I mean, that is essentially what ended up happening. Everyone and anyone who was willing to point out the community's bullshit and the lie of "This is the nicest, friendliest community" usually got shouted out of the room by a handful of troons, "mean girls", groomers, sex pests, the terminally online, and the stupidly impressionable. A lot of these same people also somehow managed to rub shoulders with GMs and basically get their way so that it's now a bannable offense to basically tell people acting retarded and entitled to "Fuck off, retard", or to even remotely critique their playstyle and tell them to get their heads out of their asses when they just want to stand around and kvetch about not being carried.
As an old guard, I'm inclined to plead not to blame the old guard since some of us tried like hell back in the day to curb this shit from happening. Unfortunately, it's also hard to disagree with that sentiment as well because other people I also know who were also old guards ended up kowtowing to the troons and special snowflakes over time for in-game social clout (which still ended up getting them thrown under the bus when the groups they kept trying to be a part of self-detonated over time).
Yeah, essentially, even if you had legitimate criticisms, most people played the moral fag card to silence anyone who even remotely had anything bad to say. I know that there are some bad apples out there like Lynx, but even criticisms that were on good faith were just lumped in with the extremes. The game isn't perfect, and as much as the community likes to delude itself into believing that it's the most friendly, welcoming community, it's still just as toxic as any other community and the speech in game is probably the most heavily censored and policed in any MMO I have ever played. At least in the west.
For speaking up, you get people having literal mental health breakdowns and people constantly attacking your character and attempting to ruin your real life over a game. You get excluded from events, kicked from statics, are blasted on social media to be put on a black list and socially put on a cross just for saying something someone didn't like, or expressing a view that isn't the widely accepted norm. Oh you think there are only 2 sexes? Kill yourself you disgusting bigot, I hope your wife gets raped and your kids die from AIDS you intolerant piece of shit. You don't think the VA fits the character? You're just a 'phobe who secretly wants all trans people dead. How about you go somewhere and get killed because that's what you deserve you 'phobe! You don't think trans women are real biological women? Kill yourself you TERF because you're a bigot who deserves to die for your far right wing fascist beliefs! You're not an ally OR a real woman! Get lost with your internalized misogyny you uggo pick me bitch.
You just get worn down and defeated and eventually people just stop trying and you have a case where the game is pretty decent, but the community wants to make you consistently put a gun into your mouth and blow your brains out with how full of shit it is. When it comes to trying to reason with mentally ill people who are legitimately insane and need actual help from professionals, no matter what you say, how sound your reasoning is, how respectful you try to be, how much proof you bring to the table, it's not enough nor will it ever be enough. They will accept nothing less than kowtowing to their beliefs while absolutely refusing to accept that anyone could ever have a conflicting opinion or view point and when all else fails, they will just fall back on their tried and true "You're just a bigoted transphobe" defense. Because when they start attacking your character, that means they have no actual way to refute your argument so the best thing to do is to appeal to emotions to get people on their side.
And it's to the point now where I roll my eyes at every mention of inclusivity because I know it's just a carefully laid smokescreen to cover up all the bile underneath and audibly sigh when people eventually stop playing because they can't stand how fake and actively disdainful the community is towards anyone who doesn't completely convert to their insane cult mentality and tribalism. Because a game that is legitimately a good and fun experience gets soured so badly. We did try back then but like everything else, it gets overrun and tainted by the alphabet cult and like you've seen, if you have a different view than the cult, than kiss your account goodbye and fighting the moral fag battle is just not worth it. The game is fine when you play alone and avoid the crazies. Outside of it is a complete clusterfuck. Everyone who couldn't stand it anymore just left, and now the game is just a carcass of what it once was. There are very few old guard left anymore and those of us that stuck around just keep playing because we don't want to be driven and bullied out of playing a game we enjoy.
