Kind of like a bar, when a stag do comes through, things get a little crazy for a while.  In time things settle back down, the old guard are mostly still there and you get a few new faces.

The people who are unhappy don't stick around, they go away. Hopefully they'll return if/when the game improves.

I don't think the community has "matured" in any sense of the word, I still see people with valid complaints get hammered by fanboys. If anything those who are too disappointed have simply given up posting, for now, leaving a disproportionate amount of fanboys left.

I, for one, do not consider it civil towards the dev to give them anything less than my opinion. And I think the devs can recognize the dangers of group think, after the disastrous launch. Agreeing with something is not the same as being civil, when their jobs depend on it and yours don't.

Well, I don't know for sure if it's mature, but my experience with this forum is really awesome. I'm a french speaking person, I live in Canada, and when I told people about it (to consider my bad english) nobody flame me or insult me. And, some people are just really happy that I'm trying to write a good english even if it's difficult. Somebody told me once that my english was better than his french so he wont complain so much . And, above it, we can speak to the dev team and that is a great thing. Long life to the community .

Why? They'd just grow bored because there isn't much to mod (beyond graphics), yet.
Anything else is either undergoing substantial changes or inaccessible.

I agree that the atmosphere has improved quite a bit, or at least returned somewhat to pre-launch 'normal'.  Not only have the haters gone away like heavenfall pointed out, but I'm also seeing a lot less fanboys and/or trolls (to put it politely) who keep claiming that the game is nearly perfect as is (maybe to complex). Or even more annoying, those who keep telling some of the dissapointed people who would like to see certain features added or changed that those features aren't what Elemental is about, because in the whole week they've been following the forums the dev's have never talked about it...

I'm also in the dissapointed category and I haven't really played the game in weeks, but the atmosphere in this forum was maybe even more off-putting than the state of the game. I'm really glad to see things improving on both fronts, I am enjoying reading the forums again and I'm slightly positive about v1.1 and beyond.

The fact that I still check the boards and still have gripes means I still want the game to be fun , challenging and it still has potential.  Whether or not that potential is realized is something I hope Kael can help with...

I've completely lost interest in Elemental for the time being.  It's in that "put it on the back burner and check back in 6 months" category at the moment.

I'm sure that many others who were disappointed have adopted a similar stance and have simply stopped reading the forums or only do so infrequently as I am now.

No, I don't want Civ-clone as well. Already enough with Civ IV.

Fan boy is when you start comparing the game to others like civ 5 I think if you like a game like it but stop comparing it to anything else let it be on its own merittis.This game is not Civ 5 and visa versaso let both be what they are. When the dusts settles no one will care if it is like another game or not . Stardock is working on changes thats all theres is to say and vaild complaints or lets say glitches in game probably help devs to a certian extent.But I do agree the griefing has toned down alot  less negative wich is nice . I heard all the fan boy stuff on 360 vs ps3, blue ray vs hd , console vs PC , PC vs mac, the list goes on forever they are all good or were good in some cases and it is not worth a hill of beans in the end things will be what they are no use complaing about it , be proactive or move on and save your energy for really important matters LOL . Ok I shall step of the soap BOX no need to push ok ok I'm off now.

Definition time:

fanboy = someone who supports a game regardless of the game's overall qualities (in this case, overall negative qualities).

hater = someone who criticizes a game regardless of the game's overall qualities (in this case, overall positive qualities).

Both share the same trait -- their response is unwarranted based upon the cold hard facts.

Liking a game is different.  It's fine to like a 'bad' game and fine to dislike a 'good' game.  Liking/disliking is personal preference, and not based upon cold hard facts (such as whether the game crashes or is unbalanced or doesn't follow lore, etc.).

So, anyone who calls someone a fanboy merely for liking a game (or hater merely for disliking a game), then that person (the fanboy caller) has demonstrated their opinion is unworthy of consideration, and they should be ignored.

Now, if a game has overall problems and someone undeservedly praises the game and criticizes those who point out the problems -- that's different, and they're fanboys who, by their behavior, forfeit consideration of their posts.  And similarly for haters, of course.

By the old rule 'an insult from an idjit is a compliment, a compliment from an idjit is an insult', then being called a fanboy merely for liking a game is a badge of honor, and something to enjoy, as you've been complimented 

That includes our non-games programs.  WindowBlinds alone had, at one time, a couple million users.

I think sometimes people forget that games, while a big industry, have historically been small potatoes compared to the revenue non-games make on he PC.

Personally, I've never felt that there had ever been an attitude problem on this forum. Every forum has its trolls and flamers - it's simply the nature of the internet. What worries me, however, is that a lot of regular posters as well as newcomers who had criticized the game have either stopped posting or left the forums entirely. I think these people, including those who are truly passionate about the game (like myself), are simply burnt out. I hate to be "that guy" but I must admit that there are still major design holes in the game. And at some point the realization sets in that it will be a while before Elemental fills these holes and is able to match release-day expectations. At this point there's just no motivation (at least for me) to actively participate until the game reaches a mature state.