Gaslighting: True or False?

When it comes to forming new relationships, it can be difficult to discern whether it's a naturally budding friendship or gaslighting. At least for me, I find difficulty in discerning the difference in real time. I know it's weird to put those two things side by side, but I've recently come up against this problem, and it shook me to the point of needing to vent it out, write it down, and remove it from my thoughts.

Gaslighting is the practice of psychologically manipulating someone into questioning their own sanity, memory, or powers of reasoning.

In the last couple months, as a budget friendly activity, I took up online gaming for the first time since I was a teenager. A close friend told me about this game they were playing and suggested I check it out. I quickly found myself as part of an online gaming community with people ranging in ages and backgrounds beyond 30 years my senior. In that space I was repeatedly told we're an online family, that I'm loved, and that I'm encouraged to speak my mind. The depth and repetition of these, drove me to spend huge amounts of time online with these people contributing to tasks, conversations, and objectives the group had within the game. It was a community of mature, adult gamers- this is perfect for me.

I thought I found my peace, my people. A space without toxicity, where a group of people focused on an escape from their real-life problems could experience entertainment and peace-of-mind to counter their turbulent lives. If real world drama trickled into the game, I would advocate for letting go and moving on- focusing only on enjoying the game rather than letting the toxicity seep in. I got so comfortable with these people that I was 100% myself. I let them in past all my boundaries and became unafraid around them. Id share about my life, they shared about theirs, I did anything they asked of me (within the game) and offered them everything I had (within the game). For the first time in a long time I felt I had found a home away from home.

And that all ended yesterday, when suddenly out of the blue the same people who spent months telling me they loved me suddenly said "hey we don't like you telling us how to feel about stuff, we hate your long-winded explanations of things, you can't play with us anymore."

You hate someone suggesting you let go of the drama and move on?

You hate someone sharing their perspective on a discussion that doesn't perfectly align with your own?

How do you say you want someone to speak up, to contribute to conversation,

and then punish them for it?

How do you call us family yesterday and cast them aside the very next day?

It sounds silly when you put it in writing... like some trivial woah is me or "you can't sit with us," meme. But I'm a flesh and blood person with real emotions. And it was a heartbreaking curveball.

Gaslighting? True or False.