Here's my 2.2 cents (incl GST) <Au tax joke>
This crap happens everywhere that there is an Internet based community. Very common in gaming communities (egotistical arrogance & intolerance mixed with egotistical pre-pubescent arrogance & intolerance... same as the former but magnified. Think XBOX Live).
Same crap different bucket... same dog, different tree... etc We all know the story:
One group will set up a Haven of Righteous Intentions (not directed ant any ons site. It's a blanket term I'll use to describe any forum/community on the Internet) only to be infiltrated and brought down to squabbling, infighting and back stabbing.
To combat this, the Haven of Righteous Intentions (HRI) can add moderation/moderators who more often than not, deploy the concrete donkey of ban (image 1.1) upon the person who dare defile the HRI <optional: insert reason here>. Like intra-veinous caffiene, this is an insta-fix but fills the baldder faster... users get pissed and leave (puns!).
Then the sneaky self righteous back stabbers manage to infiltrate and either get into positions of power or raise an angry mob and the HRI is turned into a shadow war of snarky comments, "I'm not talking to you", assassination plots and other school yard antics that we were supposed to leave behind after graduation. Hydra is everywhere.
Somewhere along the line, comprimising consessions to the HRI are made to soothe ruffled feathers or to attract the floating clouds of cash (sponsors, vendors, investors etc) and the community begins to change. Sometimes, this is a good change but usually this is a bad thing and it then makes things worse.
Then the split happens and a new HRI is formed. The trick of setting up a successful HRI split/offshoot is to look long and hard at the founding principles and culture. A nation born out of infighting & rebellion will always have issues with infighting & rebellion UNLESS there is a culture change and the founding principles are written with a better future in mind, the means to get there and not solely based on the past and present conflicts.
I really like SW and I hang out there a lot but I am concerned with the fanboi-ism and "Hail SW" that I have noticed lurking in the shadows. I find it disturbing when a company or a person (in general, not directed at anyone) always has the "I'm happy and everything is awesome" mask on. I have allergies to BS and I know when something isn't right. Something is wrong at SW but I'm not sure that it's the community (it is possible that it's the one displaying the symptoms and copping all the crap). I think that there are deeper issues.
In saying all that, I'll still continue to hang out at SW and help out when I can because I like it but I have concerns. My Spidey sense is tingling.
Don't forget:
"You have to get behind someone before you can stab them in the back" - Yes Minister (Reference
Image 1.1
) it stated that Veeam could essentially check up on my stuff to ensure that we were abiding by the EULA.
