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I'm not sure it matters... Even if it was completely uncoordinated or by accident, it's not good for the ecosystem.

I would disagree. If it were coordinated, it could possibly be exposed and countered.

that's a fair assessment, but it's also already happened, so, even if the outcomes are reversible, it's still a bad "leading indicator", as it were.

If it were a coordinated attack then the chance of successfully countering it with a loosely knit community would have been be slim at best.

I think the loosely knit community in question has already lost.