why do so many discussions turn contentious?

Why do so many discussions turn out so contentious? For the same reason worthless sounding equipment get good reviews in magazines. Everyone wants their beliefs affirmed. IME there are several groups of listeners. The 2 primary groups are those looking for accuracy and those who want music to sound good. I'm an accuracy guy, I want to I hear the good the bad, and the ugly. Then there's what I call the Vandersteen listeners. To my ears Vandersteens dumb down the sound so that nothing really is annoying.  So if you want to enjoy the music without detail, Vandersteens get you there. Then there are folks who are hearing impaired. I know a guy with a serious high frequency impairment. He listens to an Asian girl band which makes most people's ears bleed. IMO, that's it, the if it's there I want to hear it, and if it sucks it sucks, then the my hearing is bad, but I want compensation types. The fact is that if you X, you like X, don't worry about other people!

 "A fool is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing".


Oscar Wilde

In our culture, I think that civil discourse is becoming an historical artifact.

Much of this discourse thrives on the passive aggressive nature as well as anonymity. Social Media........Post things you would never say face to face.  

Audiogon is hurting their brand. Either the ought to moderate the discussions, remove them entirely or set it up so if a member asks a question all responses go directly to that member. No more public discussion. The anonymity afforded by these internet discussions has become an outlet for sick people. Fortunately for me the questions I have posted did receive some thoughtful and helpful responses; it is not all bad