I always consider the fact that I can be wrong but let me tell you why I think I'm not wrong on this one.

You say people from Red first cared about completing the game, no matter which mode was used : I'm afraid we didn't watch the same stream.

It's true that people had a strong desire to win, to prove that thousands monkeys could achieve the impossible but there's a reason why one of the most popular mottos was « It's about the journey, not the destination ».

At the beginning, few people even imagined we could actually do it. Yes, many people came because they wanted to see us beat the game but I believe most of them stayed because of what we did and I'm just gonna use this lovely quote : *"The beauty of the un-biased version of this game was that we all knew what our objective was, but we had no idea what would happen while we were trying to achieve that objective. I've played this game enough times that I've seen A, and I've been to B, but I loved this game for showing me how much richness there was in between those two points." *

People would have jeopardised progress to retrieve Helix from the PC, people would have tried to release Flareon despite the risks. And I like to think that Red wasn't beautiful because of the victory but because of the two inspiring weeks we spent together.

And what brought us so many wonderful moments was Anarchy. What made the journey so special and the victory so great was that we played like thousands players and not like one player. Yes, many people chose Democracy back then but many people felt it was a treason : I remember reading someone pointing out that the people who had jumped in the bandwagon had stolen the experiment because they thought we were only here to prove we could win while it was doing it in Anarchy that mattered. (Found it) What's the point of cheating, of turning on the « one player mode » to win ?

A lot of people (the majority in the end) were okay with democracy to progress, some people wanted Anarchy only but I think the majority of the anarchists wanted to use Democracy only as a last resort. Instead, we stopped trying and I believe a lot of people stopped caring. So, contrary to what you say, I think many people were really upset. If the hardcore progressionists eventually triumphed (admitting defeat against Giovanni's ledge, not trying Victory Road in Anarchy, switching Zapdos), I firmly believe they ruined it for a lot of people. I firmly believe these people would have preferred struggling 3 more days instead of winning thanks to Democracy Abuse.

There's a reason why If Anarchy fails, the experiment fails with it got 2600 karma, there's a reason why this post met so much approval : we preferred the journey to the destination.

You take the example of Sky Attack and that's an interesting case because there is a debate. Nobody wanted to lose Sand Attack and of course « God Bird » was an awesome move for our glorious Bird Jesus. So you can argue that it's an exception such as teaching Fly to Slaking to have a Big Flying Monkey (touching Ghosts too but let's be blind and say it was only for shit and giggles). It's defensible but the argument I oppose is simply « What's the point ? ». What's the point of « creating » God Bird or a flying monkey if there's no risk ? Isn't teaching Sky Attack negating the character of Bird Jesus, who emerged from Anarchy with moves like Sand Attack or Mirror Move and not moves that we chose ? That's a complicated point, some people just closed their eyes, others felt uncomfortable. Notice that the top comment on the thread about this achievement is « Democracy is a hollow victory. », notice the numerous complaints about Democracy.

I can't deny there was Democracy Abuse in Red but I'm not condoning it. Yes, Red also had disappointments on the way, the majority did switch Zapdos in Democracy. But I never accepted it. If Democracy Abuse has been a huge part of TPP, it doesn't mean Democracy Abuse is acceptable and that you shouldn't be shocked by the recent events.

I'm biased but I never enjoyed anything in Democracy except Teachy TV (and the Jackpot but I wasn't there for this one). I'm using strong words but for me all the Democracy Abuse is the legacy of shame and perpetuating it proves that the community will never be the same. People fought for Anarchy, people fought for Helix, people spent time struggling against ledges or trees : we are currently trampling on their ideals and nobody seems to care. Maybe it's better that we don't care but maybe they had a reason to care so much. If you're having fun right now, more power to you. People who weren't amused left a long time ago.

You say I'm crazy 'Cause you don't think I know what we've done. But when you call me grumpy, I know I'm not the only one.