Has fanboy behavior ever turned you off a gun or accessory?

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There's a good book I've mentioend before on this forum called "Paradox of Choice" that sort of touches on this topic. It tends to explain some of our behaviour on choosing things.
 
I am surprised how many people have allowed fanboys to turn them away from good products. I would not have expected that. I wonder if that correlates to age.

I must confess to some of the opposite sentiment. Had this thread been labeled the opposite "Have haters ever turned you off..." I would sadly have to admit that yes I have been turned off of a couple of brands by haters...kind of pathetic. I will say in my own feeble defense, the haters of which I speak seem to hate the product and not the company per se. I have not allowed any gun company haters to turn me off and I own stuff by what is probably the most "hated" company out there...and would buy more.
 
No. The guns I like and dislike is based on my personal experience with them. The fact that my daily carry gun is a 3" barreled S&W 317 in 22lr should give you some idea of how much I care about popular opinion. (Everyone can save themselves the trouble of telling me how I am committing suicide by carrying it. My reasons are my reasons and your not going to tell me anything I haven't already heard.)

That being said, if the 317 Smith became the CC choice of fanboys worldwide tomorrow, that wouldn't change the fact that I would still be carrying one. I will grant you that the fanboy type is mighty irritating though.
 
I must confess to some of the opposite sentiment. Had this thread been labeled the opposite "Have haters ever turned you off..." I would sadly have to admit that yes I have been turned off of a couple of brands by haters...kind of pathetic. I will say in my own feeble defense, the haters of which I speak seem to hate the product and not the company per se. I have not allowed any gun company haters to turn me off and I own stuff by what is probably the most "hated" company out there...and would buy more.
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Personally, for me, I see both sides fairly well, and can usually tell when one side is stretching the truth (usually unintentionally, they're convinced they're right) and the other side is generally being logical. In most circumstances, both the haters and fanbois are on the stretching side...
 
If it weren't for the fanboys, some internet forums would cease to exist. No names mentioned ... but one may or may be an AR-specific forum ...

Fanboys crack me up, mostly. Especially the Glock fanboys, who usually quickly display their overall lack of knowledge about firearms, and can't even seem to articulate why their chosen platform is The Best. That said, I have friends who are knowledgeable, experienced shooters who've used Glocks for serious situations in bad places, and I respect them for how and why they have chosen Glocks -- but they'll be the first to tell any new shooter to try out several different platforms before settling on one above another...

I am a huge Colt's/S&W/SIG/Beretta fanboy (pistols/revolvers/ARs/shotguns), but ... I own several Taurus products (all completely reliable and worthy handguns in their own right). I've even recommended Taurus to others who couldn't afford more expensive handguns. While I detest the idiots who mindlessly repeat the "mine is best" mantra without documenting why, I respect those who make informed choices and can intelligently explain why a certain gun is their favorite ("Because it looks cool, homes" is not generally acceptable, though).

I could care less what people on the internet say (although I might argue with someone simply for the sport) and it's never stopped me from buying a product (except for the BAD lever or AFG, which are, in fact, useless) ...
 
I own Chryslers...that should answer the original question. I like different stuff.

I do, generally, have an aversion to anything with a cult following. I've never seen star wars, trek, matrix, any of that crap. If it has the whole world in a tizzy, I generally ignore it, because I don't respect the opinions of most of the world.

So yes, I have avoided in the past and will continue to avoid lots of stuff with fanboyism.
 
Has fanboy behavior ever turned you off a gun or accessory?
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YES.
AR's
glocks
any time anything uses the word "tactical"
they are just so trendy, I couldn't bare to own one, Despite them being decent fire arms that do their job well. It drives me t look else where, and WOW! there really are other decent and accurate firearm's that can do the same thing!
 
No, but for somebody in a warm climate who is considering a CCW, a Makarov-caliber or .380 seems much easier to conceal than a Glock etc.

Some gun owners seem to feel the need to show a bit of contempt or ridicule for others' personal choices, hoping to buttress the shaky foundations supporting their own decisions about guns. That's junior high mentality.

What other people prefer can be of interest and informative If presented in an objective manner, but life is too short to care one bit about whether others approve of my personal possessions.
It's just stuff. Our eyesight will get weaker and we'll be six feet under the mown grass and weedeaters, while our stuff gets sold or given away by many of our families.
 
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I have most of the fanboy guns so I guess as long as it is a good weapon, I'll buy one. But I dont like sigs and the more fanboys I run into the less I like them. Ive shot them, I tried to like them, but they dont do anything that my other guns dont do better. The price doesnt help their case either.
 
We are all fanboys, or snobs. It just dependson which gun we are talking about. Some won't admit to that and point to others. Some are reverse snobs, plenty examples of that in this thread.
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Fanboys say their product is best but can't explain it to the least. I can explain why I like my AK over ARs, 5.45 over 7.62, etc. That's not fanboyism, that's just being a fan. If I just said the AK is the best because the AR jams all the time, that's fanboyism.

Everyone is a snob in some way but not fanboys.
 
Whenever I am shopping for a product I don't know a lot about, I read as many reviews as possible, in an attempt to discover how good it is before actually buying it. You have to read a LOT of reviews however, because you need to filter out the ones that are subjective. Once I have bought a product, I decide on it's merits totally on my own. It does not matter to me one bit what other people think.

When I was younger, the opinion of my peers was important and influenced me. I think that shows a lack of confidence. Now, I am old enough and self-confident enough to not care what anyone else thinks of my choices. I absolutely do not care if someone else hates a product I love, or likes one I don't. I have no desire to change their mind. I will simply state my experiences with a product as objectively as I can, in case it will help someone; perhaps even a lurker.

I do have to admit that getting to this point took me a long time!
 
FIVETWOSEVEN said:
Fanboys say their product is best but can't explain it to the least. I can explain why I like my AK over ARs, 5.45 over 7.62, etc. That's not fanboyism, that's just being a fan. If I just said the AK is the best because the AR jams all the time, that's fanboyism.
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The other fanboy phenomenon is where fanboys can back up their product's merits (sometimes with databases of statistics), but do tend to go waaay overboard in trashing any and all alternatives.

And you've made an important distinction - being a fan is one thing, being a fanboy is another.

fatcat4620 said:
No, but it sure ruins a lott of threads.
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This.
 
Since the OP asked to leave specific brands unmentioned, I will. There is a handgun brand that seems to breed "fanboyism". I've shot them and don't care for them, BUT if I liked them, I'd own them. The behavior of others does not influence what I shoot, rational and cogent opinion will.

Comments on the AR, which is not a brand, seem to focus on a particular Forum. Again, the behavior of the people on a Forum influence me ONLY in regard to the Forum, not in regard to the subject matter.

I will admit that Fanboy behavior is distasteful to me and I readily ignore and avoid it.
 
I will begrudgingly admit that Fanboyism does influence other things in my life - for example, I'm sure that "Lost" was a great show, but I couldn't bear to watch it after listening to all the drones go on and on about it, but I don't believe Fanboyism has ever influenced a firearms purchase, either negatively or positively.
 
fanboys do more harm to there cause than good , not just with gun stuff eather , I've seen truckers get in a Peterbuilt and there a Supertrucker over night , or some 100lbs dirt ball get a Harley and he thinks he is Billy bad-ass, and that reayl hurts the brand names , the worst I have seen on here was a guy telling everyone that he had the best press and everyone else was buying junk , he even said you were a FOOL if you bought brand X , I felt bad for any one that had the same brand as him , I think I would have crawled under a rock befor I said I had the same reload press as him! and I too wondered how many others stayed away from that brand becaus they didn't want to be in that class with him
 
The other fanboy phenomenon is where fanboys can back up their product's merits (sometimes with databases of statistics), but do tend to go waaay overboard in trashing any and all alternatives.
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Trashing other alternatives is still fanboyism as I stated before as there is no 100% answer in the gun world. Trashing them shows that you don't know the merits or the benefits of the other choice.
 
To be fair, "trashing" may be simply pointing out the defects or areas one doesn't like about a particular gun. This would be perceived by a fanboy as trashing and would incite a "you stupid fanboys just trash others guns to make yours look good."

Splinter in the eye anyone?
 
Nope, I buy what I like. Don't dislike the product, just the fanboy. I let them brag and then go ahead with what I want to buy.
 
coolluke01 said:
To be fair, "trashing" may be simply pointing out the defects or areas one doesn't like about a particular gun. This would be perceived by a fanboy as trashing and would incite a "you stupid fanboys just trash others guns to make yours look good."
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I don't think I agree. A dispassionate but balanced discussion of product shortcomings is one thing. But there is some point where the presentation of info becomes unbalanced, and that's where "trashing" might come in. The problem with fanboyism is not the information - its the approach/delivery/attitude ...

We are all fans of firearms on this forums. That's why we're on the forum, of course. And being a fan is a good thing.

if someone was to point out the issues related to a particular AR brand that I own, or optic, I might actually agree with many of them, from first hand experience. And I might politely counter with the reasons I made my choices, but do acknowledge and respect the attributes of some other AR or optic. Indeed, it may be the case that the other products being advocated are indeed technically superior, but my choices may reflect something personal (or in the case of the optic, physical).

But if the other party keeps going, and going, and going ... well that crosses a line from a reasonable discussion to something else. IMHO, its this kind of behavior that diminishes the level and value of discourse that is something considerably less than High Road.

I can respect your choices, even if I don't necessarily agree with them. All I would hope for is that the other party returns the favor.

The phrase "splinter in the eye" was used (and I admit I had to look up that one...) ... so I'll also go biblical by saying "do unto others" ...

My 2cents. YMMV...
 
Been watching this thread for a few days now. If someone is so easily swayed by the actions/words of others, can you imagine how easily they could be used to further someone's cause? I believe most members of PETA, ELF, occupiers, etc., are such types.

Don't get me started on subliminal suggestions.
 
Theres more 1911 fans then glock fans i think. At least, theres no less. Yet i have moved from being an xd fan to a 1911 fan (still love the xd though)

Im not a glock fan. But its not do to the fans. And i have considered a glock for 9mm. Just not high in my list.

However i can do admit its annoyibg when people act like there the best gun on earth and all others are crap... but thats not most glock fans.... just enough.


For example. I recently read a tgrough on glock vs 1911 for carry. And someone stated that anyone that carried a 1911 was an idiot for doing so because it waa dangerous and a glock was much safer... that guy..... was a moron. Lol
 
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I don't let fanboys affect my gun purchases or opinions, but I'm affected by fanboy behavior on what forums I visit. As olddog said, some forums would cease to be, or I believe, just cease to be annoying. There's a lot of good information on forums that may rhyme with "scarf.tom" and "block walk", but the fanboys make it impossible for me to hang out there. Fanboys often lack manners, are rude, and are generally unpleasant. That's why I like THR, intelligent polite discourse (mostly.)
RT
 
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