Couldn't agree more. First, I do not follow Violet's leap that this is tangibly, even subtly, about gender. Just because the object of an ugly and vicious atta

Couldn't agree more. First, I do not follow Violet's leap that this is tangibly, even subtly, about gender. Just because the object of an ugly and vicious attack happens to be female does not make sexism the conscious or subconscious motivation behind the attack. It's highly likely that the same lynch mob would have gone after a man who aroused their fanboy ire, and with the same level of zeal and fanaticism. Playing the gender card here does no favors to Violet's otherwise interesting and provocative analysis. Second, I don't understand what Apple is meant to do about this. If one is to accuse Apple, even indirectly, of inspiring this behavior among its fanbase, then one bears at least some burden for suggesting how Apple might address the issue. As it stands, I don't understand a) how this behavior is unique to Apple's fanboys versus, say, everyone else's fanboys, and b) what Apple should -- or even can -- do about it. Finally, I agree with you that this is more a sad phenomenon of internet fanboyism in general, and less a phenomenon of Apple fanboyism in specific. That Apple fanboyism happens to stand out from the pack is probably a matter of sample size. There are more Apple fanboys out there, among the general population, than there are other types of fanboys. But anyone who's ever browsed an online message board, Reddit topic, etc., about any fanboy-generating topic (video games, movies, comic books, you name it) will see the same sort of craziness that was seen here. That doesn't excuse the craziness by any means; it's obnoxious, ugly, and counterproductive everywhere that it exists. But it does put the craziness of Apple fanboyism into its proper context and perspective.