That was an interesting view on magic that I've never really thought about. Reflecting on it, it would give my character much more areas to explore, and I'm going to shamelessly incorporate it into my writing, so thanks Goss!
I actually started out Eridanus with a minimal ability in flux, as Mizahar is my first RP site with such an intricate and complex magic system, as well as my first RP site with a point based skill system. These two mechanics made me wary about diving head first into magic, and even at the start I made plenty of newbie mistakes regarding gauging and understanding.
Slowly, Eridanus dived slowly into various disciplines as I, the writer, slowly got familiar with the various magic disciplines and the levels of proficiency at every skill level. Of course, I still make mistakes, and would always be happy when someone points it out to me when it happens. Magic has always been fascinating to me, and the amount of interpretation allowed is generous. For example, when Tarot told me that the actual Magecraft process is up to the player, I went crazy with the whole Paradigm system. I went crazy with pseudo-technicalities such as Djed Demultiplexers and such for Glyphing, and I know I have more crazy ideas for Animation. I love exploring such details in-depth.
A little insight to what I think of magic IC and OOC:
As a writer, magic is an excellent plot device. It lets me create tension, build twists, and construct things out of the ordinary. After all, Mizahar is our place of relaxation outside of ordinary real life. What then, is the purpose of not weaving an extra-ordinary tale in such a fictional setting? Of course, I acknowledge that it is possible without magic, but to me magic is something fascinating there, to provide that little oomph in the story.
To Eri, magic is a tool, and something for him to accomplish what he wants. More precisely, it is something to provide him the luxury of choice. Let's take the cliche example of killing someone. Without magic, there are many ways to do it. Hack and Slash, Ninja stabbing, Poisoning, Rigging an Accident, hiring a mercenary, sniping with a bow. With magic, there are a million and one ways: voiding, roasting, flux discharges, projection-hulk-smash, to name a few. Eri prefers to the luxury of choice, of alternatives, so that he could pick out the most optimal decision for every situation. Other than that, as a typical mage-wannabe, he suffers from the same curiosity and "I WANT MOAR" that all magic practitioners suffer from. Not to mention that he's a scholarly person as well, and that doubles his thirst for knowledge.
Reading Seven's post, I would like to say that I'd be as irritated as you to this group of people. In view of the instability and danger of magic, combined with the inherent distrust people have of magic especially post-Valterrian and post-Djed Storm, such behaviour is utterly reckless. Fortunately, such a group does not exist, as far as I know, so there's some comfort in that.