I am sure that we are all intelligent enough to understand that the debate is not really about what is allowed and not allowed, or for that matter, what does or does not constitute art.
However, with landscape photography, as well as bird and wildlife photography in my opinion, there is an expectation in society that a photographic image of a landscape represent a recognizable reality.
So, if one alters a landscape photograph such that it becomes a fictional image, in the manner proposed by Alain with wholesale addition and removal of landscape elements then the creator of that image, in my opinion anyway, is obliged to inform viewers and buyers of that fact.
This is an issue of honesty and ethics, not, what is allowed or not allowed, and not, what is art or not art.
While some in society may believe and accept that landscape photographs are complete fabrications and should not be expected to represent a real place at a real point in time, I believe that significant parts of society, possibly even the vast majority, really do expect a landscape image to represent a real place at a real time.
So, logic dictates that is both honest and ethical to inform one's audience about what they can expect. Some will happily accept that a landscape image is complete fabrication and some will not.
Not informing one's audience about the extent of one's artistic licence, in the context of landscape photography with the range of expectation already denoted, is, in my opinion, both dishonest and unethical.
With other genre's of photography the expectations of society are completely different so the same issues are not necessarily in play.
Interestingly, in my original post the emphasis there was not whether the "Alain moves" were right or wrong but whether they were really necessary given that digital photography has opened up lots of possibilities to improve the tonal range, colour, and detail of landscape images.
I openly admit to my discomfort with some of the "Alain moves" but no-one should interpret that as a dictatorial obligation for themselves.
Regards
Tony Jay