Why are VS threads looked down upon?

[FolkLikePanda]

I'm glad VS threads are looked down upon, otherwise my arse would have burns worser than 3rd degree with all the flames and skittle. Mainly also becuase I'm a right-wing (not fascist or anything extreme) minded person (wish I wasn't but people who get away too wiyth things too easily piss me off and also it runs in the family) and so hence forth I am prone to much flame and hate. But lets not create another VS thread here even though I've dug myself a hole here.

 

[GrimHeaper]

Everytime someone creates a VS thread almost everyone who replies say something like "ohno, not another vs thread".

Personally, i have nothing against them but everyone else seem to have.

Why? What's wrong with versus threads? Do they usually result in flamewar or is it something else?

Why not just go here http://www.factpile.com/

 

[Worgen]

because vs threads really only exist to piss ppl off

 

[UnwishedGunz]

i believe its because it starts up so many arguments within the forum

 

[Krakyn]

Flaming and lack of discussion value. "Master Chief VS Samus" - nobody is going to change their minds or listen to each other. Each side is going to get pissed off at every opportunity.

 

[GrimHeaper]

Flaming and lack of discussion value. "Master Chief VS Samus" - nobody is going to change their minds or listen to each other. Each side is going to get pissed off at every opportunity.

I think it should be obvious who wins in a to the death match.
Samus having to ability to literally reduce him to ash seems about right.

 

[Vault boy Eddie]

I don't know if it's already been said, but flame wars.

 

[GrimHeaper]

"(thing with fans) vs. (competing thing with fans)" often results in fans of each thing angrily debating why their favorite thing is awesome, everything else sucks, and everyone who disagrees with them should be described with a variety of offensive slurs.

A lot of the time, though, the people who complain about versus threads are not exercising any discrimination between flamewars waiting to happen and harmlessly fun versus threads. They just see "versus" and have a knee-jerk reaction.

Examples of flame-inspiring versus threads: "Microsoft vs. Apple" or "Gordon Freeman vs. Master Chief"

Now here's an example of a thread that I think is harmless: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.180368-Poll-WALL-E-VS-R2-D2

If you look at the comments, there is no flaming over the choices. It is just a harmless, fun scenario of imagining the scenario of a bunch of fictional robots fighting. Actually, the least constructive conversation in the thread is various paraphrasing of "We don't like versus threads."

BAH BAH SHEEP.
All of them saying that is just following the crowd.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

The flame war and smug people with art degrees that think they know everything.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

"Gordon Freeman vs. Master Chief"

You don't know that Master Chief isn't Gordon Freeman...

 

[Caliostro]

Why? What's wrong with versus threads? Do they usually result in flamewar or is it something else?

Very low content flame fests.

Character Versus are almost universally pointless as different "universes" have different power scales. Brands Versus, whatever low content they can have, is always buried under piles of fanboys, so they too become redundant.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

Most of the time they offer little to no discussion, causes flaming, and there are so many of them. Do you have questions about a certain game? Want to have a general discussion about Marvel comics? Go ahead, make a thread like that. But don't say "Who would win in a fight? Captain America or Superman" (it's Superman, obviously) because people will just come in and post one word, and then leave.

Also, the ones asking people which game they should buy are silly. Do people not have their own opinions?

You don't know that Master Chief isn't Gordon Freeman...

You know what would be cool? If at the end of Reach, it showed Master Chief taking off his helmet to reveal Gordon Freeman under his suit and then at the end of Episode 3 Gordon putting on a helmet... and it turns out that Half-Life was a prequel to Halo! Or something like that.

 

[solidstatemind]

Subjective opinion is hard to 'discuss' in a calm and rational fashion, particularly in an arena where some of the traditional safeguards are missing-- here, you're relatively anonymous; you can curse; you can behave badly; you can engage in crappy argumentation; etc. with very little fear of reprisal.

Because of that ability to escalate (which also most people end up taking much more quickly in this format), It's just not quite the same as sitting down with your friends over dinner and saying "who would win in a fight, Batman or Spiderman?"

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

They're pretty immature, and don't really inspire interesting conversation. Having said that:

Hitler vs Stalin. Who is deadliest?

...just trying to give them ideas for season 3.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

They're pretty immature, and don't really inspire interesting conversation. Having said that:

Hitler vs Stalin. Who is deadliest?

Stalin. Hitler was just racist, while Stalin would kill his own.

DANGIT I'm falling into the trap!

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

It usually always ends up the same a giant flame war because of someone who doesn't know or understand one of the topics.

 

[Sovvolf]

Because they attract fanboys/girls from both sides, who fight, cry, scream, yell nasty words and then get put on probation/banned. While it would be nice to have a vs thread that only let people with a totally objective opinion of the subject debate and discuss, that will never happen. Not taking a side in a vs thread will have you shot by both sides.

 

[Regiment]

Every vs. thread will invariably and rapidly deteriorate into people saying that the choice they dislike is stupid and horrible and that anyone who likes it is insane and so forth.

 

[Ekit]

I haven't seen a single versus thread result in flame war. I haven't been on these forums very long though.
But i get the feeling that people automatically assume that a versus thread is going to end with a flame war. I would hope that people could have a calm, rational discussion without fighting. And if someone does try to start a fight, so what? If they get a probation/ban then the problem is solved.
Further, if you argue that versus threads don't generate discussion i would argue that basically every poll and "favorie..." thread usually ends up with one sentence answers, yet noone seems to hate those...

 

[esperandote]

I also don't undestand why, yeah oportunity for flame wars and little discusion but we also miss topics with great debate value and smart arguments.

And "oh noez, another vs thread, inb4lock" (or what ever the 1337 is) posts are worse than the thread itself.