I'm cautiously optimistic about self-publishing via e-books providing it's done properly. I would never self publish anything more suited to conventional methods - I've seen a friend of mine jeopardise her chances of getting her novel published properly by sending it off to a POD company which did not edit her material and produced it poorly. You have to have your eyes wide open in this business and there are an awful lot of scammers. But I think if you put a bit of thought behind it, you can benefit from self-publishing in various cases where market demand calls for it.

I think there are also cultural differences between the US and Europe on how this might be implemented. US tradition values philanthropy and seeking out funds whereas over here it's more about having state assistance via paying taxes.

None of that explains the vehemence of the objections over on that thread, tho. I guess there are a lot of crooks in the business and like me, they might have seen others burned by their experiences in POD. I can understand that.