i don't think they will permanently cancel the show. i was reading thru some msg boards and i guess a movie is slated for 2004 (jumps up and down and giggles
). So the writer wants to focus on that instead of the actual show. but i guess there are at least 6 seasons worth of material or something available so nickelodeon might show some of those along with the reruns they show now. but i checked nickelodeon.com and there was nothing about the show being cancelled. maybe just a short hiatus. if it is going to be cancelled... there will be a lot of sad spongebob fans... (and i just recently discovered the hilarity of it all.)
snopes.com had an interesting take on it as well. just hit "search" and look up spongebob... you will see what i mean.