Am I the only one not understanding all the fuss?

[Scarmax]

This is why, among other reasons, that I only play single-player games these days. I bought ED only because it did include a solo mode and I would not have given it a second glance if it hadn't. I used to play the very occasional co-op game, like Left 4 Dead, for example, but I got tired of PvP games and team-based shooters online because of the overpopulation of punks and douchebags who liked to talk trash, teamkill, cheat, hack, scream, cry like babies... whatever. Yes, I've been a part of groups, clans, squads, and whatever else they were called depending on the game, but they didn't make things much better. The human element just ruined the whole experience for me, so I quit. I've always been a solo gamer at heart, having started gaming on an Atari 800 and Atari ST before the internet was even a thing, and the only "multi-player" games were the kinds that came on a folding board with dice and tokens. Anyone here remember spending tons of time configuring dialer strings so that you could call up a friend and have some 1v1 gaming on a 14.4k modem? Yeah, I went through all that too, but I mostly played single-player and my foray into multi-player gaming was just a passing phase. I'm done with it and have no plans on returning, no matter how balanced or tuned a game might be for multi-player.

 

[Helvellyn]

I'm sorry but you're white washing the situation. I've seen hyperbole and lack of reason on both sides of the argument, and some fairly reasonable and eloquent arguments from those who believe in game player piracy can be a benefit to the game and the community. Just because many PvPers have a more abrasive manner of communicating doesn't make it ok to make spurious claims about that entire aspect of the community. There have been numerous threads starting in the very first instance by labelling anyone in playing the game to be pirates as 'griefers', which are obviously started by PvEers. Whilst I don't exactly condone the nature of the responses, I can't actually blame a lot of players for sounding in with grievances about those making such claims. There are plenty of righteously indignant and very angry people on the other side of this argument. They may communicate differently, but the honest truth is they're as guilty of failing to listen to their counterparts as they claim the PvPers are.

There must be a dearth of high horses at the stables lately.

No-one has said anything about the entire aspect of that community. However you said it yourself, "many PvPers have a more abrasive manner" yet they're the ones who seem to want more people to play with. An unpleasant PvE player isn't doing anything to affect his game, an unpleasant PvP player is making his worse (or at least no better).

Piracy is also being used as a strawman too often. There are some PvE people who complain about that but there are also a lot who are happy enough with it but not with those who'll blast anyone for the hell of it (even though such people are few and far between). I've received mouthfuls of abuse from PvPers just for pointing out various facts about it, for saying why it's the reasons others don't play PvP even though I don't personally think that myself. If they want more people in the game the decent PvPers need to distance themselves with such people, not side with them.