Art, I don't even think the "naysayers" are waiting on C&Ds.
I wish that were true and I am not by any stretch saying that will be the case of everyone who is against the site being indexed, but if you don't think there will be some crowing when (and again, it IS "when" not "if") the next C&D comes down the pipe, well... lets just wait and see (personally, I hope we are waiting a long time).
Going back to the indexing thing for a minute... here are some more of my personal feelings on why I believe it (tied in closely with open registration) is important.
I believe the RPF is the greatest replica prop community on the internet. It certainly isn't the ONLY great replica prop community as there are dozens of others that are also great but most of them are niche sites like Aliens Legacy, the MEPD, etc. I also believe (as we set out in the purpose statement for the site) that the RPF is the hub of the replica prop community. Is this patting myself on the back? No, because it was that way long BEFORE I got here.
I think I have mentioned this before, but it is worth saying again. I have talked with the staff member who initially blocked indexing and the reason for doing so had little or NOTHING to do with hiding from the studios or having a small footprint. It was a logistical and financial decision because the influx of new members was so great the cost of running the site was increasing beyond the donations that were being taken in and there was a danger of the site being shut down. Over the years, some members, all of who were members BEFORE indexing was blocked, have come to believe the blocking had something to do with hiding from studios and felt somehow protected by this. This belief has been bolstered by detractors of this site whose primary tool is manipulation by fear.
Getting back to the RPF being a great site... While it is certainly debatable, I believe there is more talent on this site than any other replica prop site and a person with a love for movies and the props costumes and models found in them have a better chance of getting questions answered here and finding information here than they do on any other site on the net (again, there are certainly niche sites that delve more deeply into specific subjects).
What I don't believe in is the thought that because you came here a long time ago you have a right to be here but someone who is new to the hobby or just discovering the hobby does not. While I certainly don't want to get into a political issue, this reminds me of people (whose lineage are immigrants) who want the US to close all its borders and stop allowing people to immigrate. All I can say is, aren't you glad someone before you didn't feel that way about your great grandparents... and isn't it a bit hypocritical for you to take that approach? I think back to my own story of how I found this site... I stumbled on it QUITE by accident, looking for something that had nothing to do with Star Wars, which was the predominate topic of the day, and yet that ONE search result that led me here has shaped the last 10 years of my life. Why would I deny that to anyone else? If the RPF hadn't been indexed by then I never would have found it, and if registration had been closed, the chance of me being willing to wait 6 months to come back and hope I caught the right small window of open registration would have been about a million to one.
Again, getting back to the RPF being a great site... as I mentioned in an earlier post, the world is very "instant gratification" now, and if you don't think you are affected by that, really pay attention to your next Google search and notice how petty your reasons are for not going to a search result or not staying on the site of a search result. We all are affected by "if you don't give me what I want when and how I want it, someone else will." Seriously, really pay attention to the next time you search for something and analyze your actions on the sites you click on and then click right back off of.
My point is, if we aren't available and serving those who are interested in what this site has to offer, then someone else will. It is as simple as that. If we do that, there are two losses that take place. First the potential new member loses because this site is an amazing resource and virtually any other place they land will not serve them the way we can. Second, WE as a community lose because that person might be the next Rylo, or the next Cyberman, or the next Adam Savage and might be an amazing resource for us! Why do we allow indexing and why do we have open registration? Because I am not willing to endure those losses or to not serve those people. I believe by being closed off for so long, we have given rise to a number of other sites, thereby segmenting the prop community and watering down the powerful resource we have here. The longer we remained closed, the more new talent and resources flowed to a plethora of other places, meaning the only talent here is the old talent which we naturally slowly lose to attrition, meaning this site slowly becomes less and less of a resource and less and less relevant... and eventually ceases to serve anyone.
Some will read this and think I want the RPF to be the only site on the net. That is ridiculous and unreasonable. It will never happen and the other replica prop sites on the net, especially the niche sites, serve a vital role. However, I absolutely DO want to see this site be all it can be and be a true gateway into this hobby where new talent and new people come, become a part of the community and when they find niches they love (gbfans comes to mind) they go to the site where their niche love is.
Now, I am sure I am going to catch a lot of flack for all of this and our detractors will microanalyze this and tear it apart, but that is more or less how I feel and what I am trying to achieve, a better, long lasting gateway for the lovers of props, costumes, and models to enter into the greater prop community.