I've been coming here since Q4 2007 so I can relate to OP's semi-rant. While there was always back-and-forth banter between all factions of gamers on here, it was generally just lighthearted stuff and any of the obvious attention-starved trolls or fanboys were snuffed out pretty quickly.
Then in 2009-10... right around the time the PS3 started to turn things around and the Wii started to tail off... the overall community started to change, and the level of discourse on the forums has steadily declined since then, culminating with the Xbone and PS4 reveals and launch hype over the past year.
So it wouldn't be too far off to say that the dramatic shift amongst the standings of the big 3 console manufacturers that has taken place over the past 3 years or so is the main culprit for the increase in trolling and fanboyism around these parts, and around gaming websites as a whole.
On 2/24/13, MB1025 said:
You know I was always wondering why no one ever used the dollar sign for $ony, but then I realized they have no money so it would be pointless.
