This whole affair makes the freenode “volunteer” staff sound like ungovernable children.
(They are paid in status so they are not really volunteers)
(They are paid in status so they are not really volunteers)
Who here is rendering the status "payments"? It certainly isn't Lee. It seems that status is coming from the community.
Who the volunteers split off to serve, after Lee began making changes that don't.
Hm. Seems like maybe the volunteer-status economy worked as it should.
You appear to be looking at this as if Lee somehow acquired equity in the volunteers' goodwill and future labor, of which he is now being wrongfully deprived. How does that work, exactly?
When someone walks in a room and declares they're now in control, without any right to do so, you don't just sit back and accept it, that's what children do.
"You didn't act selflessly, you only wanted to feel good about yourself."
Citation Needed. Everything that I have read has stated that they are not paid, with the exception of a reimbursement for the cost of procuring a U2F key.