My OP was obviously referring to the Elite community indeed. Fully disagree with you in minimising the SC “imbalance” to just “some” members of its community supporting the current p2w commercial status quo. 300 mil also seem to disagree with you.
Ha, no. You claimed CIG got a 'free pass'. That is absolutely evidently factually not so. The reputation of CIG in the general gaming community is abysmal. The amount of garbage people throw at CIG (deservedly as it may be, that isn't the point) is far beyond what FD receives. Yes, people in the ED community are more critical about ED than people in the SC community are about SC. That doesnt mean CIG gets a free pass, it means their approach to community management has resulted in the consistent purging of critical people to the point only non-critical people remain.
I really don't get where you're coming from Ian Skippy.
If a fan uses some insane level of mental gymnastics and I post it here, not to ridicule but just to say, look at how far people are bending backwards in defence of something. Why is that a problem?
Mostly for two reasons. Firstly it doesn't mean anything. I am active in modular synthesis circles, and I see similar things. People spending huge amounts of money on stuff they cannot afford while bending over any which way to justify it. If there is something you can both be passionate about and spend money on (whether it is SC, fishing, music, whatever) you'll have people with problematic behavior. That in itself means nothing. If you want to make the case that there is something particularly predatory or wrong about CIG, point at what CIG does. That may be a good argument against CIG. Pointing at problematic behavior from individual consumers only 'proofs' that that particular individual has issues.
Secondly, not only does pointing at 'unstable' people showing unhealthy behavior or attitudes reveal nothing about CIG itself (so it is a weak argument at best), you're also putting the spotlight on people who very well might simply be mental patients. Some people in any community are simply not well. The SC community is clearly no exception. And while I have no issue with criticizing corporations in general, or CIG in particular, we really should be above what is essentially publicly shaming psychiatric patients. Yes, they can be annoying at times. But just let it slide, rise above the temptation of the easy target and focus on what CIG does.
There is plenty of ammunition there.