Thread locking.
I just spent the last hour responding to the thread about the failing logic displayed in the "Honcho & The Flock vs. Ariesol, Hellstorm, & Serene Eternity" case.
I feel that in many cases, a lot of these discussions are ended well before thier time. The people involved and the exact incident may evolve into a grander, more general discussion about concepts. When you, as a leader, request for a thread to be locked so you can just sweep it under the rug; you must realize, in that case, you have not solved the problem, you have just covered it up. If you are in the right, you have nothign to worry about. If you have issues maintaining integrity within your shell and you feel it's easier to hide your problems, you are failing on levels that will lead to greater problems down the road.
What I read personally in the aformentioned thread were people agruing that stealing based on glitch in the game's design is not ok, and the thieves cohorts, and one of the thieves themselves admit it was wrong but not thier fault. Then the political body put in place to attone for thier actions ran afoul by suggesting that the victims apologize for warning the public about thier actions.
Call me old fasioned, but in the world I live in, people are held accountable for thier actions, and the rapist cannot demand an apologee from the person they forced themselves apon because they went to the police...
To the court of public opinion,
If you chose to be in society, may it be 'real life' or 'in game' or any other social arena, you will be bound to your reputations. If you lay with the dogs, you will get fleas. And your indifference nets you no gains. You may think you have no quarter in the arguments presented in that thread, but let me remind you, when your reputation and character are up for discussions for things like group memberships, and the like, your past transgressions do indeed come up.
Think about that the next time you wonder why for four years, the furthest you've gone in this game is sky, why there are players 'above' you, why you can't get an invite, and why no one wants you in thier linkshell.
To the Flock as a whole: I think you got your money's worth from that stone. You aquired something greater than a chance at Byakko's drops. Foul language aside, you guys did the only thing you could do. And you were in the right and held your ground.
To Serene Eternity: The people who decided to figurehead your shell and represent you have made a mockery of you. They came into a thread with tarnished pasts, ill morals, and poor polotics. To the remaining memebers with integrity, the events in this game are easy, and linkshells are all constantly recruiting, don't get stuck in bad situations, where you have to settle for mediocrety.