I don't know what the guy is talking about programming-wise. I really have no concern either way.
As for the eventuality of this particular thread, I think that this kind of thing has become obscenely pointless. This is now a community of opinion, or location, not interest. I simply can't get into it any more... the "spirit" isn't there. Conversations, even about skinning, are like excuses to vent. So many times I have started to post and then decided against it, simply because the act risks more sparring.
As this pertains to " those who keep threatening ... to leave but somehow never do", I am one of them. I come back because I liked skinning. Trying to get into the spirit of the GUIO has shown me how little it really appeals to me now. There's an idiotic amount of unrelated baggage for me. I wander back in and try to attune myself to the point and find that without the fencing there isn’t much here. Without a ‘skinning’ community to share with I have no reason to skin.
I had really hoped that JoeUser would be a good release for all this goofiness, but it seemed just to solidify those who remained. Similarly, I went to Stardock chat once. I unwittingly replied to something TechCat asked shortly after some silliness here... and was told that Stardock chat was not for chat, that by talking i was "spamming", and that I should shut up, all with a generous amount of belligerence and obscenity. I didn’t feel welcome, and I haven't been back.
Trolls in fairy tales didn't generally wander in, they waited under their bridge for an unwary traveler. These threads could be removed and the idiots reduced to visitor status, quietly. Instead, many just lay-in-wait, and engage, so naturally that the responses seem scripted. Trolls can be trolls even when they are right. From the skinz messageboard on, I think such has just degraded and splintered what might have been a focused, productive community of people who share an interest in skinning.
Sorry. I just wanted to say that these altercations don't end the way you think. The silent bystanders are often just as disgusted with the defenders and they are with the invaders. After a while it poisons the true focus. If I were Brad, I would really have to think about how “community” aspects are managed, and, frankly, who is managing them. Little is done to preserve the quality of “community” as it pertains to skinning. I have seen too many people baited, turned off, and cast-out lately for reasons completely unrelated to skinning to think it is done well.
[Message Edited]
