Ah now I see your point but again do not agree ;D.
You know that but actually many people do not. You forget because you are extremely saavy that you are not the norm.
These forums are not made up of only smiths and educated hobbyists. They are a mix of folks that are collectors, combat enthusiasts, etc. as well as various builders. People come to the forums to be educated by the experts. The poster is representing himself as a smith which to someone who is starting out or not versed in the specifics of the hardware and electronics we use, makes him an authority. From their point of view what he said must be true because he is the expert.
That is how misinformation is spread. What he said was not only hurtful but harmful to our business and reputation. In addition it was utter fabrication and malarkay.
As a new guy and outsider I have to agree and give credence to what luminara is saying. I know almost nothing about internals. I know the science behind some of the stuff (ie/ the whole copper v. aluminum issue), but otherwise rely on the opinions, statements, and experiences of more experienced sabersmiths. Unfortunately, this can most certainly color your views of certain people, practices, and techniques. If I had not seen the quality of VV work then I would have had no trouble believing the stuff that DA was saying, because I just didn't know any better. Both Darth Alice and VV are both quality sabersmiths, so who do you believe?
Sunrider keeps harping on opinions. Fine, have a xxx opinion, that doesn't mean you need to be a jerk about your opinion. There is a difference between being rude and trying to make a joke. I'm going to ignore the pur unfairness of judging VV's work on an old, used saber that is out of date. Seriously?? Ugh.
Anyways, as a savvy member of the community you have a lot more influence than you may think on others. For instance, right now VV's feedback thread, amongst others, are being filled with some negative reviews. Again, its hard to differentiate between two experienced groups/people with differing views or someone who got their feelings hurt or had a few bad experiences far in the past and wasn't really thinking about how their statements can affect someone's reputation.
tl;dr: Everyone can have an opinion, yea, but its wrong when people's opinions turn into unfair, unjust statements/posts that can then go on to color other people's views of a company or product.
This is never going to get resolved. Its going to give me a laugh when this all disappears in a few days and everything gets back to normal.