My reaction to the gifts being destroyed was more along the lines of "Um. Oookay?" I thought it was odd, but it didn't upset me.

Joking about redshirts being killed, fine. It happens often enough in canon that we recognize it does, and we laugh about it. Joking about killing redshirts because they're going to die anyway, though? Really rubbed me the wrong way, especially by saying they're not real and therefore it doesn't matter. Yes, they're not real, but neither are mini-Boarders, and that went over so well last time someone killed them for fun. It's less about 'OH NOES THEY'RE KILLING FICTIONAL CHARACTERS' as it is what those characters represent. We laugh at killing Sues because the Sues represent a Bad Thing. Redshirts are characters whose only purpose is to show how dangerous the Monster of the Week is, so what does it mean when we go out and kill them for fun?

It's more about the mindset behind the words that worries me. I did try to ask them to stop less harshly and flat-out told them to stop when they didn't; I realize now I could have been gentler, and for that, I apologize, but I don't apologize for asking them to stop at all. Maybe I did get wound up over nothing, but it reminded me the logic used by my old bullies. "She's not a real person, so it doesn't matter what we say/do to her." It struck a very unpleasant nerve with me.

But again, I do apologize for my harshness. It won't happen again.

By which I mean, I typed the phrase 'Plot Contrivance Corporation' into Google. Apparently it's a Thing over on the Library of the Damned. I have no idea whether they hand out Redshirts, or Retcannons for that matter.

Attacked by an evil clone at a publicity appearance, Blue Space Hero is saved by the intervention of a leaping red-shirted passerby. From photos taken at the scene, it's unclear whether the man's leap was intentional, or if the Hero picked him up and threw him in the way. Either way, the RedShirt becomes the posthumous envy of Blue Space Hero fanboys across the galaxy.

(BrikWars 2010 rules example, 'RedShirts')

hS

It is kinda creepy... I think agigabyte kinda overreacts... It looks like a... hostile mindset

These jokes are Not Funny. They need to Stop. Now.

I would quite definitely rather new members of the community who have made all of seven posts weren't greeted with that kind of thing. If that involves you not saying anything, then yes, I would rather you hadn't said anything.

Are you surprised that they haven't come back and replied to this? Really?

hS

If it's a puppet thing, that's... kind of how I imagine hive minds working. A superorganism with multiple individual bodies. Killing the individual bodies is like killing a white blood cell -- deleterious if you do so faster than supplies can be replenished, but other than that more of an inconvenience to the Hive Mind than a problem.

Biological examples, hm... certain Master powers from Worm would work, particularly Khepri, but that's bending the description a bit. Aside from that, any Hive Mind race you want, really, though the Tyranids from 40K really stand out.

Alife examples are the Culture's Minds, who interact with their "crew" (basically glorified passengers because Minds are benevolent god-tier super AIs) through drone bodies that are, basically, grown to look like how the Mind wants them to.