I have received a complaint from at least one user/one or more users of this issue, the most prominent one being the following complaint by a user who wishes to be kept anonymous.
Jan 07 18:56:42 <USER> Essentially, I am /really/ iffy on what you did with Smapti. Yes, Smapti is a horrible, obnoxious, odious and offensive person. Won't deny that. But I cannot help but feel some rather unpleasant vibes from this ie: those who share Smapti's position on certain topics are shoved in the "Oh look at the primitives" boat, because of course, they're all like Smapti, eh? Now, I am mostly okay with…
Jan 07 18:56:43 <USER> …keeping my mouth shut about my opinions on the matter (save that last time), but this in turn becomes an issue - I withhold my opinion because were I to actually speak it, I would effectively be blackmailed, mothballed, and shamed into submission by everyone and their counsin all screaming "well you're just transphobic!" This is not a comfortable thing, especially as the topic crops up…
Jan 07 18:56:45 <USER> …annoyingly often. TLDR I feel that your action in this instance, and the general site culture at large, is shifting towards a setup where it's obey the party line, or be shamed. And I ain't cool with that.
Jan 07 18:57:24 <USER> TLDR x2 I think gender identity politics is bullshit, but can't actually express it without you and moose jumping down my throat
Jan 07 18:57:37 <USER> which is 9 times more trouble than it's worth
Jan 07 18:58:51 <Soulless> Okay
Jan 07 18:58:57 <USER> and to be completely honest, I've been waffling on bringing this topic up for some time now
Jan 07 18:59:36 <USER> Tried ignoring it and trundling along as best as I could for a while
Jan 07 18:59:43 * Soulless nods
Jan 07 19:00:20 <USER> but it really feels that the increased politicization of the site in this manner makes it more difficult to ignore
I personally find it disconcerting that users feel they are being considered primitive, mocked, or otherwise disrespected for having opinions against "the party line" and believe this is at least worthy enough to have an open discussion about it. The Smapti issue referenced can be seen here.
Living the dream, or dreaming the life?