That's my biggest problem with all this:
I don't want to take sides.
Correct. That discussion or situation should never arise in the first place.
Because a forum on model airplanes is supposed to be a space of objective discussion and debate on
ONLY the models and the model manufacturer (read company).
The problem is when a person heading a manufacturer who is unable to make a distinction between the work and the person launches an abrasive personal attack on someone who is objectively reviewing the models - and the person mistaking themselves to be the company - instead of responding objectively to the commentator through the work
only, instead launches a whataboutery personal attack to divert attention and avoid any discussion on the models.
This is a classic fascist tactic - let's call it out for what it is - and then
@Phantom ,as a conscientious member of the community, one will need to take a side - however uncomfortable it makes one feel - if of course one considers oneself to be a part of the discussion.
It is because sides weren't taken on objective grounds, and the person mistaking himself as a manufacturer wasn't reprimanded at the outset, that there's this monster today that is now creating undue toxicity within a hobby that should be joyous.
The other option is to leave the forums. Watch from the sidelines. Let the monster rampage and hijack conversations and discussions.
Then later, one shouldn't complain at how degraded the hobby has become. Because one will also have been culpable.
And this is no longer hypothetical surprise surprise. We're already there, and this thread, and others, and the dead or otherwise , vicious exchanges on forums, is there to prove it. If we don't wish to see it, well.