Hi mlj,
I am like you. If it happens to me I will share it, for whatever it is worth. Ask my opinion and I will share it with you.
Now, as the internet thing goes, if a buddy asks me if I know anything about the Sigma line and asks my opinion, I will tell him what I know first hand. (They seem solid and affordable and I've never had an issue with one). Now, I will not tell him about a guy I "met" on the internet that had a bad experience with one. That is now heresay. I believe you but I was not there to witness it. You and I never met. The problems on the net are those that heard from a friend who has a friend who surfs the net and read about a guy who had XXX happen to him. He won't tell him of the other net forums where 72 guys said they love it and 2 had a bad experience. That's why we all take what we read with a grain of salt.
I know that within 1 minute I can find bad reports from every gun ever made out there. If I want to buy a Kahr, i go to the Kahr forums. If I want a Taurus, I go to the Taurus forums, etc. I will read what guys like you and me say about them, not press releases by guys paid by them. I know I'll read bad things but if the good outweighs the bad by 100 to 1 then I know I have a good chance of getting a decent gun. If it's 10 to one then I may reassess my option.