Most of the Apple-related posts I see are by those who bash Apple users. I don't see too many Apple zealots, if any. Certainly nothing like what's popularly attributed. Apple users have yet to have a Golden Eagle-like poster.
Last year, I too thought the same... and undertook a study of several FR threads to see if I could determine the truth. My methodology and the results culled from 36 threads (18 Mac, 18 Windows) are posted below:
I have long thought that there was a distinct dichotomy between the civility of Mac users on MS threads and vice-verse. This was just a casual observation that Mac users on Windows' threads, aside from comments such as "Buy a Mac" in response to problems on MS Windows computers, were generally fairly helpful and polite compared to MS Windows users on Mac oriented threads.I decided to check and see if my casual observation was actually fact.
I did a Free Republic search for both "Windows" and "Microsoft" and read the first 18 threads I found dealing with Windows' security and OS issues. I then did a similar search for "Macintosh" and "Apple" as well as "OSX" and read the first 18 threads also dealing with Macintosh's security and OS issues.
I tabulated comments in each thread that I deemed were "invading" the thread (Mac is better than Windows in Windows threads, or Windows is better than Mac in Mac threads). I noted comments in three categories: mild, moderate, and insulting. Those which I deemed "mild" were those in which a platform advocate made reasoned commentary about their preferred platform and compared it to the subject platform. Those that commented denigrating the subject platform with ignorant or outdated mis-information, I deemed "moderate". Finally, comments attacking or denigrating the users of the subject platform, I deemed "Insulting". These judgments were subjective on my part... but I attempted to be totally fair.
The findings were eye opening.
Microsoft Windows Threads: In the 18 threads dealling with problems or OS issues of Microsoft Windows, I found 33 pro-Macintosh comments out of 944 comments in the threads. Those comments accounted for a mere 3.5% of all comments. Of those comments, 19 (2%) were of the mild "Buy a Mac" type, 14 (1.5%) were of the "Windows sucks and you should buy a Mac" category, and 1 was an outright insult to Windows users. Incidentally SIX of the 18 threads had no pro-Mac/Anti-Windows comments (although there were were Windows users slamming Windows in all but one of the threads!)
Four of the 18 Windows articles mentioned Macs in the body of the article... and naturally there were more pro/anti Mac comments in those particular threads by about 3 to 1 over articles that did not mention Macs.
Interestingly, 16 of the 944 comments in the Windows threads were gratuitous slams against Macs... 1.7%... and four of them were outright insults to Mac users themselves.
Apple Macintosh OSX Threads: On the 18 Macintosh threads, which were for some reason more active than the Windows threads with 1563 comments, (the percentages were far different). In those 1563 comments, 230 (an astounding 14.7%) were pro-Windows/anti-Mac comments! Of those, 89 (5.7%) were of the mild "Windows can do the job better" or "I prefer to use Windows because there is more depth to the software" type. 112 (7.2%) were of the moderate type, repeating out-dated or mis-information about Macs as gospel truth. There were 29 (1.8%) outright insult comments attacking or denigrating Mac users as" Gay", "Liberal" or "scraggly, goateed, artsy, hippies."
Going the other way in the Mac threads, 2.4% of the comments (38) were anti-Windows. Of those, 29 (1.9%) were mild and 9 (0.6%) were moderate... and there were zero insults/attacks of Windows users. Examining these, it is apparent that most are responses to the attacks and/or mis-information pushed by the Mac thread invaders (I hesitate to use the term "Trolls"). In five of the Mac threads, comments had been deleted by FR moderators due to abuse by Mac bashing invaders... nowhere was this found on the MS Windows threads surveyed.
The evidence is in. Windows "Microsofties" are far more insulting and invasive of Mac threads than "Macmoonies" are of Windows threads.