Quoted from EJS:

You can find this in pinball I can promise you. But it’s going to be offline. Locally in my neighborhoods we have great communities of pinheads which you describe similar to your crypto group.
If people didn’t like drama Reddit would have died long ago.

Quoted from shlt_thunder:

I dunno. I’ve been exposed to some pretty close minded communities online and pin side has nothing on those others. There might be some discussion of newbies in the hobby not getting it or whatever, but as someone new to the hobby, any question I ask gets a sincere ans.

Quoted from ZooDude:

Good and bad here, the ignore feature is key to a good time on pinside. If you guys think it's rough here or reddit, you should check out the exotic animal keeper forums, just brutal to the point of actual violence, calling CPS on other keepers to have their kids taken away, just cutthroat gnarly. At least a pinball machine can't kill you.....ok,ok, is not likely to kill you.
Some true gems here and some real dingleberries, just gotta sort through it.
B

Quoted from Thermionic:

I really think a large part of the problem has to do with inherent limitations of online forums + typical personality quirks of a pinhead.
Quite frankly, a lot of us pinheads are smartasses with irreverent senses of humor, and we tend to derive entertainment and pleasure endlessly taking the piss out of each other, with lots of good-natured ribbing and shit-talking along the way. This is all great fun and good for a lot of laughs, and engenders friendship and comradery when the interactions occur IN-PERSON in normal settings (parties, arcades, expos, bowling alleys, pubs, etc.).
Online, all bets are off though, because none of the non-verbal stuff that normally serves during face-to-face interactions to provide "context clues" that the ribbing is good-natured and intended to be fun and light-hearted translates well in mostly text online interactions (judicious use of emojis can help a little, but is woefully inadequate to fully compensate). Therefore, things can get misinterpreted and incorrect conclusions are drawn, and hurt feelings, anger, and resentment can be the result, leading to some of the malignant posting and sniping that is sometimes seen here. Also, it's easier to suspend whatever form of "bad mood" we happen to be experiencing in a social/party/pinball setting than it is sitting alone in isolation with a tablet or computer, which no doubt contributes to a more positive vibe and less risk of being offended.
I don't know what the solution is other than to individually try to extend grace and liberally give each other the "benefit of the doubt", while also learning to retrain our brains to be a little less quick to jump into "defensive" and "counter-attack" mode (IOW, develop thicker skin).

Quoted from Zablon:

Pretty much what PismoArcade said. It's everywhere to varying degrees. The current state of the world doesn't help either. Everyone is on edge, defensive, combative, and unwilling to compromise. People are just flat out mean. The old adage that the majority of humanity is good really has come into question these days. You try to get people to think of the bigger picture beyond themselves and they just laugh it off. People have stopped caring.
That being said, I don't find pinside to be as bad as people make it out to be. Even though people disagree, everyone is willing to help each other out when needed. You should see my wife's quilting forums. It's cutthroat over there.

Quoted from bobmathuse:

A large part of the problem is the indirect nature of the communication. People are much more likely to be confrontational when not face-to-face with the other person. It's not inherent in the remoteness, but it's evolved in it. The "ancient" Compuserve chat rooms were not that unlike this forum, but were much more polite. I was in several on a variety of topics, and while there were issues, the frequency of hostile replies was far lower than today. Then, people were so happy to find others sharing their interest beyond the handful who lived near them (if any) that arguments were quickly dropped. I see too much "my way or the highway" now. Sad.
Other pinball forums have had issues, too. Tiltforums has had threads locked when they got too testy. And as others have mentioned, a small number of loud voices are a disproportionate part of the problem.
I've dropped out of many threads of interest when I saw them get out of hand. While I have more Covid data than most, the discussion was out of control there early on and I saw no point in getting into the crossfire between sides. Too much "defending MY position" and too little "what's the real scoop?"
I've largely dropped out of "Game X good or bad?" discussions, too. Yes, I have opinions, and I've played almost all pre-Stern games more than most other people here. But what games I like and why are only relevant to people who play games for the same reasons I do. Some people focus more on art, sound, theme, etc., and will never agree with me on which games they like best. That's fine, and I have no need to convince them that I'm somehow "right". That's part of the key to calming things down - - recognizing that more than one position can be "right," for different reasons. Maybe more people here should read the "favorite lesser-known movies" thread and see that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Quoted from Zablon:

Do you think it has something to do with the cost associated? I feel like many people in expensive hobbies feel they need to be justified in their spending, or they question themselves. At least that is how it seems around here. There is so little reason to be a fanboy of any pinball manufacturer. More games is good right? Competition good right? They all have their pros and cons, yet...here we are. Tell something that you think their game sucks, they take offense because they just spent 10k on it. It's something primal/subliminal.

Quoted from CrazyLevi:

Wait….are you telling me cars are worse than pinball ?!

Quoted from Darscot:

There is a lot of great people here and great information. On the other hand there is something weird with time. I enjoy talking shit and riling some one up probably more than the next guy. Here I have to be conscious of it and understand that people really take it seriously, it's not just a laugh to a lot of people on here. You can make a wise crack here and people will stalk you and downvote everything you say for years. I had a guy freak out that I was trolling a thread and I hadn't posted in it in three years. Three years later and he was still pissed, over a comment on the internet. Also the fanboyism around here is off the charts. There is a lot of subjects that people just choose a side and nothing will ever change their stance. I have never seen the level of fanboy devotion you see here, shit Ford/Chevy/Dodge doesn't run as deep as Stern/JJP/BW or Incandescent/LED.

Quoted from jackd104:

Welcome to the interwebs

Quoted from Bublehead:

The only forum more toxic than Pinside that I have been in is the Lego forum Eurobricks... these guys sit like crouching tiger, hidden dragon waiting to jackboot the throat of a newbie on their first post. If there ever was a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than pinheads on pinside, its Legalomaniacs from Europe... had to bow out of that forum, these guys and gals are always ready for a knife fight when it comes to forum rules, moderator over reach, and cronyism and favoritism. And dont even get me started on the length of their noses which they love to stare down at you as they read you the riot act and the bible all in the same breath. Now as for friendly and don't give a damn, the radio control forums seem like some of the most laid back ones I have visited.