There goes the neighborhood.

This is how the world ends.

So, if you know me personally you know I've been bitching about Shacknews, my favorite game news site and community, and their acquisition by GameFly. If this is strange and fearful and new to you, get yo'self to school.
With the background out of the way, read the first link. Read the comments. Read them all. This is how a community dies, readers. This is how, bit by aching bit, everything that is good and right and fun is leached away.
In my view, this is how communities work, online--
It starts with an event. Hype forms around the event, and like minded people try to connect with each other about the event. They use existing places: Forums, BBSes, IRC, social networking sites, et cetera, but find them inadequate after a while. They want somewhere that caters to THEM, makes them feel unique and special, flatters their ego, something THEIRS. So, they take their community and put up money, server space, domain names. They turn the talented among them to web design, forum design and customization, the making of their online home. This home goes live, and now the community has a place to be. They love it. They are proud parents, extolling the virtues and cleanliness of their special bubble-place, and they are high on life.
Assuming the core event or product the community formed around is doing well, this continues for a while. Newbies join and are hazed by the old guard, before becoming old guard themselves and in turn hazing the newbies. Debates sometimes cause rifts and splintering, but the community at large remains stable and well-formed.
Then something changes. There are two ways it can go: From within, or from without.
If the cancer is within, it probably starts with leadership that's getting too big for its britches, or failing to listen to the users, or refunding to excise the dead weight. From there it degenerates into infighting, factionalism, and finally, outright war within the community. It's big, it's ugly, it's nasty, and it's completely harmless to everyone outside.
However, if the change is without, it's subtle. Someone outside the community figures that he or she has a vested interest in somehow changing or altering the community. This outside force sways some leaders, and insinuates itself into the community. Sometimes it is still subtle, sometimes... it's blatant, like a hostile takeover or a buyout. After that, the community is in an interesting state. If it can fight hard enough and convince the outside force to merely own and not dig into every dark corner of the community, then it has a fighting chance, under new management. If not, though... the community loses its closeness. Newbies come in and aren't inducted properly- they have no respect for the community norms and customs. Trolls appear and can't be dealt with. Nonsensical or idiotic rules and regulations are passed with no opportunity for debate or consensus. The community loses ownership of itself, and degenerates into a disgusting pool of slime and human waste, a mere shadow of its former self.
I am doing everything I can to make sure the shack doesn't end like that.