Since the dawn of computer science, Microsoft and Apple have stood face to face as mortal enemies. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, leaders of two great armies of loyal users in the eternal struggle between Mac and PC. Battles are fought in cyberspace, in long and gruesome forum threads. Historians will name them the greatest flamewars of all time. But is this opposition rational? Is one actually better than the other? Let’s find out.
What is flame war?
Wikipedia formulates the elegant answer “Flamewar is a prolonged exchange of deliberately hostile messages over the Internet.”
CollegeHumor takes it to completely different level of truth:
The flamewar of flamewars
Forums and chat rooms have always constituted the core of the online world with its capacity to quickly link people together for instant information sharing. Mac vs. PC has been a topic of interest for the forum devotees ever since computer buyers’ have had the two options. And though it rarely stays behaved, there is always the occasional truce:
Link in thread: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id_kGL3M5Cg
In most cases however, flaming emotions halt any constructive discussing to instead make room for some good old destructive personal criticism.
This image led to flaring emotions between AlecDalek, Stephen S, bee1215, coolfactor and STEVEBALLMERISGOD:
Click on the screenshot below for enlarged image.
How is a PC vs. Mac flamewar typically conducted?
Science teacher Jeff Adkins has created the standard Mac vs. PC flamewar conversation. He is however an apparent Mac-lover and thus not neutral. Regardless, Adkins makes some good points, in one of which he insists that all forum debates, and especially this one, ends in up right smearing.
It is in conclusion safe to say that mac users and pc users always will be trying to convert each other to the other side. And regarding flamewars, perhaps the opposition between these two groups indeed were the first to hit the forums to battle it out. Mac vs. PC is a common thread in tech and computer forums and it will keep on threading ’til one of these brands monopolizes the market. But by then angry mobs of computer nerds will have taken to the streets.
More Famous Flamewar Examples
If you haven’t had enough, here is a couple of more examples including two hilarious celebrity flamewars: Kevin Smith vs. Karl Trale and Joe Rogan vs. Kevin
Kevin Smith engages in a flamewar about Clerks 2
Click the screenshot for enlarged image
Joe Rogan from Fear Factor declares war
Click the screenshot for enlarged image
Guys get rediculed when exposing personal photo in forum thread
Click the screenshot for enlarged image
