Daniel, you have a way of going off on tangents that don't really relate to this argument.

This debate about what the OT actually is is not worth arguing. It is just pedantics.

The point is that any copies should be made in the pursuit of representing the films' true forms. We can all agree that no-one knows what the the true forms of the films are. But at least the different transfers should be pursuits with this goal in mind! To represent the true forms, which is open to interpretation.

But an "interpretation of the true films" does not extend to fixing up the special effects. Anyone doing this does not have the goal of preservation in mind!

Can we stop that line of argument now? If you don't understand how this post completely nullifies that argument then please read it again slowly.

Now, what the debate actually is is about morals. DanielB and I believe it is morally wrong for you to change the films. Zion and MBJ disagree, and that's fine, that is their opinion. DanielB and myself use terms like "should", and "have no right" in the moral sense. Next someone says "Of couse they have the right to do whatever they want with the films" - this is changing the argument to rights in the legal sense, and yes, I agree that no-one can stop them from doing it. Please don't mix up our words, nor create arguments about our use of the words 'should', 'shouldn't', 'right' and 'wrong'. We have the mentality that is shared by historians and scientists - that history should not be changed. Zion and MBJ don't have this mentality and that is the opinion we are arguing.

If editing the films shows contempt, then Lucas must not love Star Wars at all..

That's exactly my point. He does not love the original trilogy, and he edited them out of vanity.
We do love the OT and that's what we're all here trying to preserve! But editing the films again shows that you do not love the films, because you see the need to change them. Like it or not, the dodgy effects are a part of the original films, and to "fix" them shows you hate the films the way they were originally!

I fail to see how touching up a few frames of post-production special effects shots is grounds for calling this a completely different movie.

It is a completely different movie in historical terms. It is a copy that was not made to try to represent the original films, but one that was purposely edited to make it something else.