From my experience you are probably correct. Flamewars are a result of touched emotions. If parts of my identity depend on the color of a desktop (e.g. because

From my experience you are probably correct. Flamewars are a result of touched emotions. If parts of my identity depend on the color of a desktop (e.g. because I've used it for 10 years) a color change will infuriate me and I may start a flamewar. This usually doesn't happen with server technology (most people couldn't care less about the internal workings of a server. They will never see it). Additionally: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikeshedding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikeshedding - server software looks far more complicated than desktop software, so many people will think they understand the topics at hand and will talk about changes in the desktop software. Greater participation increases the risk of flamewars.