I only just waltzed in to this thread and didn't go through page 2 (sorry if I missed critical discussion :/ ), but I think I might add a little something here.
I'm a player who's been networking across a rather large portion of the boards for quite some time. Whilst doing so, I have bumped in to certain aus players in particular threads at particular times but for the most part, I seem to notice the Australian community tends to keep where it is. It's nothing bad, but I think if some players aren't sure what I mean when I say "it's the insults and constant rejection of Brawl over the years and in some cases, very much vice versa, that have made me almost leave the boards on several occasions", then I think I should explain where I see all the cynicism.
I was a really early smash 4 speculator and resided in that one thread where the discussion was meant to take place. In that time I was pretty quickly invited into what was then known as the 'Smash 4 BR' or basically, the speculation room for "intelligent" posters. That group has had its own unique set of advantages and disadvantages as a community and to go into that right now would be a digression, but what i'm trying to say by it is that yes, i've had quite a bit of experience with the speculation community.
Once the actual forums were created for smash 4, they went chaotic pretty quickly. Most of it was pretty decent but I'd say this is where my point lies. So many people from both the Melee and Brawl scenes went here to "speculate" on the new game by saying how it would "fix" all the problems of previous games. And naturally this incited flame wars. But as silly as the premise sounds, some really off-hand, hurtful things were said to the detriment of both communities and... well basically it just sucked.
I think the Australian community has had this problem a lot less - I feel that most of us are far more insular and as a result, we tend to be more closely banded and less prone to this kind of bickering. But I will say that even here I have noticed little under-handed jabs that really just aren't conducive to anything. Hell, it even happened in the most recent BAM thread.
I'm not going to say that melee players should not express their opinion on a game that is still in alpha, nor am I attempting to say they should not have the freedom to give their opinions on Brawl, however I feel more sensitivity is needed when doing so. An opinion is very much an opinion, but, intentional or not, the "x game sucks" approach to posting is a bad way to do it. Simply because it gives a connotation that the players that play that game are stupid for liking it. And this puts down the players of that game. Indeed, tact is needed, because I know at least in the case of many Brawl players, we end up feeling like wounded animals that continuously have their bandages torn off and the scabs ripped out. It sounds extreme but it's gotten to the point where i'd rather people said "well x and y mechanics for this game I feel are a bit clunky/un-needed and I don't really enjoy them but I suppose you could if you played the game from this perspective." Like it sounds like I want those players to dance around the point they're trying to say for the sake of not offending others, but maybe that is actually needed for a while so that NEW players can come into the community with a more objective view towards the series.
Anyway, i've basically just re-iterated what other people have said i'm sure. I just wanted to point out that the insults are real and have been going on and I think especially in the case of the Brawl community who tend to network across the boards a little more (no offense to the melee players, it's just an observation i've made), we feel that sting a little more than the people who observe it.
Aaaaaand i've kinda turned it into just Brawl and Melee but I am looking at it in a lens which aims to support the smash 4 players.
But yeah, that's my thought process atm. Could have been better worded but I think i've kinda said what I wanted to say.
