Also, why is there a need to announce lack of guilt in loving Daniel? Is there a faction that feels as though people should feel guilty?

Destina pretty much covered it. I also think (though I came into the fandom when this had all mostly died down) that there are a lot of lingering issues from the year that MS took off--there was a big campaign to try to get his character back, hurt feelings, fandom-wide bloodshed, etc. etc.

It's somewhat like being a Spike fan, actually--the ritualized "but not in a crazy way, you understand" thing.