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When Windows released the developers version of Windows 8, the blogger masses were excited about the slick preview, we at The Atlantic Wire even speculated that Windows 8 might be the next it thing, and possibly lure Apple-philes away from their iThings. That was enough to bring out the Apple fanboys who were quick dismiss anything with Microsoft in front of it by spewing their feelings in comment threads (including ours) across the blogosphere. But such passion is to be expected when you rain on a Mac parade. But maybe it shouldn't work like that, argues Gizmodo's Mat Honan, who decries the Windows 8 haterade: "I don't really get those who treat brands like sports teams, offering blind allegiance over self-interest. That's just zealotry." Fanboy hate is unwarranted, but does a blog takedown do anything to solve the problem?

It's not that a case against fanboys doesn't make sense, a blogger or developer's opinion shouldn't anger readers so much. There's something about fanboy passion that takes discussions into a dark place, explains Infoworld's Galen Gruman. "I do get the joy and allegiance one can form with technology.... But sometimes, that stimulation stirs up a hornet's nest, especially among the many fanboys whose attachment to specific technologies crosses into unnaturally personal territory. Often, that takes the form of online trash talk." And not only do these remarks create a community of hate, but they certainly won't convert anyone who disagrees. Fanboys have no credibility, explains Honan:

If you're not intrigued by Windows 8 and Metro, if you can't recognize that it's a big leap forward, if you're not excited about what it means for you, personally then you don't really care about technology; you care about brands. You care about platforms. You care about politics. You're a fanboy.

And really, even if you do utterly hate the latest gadgetmacallit, you don't have to be so rude about it, argues The Loop's Peter Cohen. "Use what you want to use--Windows, Android, OS X, iOS, whatever. Just stop being such a dick about it."