So, how can we, the users of these sites, continue from here? The only way I can see is by ignoring the company. We need to think of SO inc. as the absentee landlord and not as the friendly parent we remember. This does not mean we need to attack them or even try to antagonize them, we simply expect nothing more from them than that they keep providing the servers and software that run the sites. We should think of them as nothing more than service providers. We are not friends. We are not colleagues. We have no shared goals. They're just the faceless company that provides us with a service.

So, let's just forget about SO inc. They will eventually impose rules we refuse to follow, at which point we'll leave or be kicked out. But until then, those of us who want to continue should do so, and should accept that SO inc. are no longer relevant.

So, how can we, the users of these sites, continue from here? The only way I can see is by ignoring the company. We need to think of SO Inc. as the absentee landlord and not as the friendly parent we remember. This does not mean we need to attack them or even try to antagonize them, we simply expect nothing more from them than that they keep providing the servers and software that run the sites. We should think of them as nothing more than service providers. We are not friends. We are not colleagues. We have no shared goals. They're just the faceless company that provides us with a service.

So, let's just forget about SO Inc. They will eventually impose rules we refuse to follow, at which point we'll leave or be kicked out. But until then, those of us who want to continue should do so, and should accept that SO Inc. are no longer relevant.

This is obviously no longer the case. The goals of the community and those of the company have clearly diverged. The company is now a very different beast to what we remember and this isn't going to change. Already, most of the old guard, the people we know and trust, those who spent years building this place, have been fired or have left. Instead of communication, we now get communiques from management. Instead of partners, we are now considered adversaries.

This is obviously no longer the case. The goals of the community and those of the company have clearly diverged. The company is now a very different beast to what we remember and this isn't going to change. Already, most of the old guard, the people we know and trust, those who spent years building this place, have been fired or have left. Instead of communication, we now get communiqués from management. Instead of partners, we are now considered adversaries.

So, how can we, the users of these sites continue from here? The only way I can see is by ignoring the company. We need to think of SO inc. as the absentee landlord and not as the friendly parent we remember. This does not mean we need to attack them or even try to antagonize them, we simply expect nothing more from them than that they keep providing the servers and software that run the sites. We should think of them as nothing more than service providers. We are not friends. We are not colleagues. We have no shared goals. They're just the faceless company that provides us with a service.

So, how can we, the users of these sites, continue from here? The only way I can see is by ignoring the company. We need to think of SO inc. as the absentee landlord and not as the friendly parent we remember. This does not mean we need to attack them or even try to antagonize them, we simply expect nothing more from them than that they keep providing the servers and software that run the sites. We should think of them as nothing more than service providers. We are not friends. We are not colleagues. We have no shared goals. They're just the faceless company that provides us with a service.