Coming back here after spending more time on non-tech sites has made me realise something: tech forums and tech websites tend to be a bit more negative and competitive than those about non-tech topics. To be totally honest it's a bit depressing.

Almost every thread on a tech site seems to be either about what's better/worse about the site's product, or what is worse/better about a rival product, and disagreements can quickly erupt into endless bitter flamewars.

What the heck is going on? Why are people on technology sites apparently quicker to criticise?

I'm not saying criticism itself is a bad thing, that's how products are made better, but it sometimes feels like technology fans are behaving like the nastier kind of football fan, chanting about how crap the opposition is.

Weirdly the only tech forums where there's a totally calm atmosphere seem to be retro forums which deal with technology that is now obsolete, for example 8-bit computers or old games consoles. Maybe it's because on retro forums there's no competition to worry about, so people can just relax and enjoy themselves?

1. High Expectations
2. My high expectations are different than your high expectations. (No hardware/software is perfect for everyone.)
3. Did I say High Expectations.

It's human nature.

People want to feel good. People want other people to validate their opinions so they feel good. Therefore what they like is good, everything else is bad, and attack attack attack those whose opinions differ.

People want to feel their choices of technology were the right ones, and they want as many people as possible to feel the same way so that the technology thrives and improves. If only one person had an iphone, there wouldn't be so many "apps".

But all forums are run by humans, why is it that tech forums seem to be more competitive?

And why do some people take everything so personally on tech forums, like criticising a particular distro is insulting their family or something?

Tech Forums = outlet for nerd rage.

It's a growing epidemic, but with your support, someday we will be able to bring an end to flame wars.

Agree with the above though, it's all about justification. I think tech people do more research into products than most people, so when someone else questions why they picked one product over another, they get defensive, and in some cases really aggressive.

Tech forums are more competitive because technology is constantly evolving with new gadgets and tech coming out constantly. New gadgets means new opinions about whats best. Especially since there is so much marketing and hype is now seen as the most important factor in somethings success.

If you went on a fishing forum I'm sure you could get people just as worked up over which rod/reel is best, what area is best for what kind of fish, whats the best way to fish, etc.

I have to say though. Coming from "that other phone" I have been inundated with this kind of stuff for the past 3 years. My phone shopping (months of obsessive fanaticism) led me to a point where I had to choose what I wanted in a device and find the best one for me (ie. the revelation is that there is no perfect device). My day with an N900 has really cemented my feelings about how pointless all this bickering and whatnot is.

I've already run into a few quirks and shortcomings, but I have to say they really don't bother me that much. I probably wouldn't even recommend an N900 to everyone (although for the people I would recommend it to I would totally beat them senseless about it, hehe). I'm totally happy with it and feel awesome not being stressed by all the silly back and forth that I can now leave to the phone fanatics.

I love my N900.

I love the community as well, which is only possible due to the open nature of the phone.

As sadfist pointed out, this isn't limited to tech forums. Maybe, krisse, your own interests have you more focussed on tech and so you view such fora as worse than others?

> tech forums and tech websites tend to be a bit more negative and competitive than those about non-tech topics.

Try reading a sports team message board.