As I pointed out in my long previous post, the relationship between seller and customer is an unequal relationship in terms of the duties each owe the other. It may be "mutual" in a general sense, but it is decidedly unequal.
No however twisted view of "seller-customer relations" can relieve people of the simple, universal duty to act respectfully towards each other. You try to construe a situation in which you can act however you want (because you are the "customer"), but the other party is bound by its duty to serve you (because he is the "seller"). That's just a cheesy way of removing yourself from your responsibility to, well, behave, while still imposing this responsibility on others.
I'm serving over hundred customers a day, and if one of them shows the behavior that I've seen here, I simply make him leave the shop. They pay for my services, they do get those. I will listen to any complaint and try to offer solutions. But no customer of mine has earned the right to insult me, attack me, approach me in an aggresiive or disrespectful manner, or cry havoc in my shop without making any effort to solve the problem. Sorry. If that happens, they leave. Surprisingly, we are not only still in business - I also found out that the *other* customers were always thankful when I removed a troublemaker from the shop. Usually I even get a lot of supportive remarks after doing so. Because for some strange reason, the other customers seem to think that some basic manners should be adhered to even when being a customer. Strange, isn't it?
Further you're confusing criticism with disrespect.
That's your assertion that I confuse the two. Actually I consciously wrote about the lacking respect because if people had only *criticized*, I wouldn't have said anything at all. It was the relentless, disrespectful and personal manner in which the criticism was delivered, as well as the tendency to extend the criticism to *everything* available, that disappointed me.
The fundamental disagreement you and I have is I disagree 180 degrees with your reasoning that the best way to achieve the desired result is to be more obsequious with Firaxis. The world does not need more sycophants. It needs more people to question authority and speak out when someone in authority abuses their power.
This is not a rebellion. You aren't Spartacus. There is no evil dictator to dispose. We aren't discussing the political and sociological needs of world, we are discussing how a game company and its customers can work together so that all sides gain the most out of their interaction.
If you think that the only alternatives in human interaction are to be either obsequious or rebellious, then you've got a lot to learn. Most of the time neither behavior yields the best outcome. On the contrary - the best results can usually be achieved when people of different groups meet together in an atmosphere of mutual respect, discuss their needs and wishes in a constructive way, and try to understand each other. *Then* problems can get solved.
If you want to play rebellion instead, I wished you looked for a different playground.
I know you honestly believe that my criticism (and that of others) has chased Alex away. But you should know that I honestly believe that it is my right and duty to speak out when I feel someone who sold me a product is abusing my goodwill.
This is getting ridiculous now. Do you really live in such a self-styled "rebellious hero" world? Do you really, honestly believe that you are fulfilling a "duty" here to "speak out" because *you* have been "abused"?
Well, let me ask you one question: What positive effect have your actions had? Name a single one please. (We don't need to talk about the *negative* effects, I think those are pretty obvious anyway.) And that's what I was trying to say in all of my last posts: It absolutely does not matter whether you're a glorious, upright rebel or a mischievous troublemaker or anything in between. The *result* of your actions was devastating, no matter what your intentions were. I have tried to bring the discussion to something that *might* improve this disastrous result (i.e. thinking about how we can increase the likelihood of getting inside information again), and all you think about is whether *your* actions were justified, whether it was *your* duty to "speak up", whether *you* have been abused, and so on. Do yourself a favor and stop thinking about yourself for a minute and offer any suggestion to improve the situation. And I mean a *workable*, concrete suggestion for the problem at hand, not just some overgeneralized "more people must speak up" pseudo-rebellion talk.
Can you do that? Can you, actually, work towards a solution instead of either attacking others or justifying your actions after they have caused grief? I'm skeptical. More and more I get the impression that trying to reason with you is just an exercise in futility.
it's beautiful!
