HOAs for trinket boxes [thoughts]

ive been hearing alot about trinket boxes lately. Its a trend that started online of ppl creating little cubbies (sort of like book-nooks) full of varies "trinkets" and its meant for members of their community to swap little tokens around. They all follow the same takes-some-leave-some
mentality and it was going pretty well for awhile from what ive heard. 

but recently (mainly on tiktok) ive seen a few videos of trinket box creators being really pushy about what is acceptable 'trinket box etiquette', and its caused the online community to devolve quite fast.  

but i think its honestly highlighting a larger issue in online spaces, because this behavior around trends isnt new by any means. They all follow the same pattern of getting popular before a select few will start to act as self-imposed gatekeepers for said community, dictating what is appropriate entirely formed  by their own personal opinions.usually its whoever is more popular, and suddenly the trend dissolves into petty bickering over arbitrary rules while the rest of the internet moves on. 

its unfortunate that alot of people really struggle with feeling in control, and online this manifests itself as hyper policing other users usually thru trends or communities or even fandoms. 

obviously theres some basic etiquette that should be followed (and in the example with trinket boxes its; not taking more than what you give and just overall being respectful of the box itself)
but then these people take it a step further, dictating minute details (i.e what is an acceptable trinket to trade), and it inevitably takes all the fun out of it bcs now everyones arguing over semantics, and its no longer just about trading fun little objects around.

all bcs a select few ppl online dont like that some other ppl consider pretty rocks as trinkets, they feel the need to tear down the community they built. 

its the "if i cant have fun, no one can" mentality that the internet (mainly tiktok) has, and its getting toxic, and they all sit and wonder why nothing good ever lasts