Yeah it did sound like a power tripping cop getting ready to beat the hell out of protesting people the moment he gets excuse to do so...

But, looking at how the situation began, i'm not surprised :)

So if we agree on this and since I guess it's highly unlikely that GOG would get rid of Witcher 3 and Galaxy it should be clear that some moderation now and then is a good thing.

Maybe they're not particularly fond of a collective punishment and a complete removal of topics. If somebody deserves to be smacked with a "moderation" then do it but, for crying out loud, leave everybody else and the topic alone please.

Edit:
Just to be clear guys, I'm talking about Linko's approach to moderation, I don't care about and I'm not defending this non-issue of yours.

HMMMMMMMMM. who wants to go streaking at VG24/7?

AMEN

Yeah, that's the spirit! To show GOG how pissed off I am, I just bought pretty much everything on my wishlist!

Oh, wait, on a different platform?
Oops...

When I was young, when I was still a kid, I've seen conservative Christian people demonize video games. By that time, I was just infuriated and frustrated. I didn't know what was the political agenda strings pulling up from behind, orchestrating attack and stimulating hyper-delusion and paranoid against video game. And now I understand and now I see. The same exact group waging exact same tactics under different name and ideology.

And by the time passes and grow up, I realized the loudest ones, the loudest people who chants up their curse and hate the most loudly; are simply doing it because they are afraid of truth. They insist gamers are piss-babies, hateful, entitled, dangerous, and also white male and Nazi. This phrase is almost exact the same words I've been heard decades ago, if you interpret white male and Nazi part with Satanic, you would understand what I mean.

And when I was a kid; I was infuriated by this contradiction and hypocrisy. The contradiction came from the reality that the video game developers must pander for those who doesn't care about video game or the culture itself; and all the amount of hypocrisy came from those people who against video game. But now? Now I know the truth is immortal and indestructible, and people aren't that stupid to fall for their lies, not anymore. I'm more confident right now. Any person with average intelligence and perception would know which side is lying, entitled, hateful and biased. And which side wants to rule the video game industry so eagerly and motivated by hate and enviousness. People aren't that stupid; and they aren't so evil too. All their words are nothing but empty, hollow false front to hide their urge to rule. All their words are nothing but filled with bigotry, hate, lies, and intolerant hypocrisy. Anyone with eyes and ears would know it. Yet they claims we are the one who hateful, bigot and intolerant.

I don't blame GoG for pandering for those who desperately wants to destroy the industry itself. Well, they are the loudest, aren't they? They have power, connections, agenda, and their voices are the loudest now. And we gamers and legit customers, who genuinely love this industry and actually buy video games unlike them; are just humble and silent people. And we don't have any agenda except our love and care. It's more than obvious that the company follows for those who strongest and loudest. It's simple logic. It's same old politics.

But the thing is, it is true that the truth is indestructible, but people can. People can be destroyed by the Karma they built, companies can be destroyed when they keep makes wrong choices and turned their back against customers. I don't give a rat's aXX about them anymore. But what I care is Karma they build. No one is safe from Karma and consequences; and the cycle of Karma is now faster than ever. I fear this Karma would someday destroy things and companies I love in this industry.
I don't think gamers and customers suddenly collapses and dies someday as they wishes. Customers aren't the one who would eventually destroyed, I don't think so. If one must be destroyed; it would be the one with agenda and power, not the customers. I think those people trying to destroy the truth and the industry itself, actually doing harm for themselves.

GoG, I know you care about PR and public reputation. But you must know your PR could backfire against you someday. You cannot satisfy everyone and there is no perfect PR. The people you're trying to satisfy; they does not care about video games or you, and you cannot satisfy them no matter what. They just finding excuse to burn the video game industry alive. And when video game industry burns, they will be the first one who just turn their back against and would never turn back, saying "I told you so". And on top of ashes they wants to rebuild it by themselves. See VG247 and various journalists and people spiting hate on you and trying to eat you live for wrongthink, one single Tweet. You think you can satisfy them? Even if you can you're just lying with someone who's hiding knife on the back. Sure they are powerful and loud. But in the end, customers decides the destiny of companies. And no one thinks them as 'customers' nor 'gamer'. Hell they bragging their hate against customers and gamers now and then!

GoG, I don't think they will like you no matter how much you pander for their extremely intolerable standard of opinion. I don't think they will be ever satisfied. They only seek to subjugate any opponent they could find. They are power-hungered monsters and they are not someone who care about your PR, they only care about power and influence. They wants to subjugate you under their agenda and political ideology; they are not seeking any virtue. Hell, I don't think they're simply complaining. You need to be 100% completely subjugate to their political agenda for not to be stoned like this time, you understand? They will try their best effort to find a political flaw on your platform, narrative and PR from now on. And they will try to eat you alive again if you dare try oppose against their 'Great Justice'. And by the time you try to negotiate and compromise between political groups who wants to destroy the industry and we customers, people will slowly turn their back against your platform and you will know the ones who tried to satisfy; does more harm to you than any other people in this industry.

In the end; you will remember not the words of your enemies, but the silence of your customers. This is my humble advice from my utmost honest heart. Do not care about the loudest and the most powerful; think about who spends more care and time for your platform, which is only two real currency in this material world. And please don't assume those loudest are the majority. PR is worthless when some people branded you as their eternal enemy to conquest, or trying to make you their eternal slave. This is my 2 cents.

"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."
-George Orwell

does anyone have the Cliff Notes for that? :P

GoG managed fine with light admin over many years until people turned up to cause trouble when games media became more obviously politicised.

Don't worry, you didn't miss anything.
You seem to be missing the part when trolls who weren't clear-cut enough to just be banned began to make the forum progressively less tolerable, driving out many older and well-regarded forumites. And that's not even mentioning the harassment campaigns conducted by a few users against others, and later the downrep bots used for same.

Psst, lean closer, I wanna tell you a secret.

If the reason for GOG's abject grovelling at the feet of game journalists was fear those journalists would make the store look bad in front of *potential* customers, then GOG has absolutely nothing to worry about.

You guys are doing a damn fine job of it in front of *existing* customers. :)

While being smug as fuck, I find myself sorta agreeing with you on this.

I agree that removing topics is rarely helpful, and mostly just results in more crap because it prevents recognition of what the moderation standards are. It's like putting up arbitrary force fields that people have to grope around. Koga's Gym from Pokémon Red and Blue, if you will.

Ok, we get it... GOG did not handle this well, you're all upset about it. What now? Should they apologize to you about the original apology? Do you think that won't make other people go ballistic?

And last but not least: wouldn't it be more productive to just stop this nonsense and enjoy life for a bit, give GOG some time to reflect on what they did or did not do properly?

To be honest, I would not worry. Between you and me I think some people want to be punished and not fine :P.