The "I like it, you don't" but why do we disparage discussion.

[zeekphreak]

Hello MMO champ forums,

I'm guilty of it myself, but WHY? Why do we feel it's necessary to either be disparaging or outright nasty to others that don't feel the same way about things? Take the WoD announcement. I'm personally excited, but I have irl friends and guildies that are trying their best to convince me that I would have to be mentally damaged or deficient for being excited.

I'm hoping that we can get some interesting discussion on this human dynamic.

[Gheld]

Here is an article that might help shed some light on the situation:

http://lifehacker.com/the-psychology...sam-1300451596

EDIT: For the record, I'm not specifically accusing anybody of fanboyism here, I just feel that some of the psychological principals outlined in the article are relevant to the OPs query.

[Imnick]

it's because I'm right and the only reason anyone else could possibly see differently is because they lack my unique intelligence and insight

[hrugner]

It's a breakdown of the concept of "theory of mind", the ability to dynamically model another person's thought process through interaction and anticipation. Unfortunately, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that we're all communicating through the internet rather than face to face. We don't see the look on the other person's face as we begin down a path they don't agree with and have no opportunity to help them understand our position.

Essentially, we are using a poor medium for communication and are essentially rendering ourselves autistic in regards to that communication.

If you really want to know why other people feel the way they do about something, engage them directly in that topic and discuss their reasoning rather than their end result to get a better idea of where they're coming from.