If not then, then after he got the chip and started fighting other demons.

It's easy to forget that in School Hard he had minions at his command - sort of paralleled with the demon biker gang in Bargaining now that I think about it ("Chop her into messes" / tearing the 'bot to pieces ..hmmmm....)

This is purely speculation on my part, but I think a lot of people are uncomfortable dealing with the victims of people they like.

I think you're absolutely right. If you're not dealing with that person's dark acts, it's easier to whitewash them. I think I may have read one or two fanfics so far out of hundreds that deal face-to-face with Spike's victims, like the child he chased down in the coal cellar after killing the other family members. People turn Spike into a gentle poet who would NEVER hurt or rape anyone? WTF? Really? (And I'm probably guilty of that with Buffy sometimes, I admit.)

And it's cool if you can't find the other one.

I just asked her which meta that was. But anything she writes is amazing.