Also, the article makes it sound like these guys never communicated at all, but weren't efforts made to settle the dispute privately? It seems like the article

Also, the article makes it sound like these guys never communicated at all, but weren't efforts made to settle the dispute privately? It seems like the article went to great lengths to make everyone involved look silly, when in fact the only real silliness would be the hundreds of users and even non-users who developed a passionate interest. So nerds waste time on gossip and politics. So teenagers are idealistic and think every little thing is the end of the world. So public opinion of the silliest kind may influence the opinions of Supposedly Serious People. So what? Doesn't that mean nerds are just like everyone else?