This community can get a little too gripey for its own good at times, but I've always been given the impression that it comes from a place of brutally honest disappointment. I figure the main thing that keeps people invested when they've lost trust is that they honestly believe the story is still salvageable. And they're holding out hope that the writing can eventually satisfy them again. Because the bulk of this subreddit is basically disgruntled fans and ex-fans that feel they are being ousted by the community at large for little more than holding the show's writing to a higher standard.

And when you've got a community that meets most criticisms with an uninterested dismissal at best and a snide jab at worst, you inevitably end up with several frustrated rants. It's the equivalent of watching fans reassure a writer that they're doing an amazing job right before the train derails.

As for positive criticism, I feel that the show has found interesting ways to play with fight scenes post-volume 3. Raven vs. Cinder takes a lot of inspiration from the Cloud vs. Sephiroth fight in Advent Children. Watts vs. Ironwood is playing with a lot of tricks that are reminiscent of Christopher Nolan's Inception. There are still some cool shots in several fight scenes.

I liked pretty much everything about Volume 7 Chapter 11 as far as recent episodes go. A lot of the writing around Ironwood in particular is well thought out. He's the closest thing the show has to a fully-realized character. He's a very easy character to get wrong, but thus far, the writing has done him justice.

I think RWBY is okayish. It's the kind of show that I can appreciate as a youtube web series. But if you want me to really grade it as a television show that could eventually be broadcast (which is the standard by which many critics around here attempt to operate)...it isn't there yet.

For what it's worth, I just consider all this criticism to be a testament to how far RoosterTeeth has come as a company. People have started taking them seriously. The RWBY project has essentially graduated from being treated with kid's gloves. It's not just a passion project made by fans for fans. They've reached a bigger audience, an audience that consists of more than the RoosterTeeth fanbase. And even at that, their fanbase is getting a lot older and more discerning. So there will absolutely be fans that will want the writers to bring their A-Game. Because they'll have experienced enough storytelling to know what holds up and what doesn't.

That's my take at any rate.