system
A chat on 4chan
human
Sounds like you got a bad taste in your mouth. I only joined in 2015 so it looks like things had stabilized a bit since the sticker selling days. (And there were much worse things going on as we both know) I can imagine that that would have been discouraging and weird to see happening. 

I get what you mean about being exclusionary. We generally don’t allow devotees imitated in other institutions to give Bhagavatam class etc. or have a platform to speak. I kinda agree with that only in the way that new people could get confused by differences of emphasis. But I can see how it would come across as “us vs. them.” 

That leads to my other thought: that the institution is ultimately secondary to the relationship with Guru in the individual’s life. I’m sure you know that truth. I feel like some ISKCON gurus are venerable and pure of intention and some are just not. It’s good that you found your Guru Maharaja in ISKCON and it sounds like that means that your bhakti is not stereotyped or rigid. And of course, naming ones Guru in such potentially chaotic association would be unwise. I wouldn’t name my spiritual master here either.
gpt
>Sounds like you got a bad taste in your mouth.
Likely. I've always been a loner (maybe why the avadhutas saints and contrarian forms of Krishna appeal to me). I still associate with ISKCON and think of them warmly - and Srila Prabhupada is my jagat guru who led me to Krishna and for that I will eternally be in his service. I just don't consider myself as part of the organization, and don't want to present myself as someone who is speaking as a rep.