# Guaranteed hot-button issues on message boards **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 5, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943 "2006-12-05T15:31:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![toto\_dies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@toto\_dies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toto_dies)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/41 "2006-12-05T21:26:36Z")
From what I’ve witnessed on many messageboards, the hot button issue is usually “newbies” there are debates whether an influx of newbies is going to ruin the golden years of a board. Whenever a close clique-ness of the board feels under jeopardy it usually gets people irate no matter what side they’re coming from. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/42 "2006-12-05T21:29:43Z")
[QUOTE=toto dies] From what I’ve witnessed on many messageboards, the hot button issue is usually “newbies” there are debates whether an influx of newbies is going to ruin the golden years of a board. Whenever a close clique-ness of the board feels under jeopardy it usually gets people irate no matter what side they’re coming from. [/QUOTE] Or the newbies posting the same questions the regular visitors have seen before. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/43 "2006-12-05T21:31:00Z")
Am I really the first one to mention smoking? The “right of smokers to smoke” v. “the right of non-smokers not to be unduly exposed to smoke” is a pretty hot one here. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/44 "2006-12-05T22:05:46Z")
[QUOTE=KayElCee] What does/does not qualify as racism. [/QUOTE] Corollary: reparations for descendants of slaves. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/45 "2006-12-05T22:17:43Z")
[QUOTE=Missy2U] Wal-Mart - minion of the devil/American success story [/QUOTE] Starbucks - good coffee/bad coffee. Good corporate citizen or killer of local coffee houses. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/46 "2006-12-05T22:53:03Z")
[QUOTE=toto dies] From what I’ve witnessed on many messageboards, the hot button issue is usually “newbies” there are debates whether an influx of newbies is going to ruin the golden years of a board. Whenever a close clique-ness of the board feels under jeopardy it usually gets people irate no matter what side they’re coming from. [/QUOTE] Now THAT I’ve seen many times. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/47 "2006-12-05T23:04:24Z")
[QUOTE=Rushgeekgirl] Breastfeeding, especially extended nursing [/QUOTE] Or breastfeeding in public. God forbid someone should see a boobie. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/48 "2006-12-05T23:40:05Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] Mac vs. PC PS2 vs. XBox PS3 vs XBox360 vs Wii Ford versus Chevy **Hitler** Tailgating George W. Bush [/QUOTE] Is there a lot of debate on the Hitler thing? ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/49 "2006-12-05T23:42:49Z")
- manual/auto transmissions - cyclists - child corporal punishment - grammar Nazism - Vegemite ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/50 "2006-12-05T23:55:40Z")
[QUOTE=Heffalump and Roo] Wow. Just wow. You and I must not frequent the same message boards (or perhaps I’m just not as aware of these topics), but I haven’t noticed these as particularly hot-button issues on any other forum I’ve frequented. [/QUOTE] I haven’t either, I guess that’s why I like it here. Even if the topics aren’t that exciting, the comments are pure gold. When I used to just read here I had a SDMB comments folder and used to copy some of the comments to read later because they cracked me up. A couple I saved over the years and I have no idea who wrote them– “.. **none of the rest of this is of any significance at all, you are simply pumping more gas into a fart dirigible**.” “ **Pardon me, allow me to translate. I speak Crazy**.” " **Its a bit confusing listening to you guys piss and moan about your oppression, like Roots with an all-white cast…"** ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/51 "2006-12-05T23:56:01Z")
[QUOTE=Heffalump and Roo] Wow. Just wow. You and I must not frequent the same message boards (or perhaps I’m just not as aware of these topics), but I haven’t noticed these as particularly hot-button issues on any other forum I’ve frequented. And except for issues that are already heated in real life such as religion, abortion and gay rights, I haven’t seen much venom over the other issues presented in this thread either. I could, however, get heated up over the cell phone issue all by myself, but perhaps that doesn’t count. [/QUOTE] Stick around here a little while. You’ll see all of the above heatedly debated or just plain argued about. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/52 "2006-12-06T00:06:52Z")
Vegetarianism. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/53 "2006-12-06T01:05:30Z")
[QUOTE=SenorBeef] Is there a lot of debate on the Hitler thing? [/QUOTE] Well, I was thinking along the lines of comparing “X” to Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/54 "2006-12-06T02:23:13Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] Ford versus Chevy Hitler Tailgating George W. Bush [/QUOTE] These are great fodder for intense debates if you string them all together like so: Ford vs. Chevy: Hitler tailgating George W. Bush! It’s been a while since I’ve participated in such a debate but the central focus of it tends to be about which one drives the Chevy and which one drives the Ford. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/55 "2006-12-06T16:35:50Z")
[QUOTE=DWMarch] These are great fodder for intense debates if you string them all together like so: Ford vs. Chevy: Hitler tailgating George W. Bush! It’s been a while since I’ve participated in such a debate but the central focus of it tends to be about which one drives the Chevy and which one drives the Ford. [/QUOTE] GW drives a Ford pickup on his ranch. Hitler probably got driven around in a Mercedes… ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/56 "2006-12-06T17:31:58Z")
The corporeal existence of C. Adams, Perfect Master. ---
**Author:** ![Obsidian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/51bf81/32.png) [@Obsidian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obsidian)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943/57 "2006-12-06T18:06:11Z")
Shoes on/shoes off in the house. (I was apparently raised in one of the few houses where the attitude toward this and many other household ‘rules’ (like the TP roll) was “meh, whatever”, and have always been amazed by the amount of ire these threads generate) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaranteed-hot-button-issues-on-message-boards/382943.md?page=2)