure where you got the idea that I didn't want someone to make money writing, or to enjoy writing, or to be good at it. What I said was that writing is craft and that experience and talent matter, and that payment for writing is rare and unexpected.

I frequently hear geeks complain that their bosses undervalue computer programming as a craft and consider any technical task that's beyond their understanding to be easy and quick. They have a good point. The same thing is true for writing.

One difference is that being a good writer rather than a good carpenter or vascular surgeon or embedded systems programmer will not in itself bring in money.

Being able to write well on a blog or elsewhere is a joy and an accomplishment. As I said in my original post, rather than this side thread, it's neither something everyone should expect to excel at naturally or something for which one should expect to be paid.

I honestly think you're disagreeing with something I never even said!