The extremities of some fanboys/girls.

[ChazUK]

I just read this post on Google+ by Ashley Esqueda.

https://plus.google.com/+AshleyEsqueda/posts/92SDQYNx5Rq

This part struck me the most:

Last week, I ordered an iPhone 5 as a second line. And I was ridiculed, berated, called an "iWhore," told they hoped for my DEATH or threatened me with bodily harm. Over a cell phone.

Now, I enjoy the general back and forth over which platform is better than the next and I especially enjoy reading why people like the platforms they use but this kind of extreme passion over something as stupid as a phone is way, way overboard.

I can't stand simple name calling (fandroid, iTard, Wintard for example) but to wish harm on people for giving another platform a whirl (and a good one at that) makes me ashamed to be interested in tech. I do understand there is an element of pure trolling in some of the reaction to Ashley getting an iPhone 5 but I can't help but feel that some of that reaction may have been genuine.

Anyone else got any thoughts on this extreme fanboy/grilism?

 

[flopticalcube]

I blame the companies. They started to appeal to emotions when they began their "evangelism" programs. Hype marketing and brand building have fueled the flames of emotion and appealed to our tribal instincts. They have made you feel that you are part of the ecosystem you bought into. Its sad.

 

[Oohara]

I'll repost what I wrote in another thread:

This is an interesting one. Sure, we can all have our practical reasons for liking one OS/"ecosystem" or the other. This is what's on the level of 'technology'. If we respond on this level, the answer will contain just those practical reasons. "I think the iPhone looks better." "The Apple ecosystem fits me better." "Google Now is better than Siri." Etc.

If however this kind of topic immediately leads us to a strong display of emotion, then we are probably reacting on another level. This is on the emotional level, and has nothing at all to do with 'technology' or practical reasons.

There can be many and mixed reasons for this, but generally speaking they would have to do with disturbances during the identification building phase of our early lives. We are not done with finding a secure identity within ourselves, as guided by parents and others around us, so we look desperately - of course totally unbeknownst to us - for new things to reinforce our identity with.

Apple, Google and other smartphone OS/ecosystem creators are strong business cultures, carefully built up to present an "attitude" or a set of beliefs to provide a strong sense of personal security, interest and utility. These are complex structures and do in many ways mimic "naturally" formed social units, such as families. As such, they can easily slip inside our 'emotional skin' and do for this reason provide especially tempting structures for us to use to patch together our non-sufficient identities with.

So we choose one. I am now part of the Apple family, and defend my little brother the iPhone as if he were a real person!! Or I am now part of the Android family, and if you take a piss on the "open" OS philosophy, you might as well just have insulted my mother!!1!

There you have it. The phenomena of blind fanboyism/rage replies are mostly due to the state of our emotional lives, though we like to say that our behaviour in this area is motivated by concerns of 'technology'.

Some more input in this thread btw:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1437140/

 

[ChazUK]

Fantastic responses already. A little faith is being restored by those, thank you.

I am dumbstruck by how far all this goes and I've seen plenty of this vs that over the years but this seems way beyond anything I've seen before. Good thing we aren't at football hooliganism levels yet but now long will it be before we see the first fanboy tech brawl?

 

[Calidude]

You neglected the part where she acts like a drama queen and says:

I'm not attending the Android BBQ this year because of it. Which bums me out, because I kind of wanted to see my friends there. But I'm not going to risk being assaulted, because I work in technology.

I mean really. To think that somebody would batter her over it is just ridiculous. She needs to get a life as much as the guys who physically threatened her.

She is kinda hot though. If anything she should worry about being hit on by nerds.

 

[cynics]

Sounds like BS. She's not opening that to comments because someone would burst her drama queen bubble.

"I'm so scared I'm not going to attend things. I've gotten threats!!! Instead of getting help I'm going to blog about it!!"

Gimme a break....

 

[Sedrick]

Ashley who?

 

[Technarchy]

Anyone else got any thoughts on this extreme fanboy/grilism?

I think her assesment of both camps is dead on. She isn't disabling comments to avoid iOS and Mac users.