I do know that rule is sacrosanct in the larger fandoms. It does make sense, but good betas - as in, ones that you can actually click with (because writing fic and betaing it is very much a collaboration) are rather difficult to find. Then, since some of us are on a six hour difference *whistles *. But yeah, that rule is a good one, really.

Even supposedly 'crack fic' would benefit from getting an once over. There's nothing more offputting than reading fic that should have probably stayed on file, or in a scratch pad until it became better.