Seriously guys I meant it why do we have to fight

Is it not enough to say that we each have differing values and to acknowledge them and factor them into our conversations? Have we moved beyond the need for civility?

Moved beyond civility? Were we ever there? Give the average man annonymity, and wince at the results. Honestly, I'm stunned that things here are as decent as they are.

Sorry, just feeling pessimistic recently. Pay me no mind.

P.S. Nice new avatar. Best. Villain. Ever.

Even given such a semblance of anonymity, I tend to find that adhering to rules of civility within a group fosters civility, even in newcomers, especially when deviations from said rules are met with scorn. Politeness is a happy virus that can spread among people, assuming that its initial base of operations is large enough.

Why thank you. Yes, I rather like him too.

in reality, people root for their console of choice because they made an investment when they purchase the console and like to see it succeed, so they can enjoy the fruits of that success (ie, more and better games)

I also personally dislike both Microsoft and to a lesser extent Sony due to their large amounts of dodgy, immoral and illegal dealings, not to mention their shoddy products. I think the world would be better off without both of those companies, along with many others. Nintendo went through the same shit and I dislike them for that but not as much as that seems to be a thing of the past (I was also too young to care when it happened).

@omgwtfbbw

Testing to see if there's BBcode under the text editor (EDIT: THERE ISN'T).

I don't think that's a particularly good stance to take. In spite of the fact that big business does very shady things all the time, the fact is also there that they are necessary for progress at the rate at which we have been going for many years. Big business is something of a necessary evil.

Elitist?

That's funny, because from my perspective, it's exactly the elitists I'm talking about.  It's the people who go on about the "casuals" and how Wii owners can't tell good software from bad who are making your "unwashed masses" arguments.  The Wii appeals to a very broad audience, as is evidenced by sales and demographics.  The graphics whores I'm talking about are a narrow subset of the population, who believe that their tastes are superior to those of everyone else. (See almost any discussion of the Wii, Wii Fit, Wii Sports, Wii Music, et al, ad nauseum, if you need examples.)

They are claiming that their arguments are based on their "hardcore" natures, and their 14 years of wisdom and learning; I think it's because they have a hard time comprehending things beyond graphics.  Arrogant of me?  Maybe.  Doesn't make me wrong.

there are big business that exist without constantly screwing over their customers, breaking laws and paying lawyers million to get out of it, paying for lawsuits to spread FUD about competitors, using anti-competive behaviour to bring down competitors, etc etc. I could go on for hours about all the nasty and illegal things MS and Sony have done and are still doing.

Big corporates are a necessary evil (hell, I work for one), but the world isn't black and white. There's big corporates with some social responsibility (mainly to increase their perceived value to customers but also because even CEOs are human), there's big corporates who will just try to make some money, and then there's Microsoft and others like them, who will go out of their way to fuck over as many people as possible.

Fair enough, fair enough. I admit I don't know enough about Microsoft and Sony to be able to argue the point.

I love civility, and I like to believe that I offer nothing but.

However, time and time again I've seen people take two sides on these forums, and usually all "civility" flows in one direction.  Was reading twesterm's Home post earlier today, and I got a little tired of all of the people coming out of the woodwork to insult him & tell him to "STFU."  Am I the only one noticing that it's usually one camp that acts that way and not the other?

I mean, really, is it just in my head?  I respect you guys and would want you to tell me if it is.

I think twesterm was to a degree being inflammatory - not to much of one. It mostly had to do with the humorous nature of his storytelling. But yes, those who came out to insult him were the aggressors in that instance. You are right.

That said, aggressors cannot have an argument when people refuse to argue with them. If someone will scream, let them scream, and be about you own conversations. Being ignored is quite sobering.

I do not think that behavior comes solely from "HD fanboys", either, though it is an easy conclusion to draw.