________  ________  ________
   2017-12-01                                   /        \/        \/    /   \
                                               /       __/         /_       _/
   I've  written  and  re-written this phlog  /        _/         /         /
three times  now, I've got something  eating  \_______/_\___/____/\___/____/_
at me  but every time  I write about  it  it    /        \/        \/    /   \
just sounds over-dramatic and stupid.          /        _/         /_       _/
                                              /-        /        _/         /
   There's  a pattern  I've  seen  in recent  \________/\________/\___/____/
years where a specific kind of element moves
in  to a  long-established community for who  knows what reason,  with only  a
fringe interest in it, and demands the community change to accommodate it. The
community invariably splits between people who feel like they should change to
accommodate the whim of  the new element and oppose the  people who don't want
to change, people  who refuse  to change and openly clash with the  people who
support  the  change  and  people  who just want to  get  on with whatever the
community was doing in the first place.

   Imagine a small  basketball league, just  amateurs,  they're  happy playing
ball. Then one  day a friend  of a  friend of a friend  of one of  the players
comes in in a costume of  one of the mascots, just a bit of fun. They let them
throw a shot for show and everyone loves it and has a good time. Then the next
game the friend shows up  in costume  again, this  time expecting to play. The
players are like, hang  on,  ok, you  can throw  a ball  but  there's  more to
basketball than that, there's rules and  teams and everything  but we're happy
to have you try out.

   "Why should I try out? Why should I know how to play basketball? I'm  here,
in costume and people cheered  for me when I threw  a  ball last  week, that's
more important." The newcomer responds.

   A third of the  team stubbornly  agrees, the  newcomer is wearing a costume
and we like the mascot, they should be allowed to  play even though they don't
know the  rules, the rules can be changed so they can have the newcomer in the
costume on the court.  Maybe  they know the newcomer's friend's  friend, maybe
they just like the costume, maybe they hope more people like the newcomer will
come  if they let  the newcomer  on the  court, maybe they hope by letting the
newcomer on the court no more will feel the need to come.

   A third of the team flat out refuses to let the newcomer on the court, they
were here first, the rules are the rules, it's a sport not a game, they had to
learn to play, they had  to try out  and they have  to wear the uniform and so
should the newcomer.

   Both these thirds still  call themselves basketball players and wear  their
team's  uniforms but  rarely  play, instead  the court  becomes  their  battle
ground,  their  platform  to spew  hate and  bile  at  each  other and  spread
misinformation and flat-out lies about each other.

   The  last  third  are the  ones with the  ball, they're just trying to play
around the chaos that their league has turned into.

   Cat, you're rambling, what's your point?

   I dunno, I'm just venting hot air I guess. I just  see this happening again
and again and more frequently and it's really getting frustrating.

   If  we  continue  the  analogy  above, I'm  not in  the  league  or  even a
basketball fan really, I'm more interested in  the  whole; the game, the fans,
the teams, the uniforms, the hot dog vendors, etc. I think I've mentioned on a
previous phlog file that I'm a  "fan of fandoms" so mostly, while this process
is  disheartening  and uncomfortable  to  watch it  doesn't  really  affect me
personally.

   Recently though  I've seen it  happen in a  community I was a part of in my
youth, when the community itself  was also very young. I  left a long time ago
and the whole space has changed considerably since I was involved but it still
stings a little to see it happen to something you used to really love. In this
instance,  too,  the  disruption  has  been  especially  vitriolic,  genuinely
horrible, and over nothing. Just one irresponsible comment from a nobody about
another nobody and a big part of the community starts to shake itself apart.

   It's ridiculous and  honestly  sickening  the way  these increasingly large
groups of people behave online.

   Have  you ever  seen The  Wire? There's a scene at the end  of season three
where, avoiding spoilers, everything is coming crashing down around one of the
crime bosses and his crew is caught up in a vicious war with another crew  but
for  reasons  that are  completely  false.  After  revealing  to  one  of  his
lieutenants that  this  whole  thing  has  come  about  because  of  lies, the
lieutenant replies:

      "Don't matter who did what  to who at this point. Fact is, we went to
      war and  now there ain't no going back. I mean,  shit, it's what  war
      is, you know? Once you in it, you in it. If it's a lie, then we fight
      on that lie. But we gotta fight."



EOF