One of the causes of flamewars on game forums is a misperception shared by many that winning an argument in a little thread on the internet will meaningfully influence the outcome of the console war.
No matter what or how you argue in game forums, it won't change a damn thing in a broader perspective. The outcome is predetermined by broader market variables, production/distribution/gametitles/technology/marketing/timing/etc, and the odds of your clever argument influencing the outcome is close to zero.
This is not to say our word of mouth is entirely meaningless especially when it's systematically organized and has a strong momentum. But it never gets strong enough to negate the broader market variables. Whatever will happen will happen, and your argument won't really matter in the end. Still, a lot of people simply can't stop defending a console of their choice.
Indeed there're plenty of places and news for us to start a flamewar. Forums/blogs/magazines/reviewsites on the web generally have an incentive to keep flamewars going among users. They get a huge bump in visits/views when there're active flaming discussions, and therefore better ad-clicking/revenue. To this extent, they thrive on conflict among gamers. Some sites encourage it intentionally, while others merely condone it. There have been and will always be numerous places and resources on the web to keep flamewar going.
We can't never stop other people starting a flamewar. But there's one thing you can do -- you can stop doing it yourself. The only way to do it is simply STOP DEFENDING a console of your choice. Just ignore offensive posts, stay positive, and keep posting informative/interesting discussions. That's the only way.
No, it's not going to stop 'Til you wise up
No, it's not going to stop So just ... give up
- Aimee Mann
