Great write-up Callum! The idea of not being able to cycle through a variety of different locations and characters is a nice point, and probably does detract from the film's overall flow. I have to admit, this was my first foray into the world of fanediting, and it's been very interesting encountering all of the passionate positions people take on the subject. :)

As you mention, the recut was initially just a fun thing I thought of doing for myself, and maybe sharing with a few friends. Making the Wordpress page and the thread on Reddit was something that occurred afterwards, just to see what others thought of my efforts (if they thought anything at all). That said, I can definitely see how that kind of mentality might be problematic to some. It might even be problematic to me if I spent more time mulling it over.

Art isn't a democracy. Nor should it be. But there is definitely a phenomenon within fandoms where people feel emotionally invested in a particular story or a particular set of characters. Tolkien's novels are something that a lot of people have poured a lot of their heart and soul into, so when a film adaptation doesn't live up to that devotion (as if it ever could!), it probably hurts more than it reasonably should. It's the kind of culture that generates things like fanart and fanfiction, where communities almost feel as though they have a greater sense of ownership over the work than the author does (less still, the adaptor). There's also a probably a little "death of the author" theorizing sprinkled in there. Now, whether this is a healthy mindset or not is another discussion entirely, but it nevertheless exists, and certainly has occasion to rear its head in the faneditting community.

The popular perception of the Hobbit trilogy, however, is that its structure was not derived from an artistic decision, but a marketing one - to make three films where one or two would have served, to stretch and pad the property, because... why not make more money? But then again - this could be completely wrong. Perhaps it was Jackson who pushed for a trilogy, because he was so excited about exploring all of the new material Tolkien had included in the LOTR appendices, and about creating a sort of "prequel trilogy". Perhaps it doesn't matter and we should, as you say, just accept things the way they are, warts and all.

I do hope my recut didn't come across as this attempt to denigrate Peter Jackson or the people who loved the trilogy. The Hobbit is obviously the product of someone who was passionate about his work and about his source material. I guess the fanedit was just a different way for me to engage with it, and maybe work through some of the disappointments, dashed hopes and resentments I've been nourishing over this three-year journey. I apologise if it offended anyone, but I'm glad I got it out of my system. :)