Honestly the event comes off bad mostly due to the fact that it was pushed so hard despite lack of developer communication, player communication or any sort of feedback whatsoever, and the abhorrent damage control done once the negative reactions rose to the top.
It isn't to say the community reaction in half wasn't disgusting in it's own right, ironically or not. Buuuut this stuff could've been seen a loving mile away and the developer who pushed it so hard really should have known this would have happened, given what runescape's community is like. It was an ultimate waste of time all around.