I've been at work for the past 5million hours, so now I will offer some insight to this whole debacle.
Honestly, I'm disgusted at those who conspirated the attack (Not so much at Arbe, but he's no angel either), not because it was an unwarranted attack on SMWC, but JESUS CHRIST MAN, it's the fucking internet (Pardon my french).
Many fail to realize that the purpose of this site is to PROMOTE SMW HACKING, not try and control a damn forumboard. SNN was made admin for a reason, and whether an admin's decisions are controversial or supportive, the task of the admin is to ADMINISTER SITE ORDER. You dont see anybody bitching at Blackhole on Board II or Xkeeper on Jul (Two solid, chilled out gentlemen, btw), so why pound on SNN? An admin is an admin, period. The ability to interact with users and make connections via internet are a BONUS feature of a fully functional forum/site, and not the ends of all means.
Let's leave Kaeru, Kyo, Riko, etc..., out of this for a minute, and think about the real issue here: Insecurity.
The people who called on Arbe were insecure little 12 year olds who lack the scope of what reality, in a social context, is all about. I think it's safe to say most of them annoyed the living Christ out of most of our dedicated userbase. Of course, being young children, they would want to have "ultimate power", without grasping the scope of what it means to be a site mod/admin. That would be similar to David Rockefeller appointing a 19 year old drunken frat boy to be Chariman/CEO of Chase Manhattan. (They wait till he's 50, but that's besides the point...)
A majority of the attackers are insecure kids, probably mocked by their peers in the real life. Sadly, those mocked kids try to find refuge on the internet, creating a hidden identity, and using their leveraged gift of anonymity to vent their frustrations, and develop a pseudo social circle. (We all do that, in a sense, when online, but most of us operate on a level where it doesn't encompass our lives).
You cant tell a "12 year old" (Read: 9-13 year old kids), to show empathy, because they do not know empathy. You cant tell a 12 year old to behave, and act responsibly. You cant EXPECT a 12 year old to know what power is, let alone how to attain it properly. They're no different than zoo animals. (Some may be offended by this. I do not care. Not EVERY 9-13 year old has tendencies that the site conspirators have, but I'm talking statistically, not personally. Use good judgement when interpreting the above, AND below...)
We shouldn't judge the involved conspirators harshly. After all, it could have been anyone else as well. Some of us let our emotions cloud our judgement, and when that happens, the shit hits the fan.
I remember when me and A_Yoshi were demoted. The staff had their reasons for both. I felt that my demotion was warranted, because I really was doing a shitty job as moderator. I had no qualms. Why keep me on if I didn't do my job? As I've said, one of these days, I will earn my post back legitimately, but until then, I strive to learn what I can.
But you didn't see me throw a bitch fit and complain. Why? CAUSE IT'S THE GODDAMN INTERNET!!!! What does it matter? I didn't die. I wasn't tied to a rack and had my limbs torn. I just did a shitty job, and lost the ability to change my name color, that's it. I'm no less of a person, and I am still Sagittaire.
But, others do not think like that. You've heard about the kids who killed themselves because kid A didn't get into Columbia, or kid B's girlfriend cheated on him with the whole football team. OH BOO HOOO. LET ME CALL THE WAAAAAAAAMMMMBBULANCE!
Rise above adversity. I'm a native of Jersey City. I've seen some messed up stuff, literally. (Never seen a dead body, but I almost had one time). People are messed up. You see kids carrying around knives for show, gang initiations every other month, police cars on every damn block, a ruined ghetto with cracked roads and decrepit projects. Real upbeat town...
If I let that environment bring me down, I wouldn't be here today. Take it upon yourselves to rise above stupid bullshit. If you get rejected by a date, REJOICE! Been told you're a failure? BASK IN GLORY! Fell and twisted your ankle? HOP ON ONE LEG TO A BUSSTOP WITH A SMILE ON YOUR FACE!
If you cant handle stupid drama, imagine how you'd fare in the REAL WORLD, competing against tens of thousands of other people, each with the mentality to "kill or be killed".
...and you guys bitch about an Administrative team. Geez.
But yeah, on what happened, it was truly a suprise. Kyo was the biggest shock, quite literally. As I've said to staff and regular users, I have a good eye for deception and wit, but I think it's safe to say NOT EVEN NOSTRADAMUS could have foretold Kyoseron. (Correct me if I'm wrong).
As for everyone else, I only pray that they can develop some form of character and discipline. If they stooped to this level, I can only imagine high school for them, and then COLLEGE...Jesus H.Christ.
But, AS FOR ARBE: I dont support or side with him, but I dont hate him either. I'd just wish he'd do something more productive with his hacking skills and steal funds from Microsoft or something...kid's got talent, but is using it for the wrong reasons.
Anyway, what's done is done, site's back to order, and I'm down for watching some Interior Crocodile Alligator to calm my Lewis Black-esqe agitation.
...man that was one hell of a day.
EDIT: On SNN bashing: Same applies to Smallhacker, Kieran, Techokami, and Pac (Wherever the hell he resides. =p). They run this site for a reason. Let em do what they gotta do.