Fanbois treat criticism of favorite brands as threat to self-image

Never heard such thing and people here can tell you I am a very vocal Linux aficionado.

But there are companies who specialize in interfering with forums to adjust brand-awareness for their clients.

For example, see HN comments on news/opinion involving patents, Google, Android and Apple. They devolve in flamefests because people think that their particular company is being wronged, regardless of their original stance on patents etc. before such news involving their companies came out.

Asymco's analysis always seems to make errors that favor Apple, like leaving out HTC from stats on how profitable Android OEMs are. Or something like this http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2887430

Same with Gruber with his extreme pro-Apple spin on everything. Or Marco's 'analysis' http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2878329

It's very telling how some geeks find Gruber, Asymco, Marco etc. very insightful, whereas others find them inane and biased to a fault. No wonder the discussion runs into a flamefest with very harsh moderation.

Not singling out Apple here, there are examples where criticizing Google will get you automatically downvoted here on HN.

Some part of the moderation seems to be on 'party lines'. Criticize Apple or Google, or support MS and face downvotes or no votes. Criticize MS, get a boatload of karma. All this regardless of the actual facts on hand.

As you say, all this may be good for companies, especially ones that carefully cultivate their brand image to use such effects positively, but this is not really beneficial to honest discussion, information or analysis. It turns the conversation into Fox News vs. MSNBC. with people unable to admit their favorite company can do something wrong once in a while, resulting in people mudslinging the competition instead.

Also, see Roughly Drafted and Boycott Novell(now techrights.org).

Being passionate about a brand though is probably less of a good thing for you personally.

http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/news/2004/02/62157

The hoaxer, identified only as "Andy," claimed he received a dual-processor G5 for Christmas. But preferring a Windows PC, he swapped out the insides of the $3,000 machine for the guts of a cheapo PC. The post included several digital photographs to prove the outrageous claim.

It generated insults from all over the world, and even threats of violence.

bediger also mentioned the possible presence of "reverse shills" being used to pollute the Linux camp. I believe there may be some truth to that -- it's one way to convince on-the-fence tech execs that Linux/Open Source supporters are extremists.

I also believe there's a parallel in politics: Many political campaigns, when they take the fight into online forums, blogs, and newspaper comment threads, attempt to make the other side seem as offensive and idiotic as possible. Extremist commenters repel moderates who might otherwise be aligned with the cause, and/or attract other extremists. I don't have proof of this (almost all such comments are anonymous) other than the staggering incidence of idiocy I see on comment threads when politicians are discussed.