one of my least favorite things, is when the tool becomes the thing.

or, when the tool itself becomes the focus rather than what the tool was initially designed to do.

examples:

photography communities which revolve around arguments around cameras and film, rather than the actual art and action of capturing a moment.

zettlekasten communities which talk endlessly about zettlekasten itself, rather than using it to develop a referenced body of knowledge

bitcoin communities which focus on bitcoin itself, and endless arguments about what it is, and never do anything to make it easier to use day to day.

the endless talk about doing, which never does.