I'm not sure if your post is genuine or if you are just trying to stir up some controversy, but I'll bite.

Very often, I will start a thread in which I ask for an opinion on a certain piece of equipment. I like to keep my threads clean and on topic, so I will usually request that those who reply stick with the subject and NOT try to steer the discussion to a product they think is better - or even worse, turn it into a debate over whether it's right or wrong to even use that product/piece of equipment in the first place. This happens with helmets and music players all the time.

Consistently, within three or four replies, someone will post something like "Well, I don't USE XXXX, never have, never will...and anyone who does use one is a disgrace." Or if I ask for specific advice on using a product I have already purchased, people will start spewing out all sorts of useless nonsense like "I don't own that one, so I can't help you, but I really think the XXXX is much better."

I, myself, am guilty of dropping garbage on these forums from time to time when I am bored or frustrated that I'm not out riding, so I don't want to be too harsh on people who do what I described above. These forums are designed to enable cyclists to help one another and BE helped by others, but they also have a certain lure for any cyclist who has an opinion and nobody within five feet who wants to hear it.

I'd say that about 75% of the time, these forums are the most priceless resource I could ever wish for. Other times, they become a battle ground for miserable, angry people - or a place for cyclists to blow off steam over something non cycling-related happening in their lives. Overall, I find I can filter the "wrong" advice most of the time and get to the information I need. For anyone who has forgotten (or is too young to remember), there was a time when people used to actually get together and have live, in-person discussions about things, and those discussions often included a lot of gibberish, bs, and soap-boxing, too. But in the end, everyone walked away friends - maybe even better friends than before.