History BrokenBase / OtherMedia

* eBooks/eReaders vs. traditional books. Some readers prefer the convenience of eBooks since it's easier to take them on the go and read them at any time, while also not taking up physical space like books do. Traditional readers, however, prefer the feel of reading pages of a real book over swiping a screen and argue that eBooks are not as engaging as real books, not to mention other benefits like the resell factor, the lack of eye-strain, the feeling of ownership, and the lack of annoyances like online DRM. For what it's worth, [[https://www.howlifeunfolds.com/learning-education/7-scientific-benefits-reading-printed-books scientific studies appear to back physical books as well]].

* eBooks/eReaders vs. traditional books. Some readers prefer the convenience of eBooks since it's easier to take them on the go and read them at any time, while also not taking up physical space like books do. Traditional readers, however, prefer the feel of reading pages of a real book over swiping a screen and argue that eBooks are not as engaging as real books, not to mention other benefits like the resell factor, the lack of eye-strain, the feeling of ownership, and lack of annoyances like online DRM. For what it's worth, [[https://www.howlifeunfolds.com/learning-education/7-scientific-benefits-reading-printed-books scientific studies appear to back physical books as well]].

** ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'': A crashing bore that nearly buried the Trek franchise for good, or a worthy Trek SpiritualSuccessor to ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''? For better and/or worse, it's probably the ''Trek'' film that comes closest to being an episode of the Original Series in movie format. Compare ''The Search for Spock'', which tends to get much more muted reactions from just about everybody. Maybe the only Trek movie to get this treatment (at least until the Creator/JJAbrams films) especially after the ReCut DVD version, which many felt improved the movie.

* The digital video game store Website/GogCom branching out into selling movies proved to be controversial among its userbase, since plenty of people are afraid that it will take away the focus from games. The fact that they don't sell any big-name movies (just indie films and documentaries) caused people to feel underwhelmed and disappointed. (And the inclusion of ''Film/BroniesTheExtremelyUnexpectedAdultFansOfMyLittlePony'' in the initial lineup annoyed people who are sick of seeing the fandom leave its mark on everything.)

** ''Fanfic/TheConversionBureauTheChatoverse'' is a LoveItOrHate setting with people who love her stories and the universes they depict, and there are those who despise them and see them as a nightmare of bad writing, disturbingly misanthropic implications and sharing little with the show itself, [[InNameOnly save for names]].

** ''TheConversionBureauTheChatoverse'' is a LoveItOrHate setting with people who love her stories and the universes they depict, and there are those who despise them and see them as a nightmare of bad writing, disturbingly misanthropic implications and sharing little with the show itself, [[InNameOnly save for names]].

* Website/YouTube video creators having paid-sponsorship segments in their videos. There are those who are opposed to them because they see it as corporate selling-out and, less pessmistically, an implicit limiter on what the creator is allowed to make or say since as a general rule, if you are being paid by a sponsor to make a video, you do not say things that criticize them or harm their reputation. Others argue that these are fine as long as they do not significantly impact the quality of their work and that in this day and age, many [=YouTube=] creators, especially those who lack another means of sufficient income, depend on these sponorships to take care of themselves.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' fanfic ''Fanfic/TotalDramaCodysRedemption'': The story as a whole to the Total Drama community as a whole. It has an outspoken and loyal fanbase, but it should be noted that quite a large number of critics have sighted it as an example of bad storytelling.

* The ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' fandom has the disagreement over the two sequels. Nearly everyone seems to agree that one of them was good and the other didn't quite measure up, but they can't seem to agree which is which. ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'' partisans favor it for what they regard as a uniquely creative plot that spans three separate time periods, viewing ''[[Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII Part III]]'' as an unremarkable retread of TheWestern. ''Part III'' partisans favor it for what they regard as a more mature storyline in which Marty and Doc both go through some meaningful character growth, viewing ''Part II'' as a load of pointless wackiness. There are, of course, many fans who love all three films, but even those that love all of them will almost never prefer Part II or Part III to Part I.

*** The famous scene [[spoiler:where Peter gets trapped under rubble, a scene clearly inspired by ''If This Be My Destiny'', one of the most famous storylines in Spider-Man history]]. The division is between people who think it's an amazing scene, probably the best in the entire film, and those who think it completely felt flat on its face. [[spoiler:Fans commend it for the reference to the comics and for Holland's acting, who totally sold Peter's state of mind in that scene: a 15 year old who thinks is going to die and panics accordingly. Detractors, however, think that the scene wasn't thematically earned, and failed to capture what made the scene great in the comics (this last part ties in directly with the previous entry about the absence of the power/responsibility theme--Peter originally lifted the rubble to reach Aunt May's lifesaving medication, thinking that he couldn't fail her like he did Uncle Ben--since they think the whole "If you're nothing without the suit, then you shouldn't have it" line doesn't fit the concept of Spider-Man, whether from the comics or from ''Homecoming'' itself, and thus is not deemed a good thematic substitute)]].

* Fans of all things zombie have a broken base over whether or not Romero-style zombies can successfully overtake the [[RealLife real world]]. One group of fans says yes, and it would happen fast. Another group says it can happen but nowhere near as fast as it's depicted in movies/literature, etc... Basically it'll be like a slow burn. The last group says a zombie plague won't end the world because everyone and their momma [[GenreSavvy knows what a zombie is and how to dispose of it]]. And that the government won't just collapse within a matter of months like it's usually depicted. At the most the zombie plague would just be a recurring health problem like cancer and AIDS.

** A common problem in horror movies tends to be the fact some fans see the genre as nothing but TooBleakStoppedCaring. For example: The cast of potential victims is presented as a bunch of obnoxious jerks, and/or complete idiots, to the point where it's [[EightDeadlyWords hard to feel bad for them when they finally start dying]], (although for many [[CatharsisFactor that's part of the appeal]]). On the other hand, if the horror movie has a sympathetic cast (who are often a family as well, for added pathos) as a victim it could have another negative effect ranging from ShootTheDog to MoralEventHorizon (as far as the writers, creators etc being accused of crossing it themselves... unfairly or not) to CrossesTheLineTwice. Which could also turn off certain groups of horror fans as well, which possibly explain the constant obnoxious jerk characters as a substitute, and villains constantly being prone to being DracoInLeatherPants. Creators of horror films (especially mainstream American horror films) like to be broadly appealing; you can't have a popular horror film where {{expies}} of ''Series/TheWaltons'' and [[Series/TheCosbyShow the Cosbys]] are brutally murdered by the villain. Of course, while it might be too horrifying to subject, say, a charming, wholesome, likeable family to the events of a horror film, making potential victims unlikable and rooting for the monster are both missing the point of horror. Why should you be scared of something you're actually hoping to happen? This is sort of a inherent divisiveness within the genre. Horror fans want to be scared, but doesn't want it to come by way of hurting innocent likeable characters. Which is terribly [[{{Irony}} ironic]] considering certain horror fans complain about the genre lacking likeable characters.

*** In addition to the above is it a bad idea to try and explain everything in a horror story/plot, and is it best to leave it mysterious and vague? Or is that a WriterCopOut?

** Like with rooting above, jailbreaking is a point of contention among users. Some enjoy the extended capabilities of a jailbroken phone, while others feel that it's a bricked phone or an exploited phone waiting to happen.

** Similarly, some fans liked the [[BolivianArmyEnding open-ended conclusion]], as it brought the series full circle and tied in well to the WarIsHell message of the series. Others thought it was just an easy (and lazy) way for Applegate to get out of writing a more conclusive ending. And some people just wished she'd used an existing character like Crayak for the ending instead of [[DiabolusExNihilo The One]], which was introduced in the last chapter of the last book.

* In the [[SubvertedKidsShow adult kids-book parody]] ''Brenda's Beaver Needs a Barber'', a woman named Brenda has a literal pet beaver that everyone thinks looks gross until it gets a haircut. This is fine on its own, but the humour comes from [[DoubleEntendre the wording making the beaver sound like a woman's nether regions]]. Some people think this has an unfortunate message that a woman needs to shave or wax her privates in order to be beautiful, while others just think it's a silly joke and shouldn't be looked into too deeply.

** Mor being revealed as bisexual with a preference for women opens ''several'' cans of worms. Some readers like that the series has a prominent and heroic bisexual character (who isn't defined solely by her sexuality, either). However, other readers felt the way it was handled is a bit clumsy, if not outright problematic: Mor had previously only been depicted having relationships with men and is merely mentioned as having had a female lover many years ago, which made her bisexuality seem like a tacked-on InformedAttribute to some. Some readers also took issue with the fact that Mor says she mostly sleeps around with men to get Azriel to take a hint then looks downright ''miserable'' after the fact (which led to some debate amongst fans as to whether she was really bisexual or actually a lesbian, opening up yet ''more'' cans of worms); some readers also feel it plays into the stereotype that bisexual people are always promiscuous. Then there's the scene where Mor comes out to Feyre. There are some who find the scene to be well-done and adding great insight to Mor's character. For others it's dampened by Feyre's previous behavior, as until then Feyre was basically rooting for Mor/Azriel to the point where Rhys flat out tells Feyre that it's none of her business; some readers find it a little hard not to see it as Feyre ''forcing'' Mor to come out because Feyre's ship wasn't happening.

** The Inner Circle's attempt at an intervention for Nesta. Some think they did the right thing after being pushed to their limit by Nesta's irresponsible behavior. Others think they were bang out of order and even cruel to her. A third group agrees that they had to do something to change Nesta's self-destructive behavior but that they could've gone about it in a more sensitive way.

* Among fans of so-called hobbyist board games, ''Monopoly'' is ''extremely'' contentious. Many board game enthusiasts hate Monopoly with a burning passion, so much so that some might call it TheScrappy of board games, and even argue that its reputation for being drawn-out and cutthroat outright damages the reputation of board games as a whole and makes people unwilling to try "modern" board games. However, other board gamers argue that Monopoly itself is perfectly fine--the problem is that everyone learns to play it incorrectly, and that the game has been stuffed full of house rules that are counterproductive to the way the game is ''meant'' to be played. Mentioning the game anywhere around board gamers invariably leads to a debate on the game's merits or lack thereof.

** The transition from one Edition to another would always attract debate over whether things were fixed or not, but none were as heated as the transition from Seventh to Eighth Edition. Eighth Edition basically changed everything about how ''40K'' was played, ranging from how weapon damage was calculated to vehicles losing armor facing and gaining strength and toughness values to make them more like Monstrous Creatures. Either the transition is a refreshing change that removed a lot of bloat that slowed the game down, or a travesty that gutted ''40K'' of any semblance of tactical nuance for the sake of appealing to newcomers.

** Car companies can fall victim to this. General Motors is a very good example, being essentially the automotive equivalent of Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog. Pontiac's dead? Good riddance, or is is ruined forever? Cadillac having front-wheel-drive cars? Acceptable or not?

** To ~93% percent of the participants on both sides, the AK-74 is just an academic term, and the AK-100 series doesn't even exist. To the AK side, the M-16 never got upgraded, or cleaning kits, or any sort of improvement at all. To the M-16 side, the AK is so inaccurate that the safest place to be when it is fired is directly in front of the muzzle, and they refuse to even touch Kalashnikovs, or even discuss the fact that certain members of the AK-100 family come in the same caliber as their beloved M-16's. Then the AK fanbase assumes that an M-16 will always jam, no matter what, and that the small caliber rounds can only kill you if you are shot 10 times, or if you bleed out on the ground for a couple minutes, and woe betide you should you either take a third option or say that you like both. [[note]] Basically, each side looks at the other gun as it was when first issued in Vietnam, ignoring improvements during the conflict, let alone the many decades since. [[/note]] However, depending on the setting, your mileage may vary significantly.

* In 2013, Apple massively changed the interface of its iOS software, replacing the then-iconic pseudo-3D designs with a much flatter appearance. The public was largely divided on whether it was a refreshing modernization or an ugly, user-unfriendly gimmick, and though most people have forgotten about the disagreement by now, it doesn't seem like it will ever totally die down as long as Apple keeps the same basic design language.

* Creator/CartoonNetwork is basically in the same position as Nickelodeon right now. Either it [[GrowingTheBeard really hit its stride]] with the Powerhouse era and went to hell in 2004 with the Cartoon Network city era, really got good with the Advertising/{{CN City}} era and started to decline in 2007 with the Fall era, or got bad in 2009 with the debut of Creator/CNReal. Others will say it hit its stride with the Powerhouse era, declined, but not by a considerable margin, in the CN City era, fully cemented into its AudienceAlienatingEra with the Fall era and reached its nadir in 2009 with the debut of CN Real. Another huge debate is if it's still sucking to this day, or it got [[WinBackTheCrowd a whole lot better]] in 2010, and continues to get better.

* Creator/DisneyChannel and Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} have the cartoons vs Live Action debate. People tend to side with the cartoons for both channels, but pretty much everyone agrees that Creator/CartoonNetwork [[NetworkDecay abandoning animation]] was a bad idea.

* In 2018 in Florence, Cristiano Chiarot's production of Bizet's ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' pulled a particularly controversial NotHisSled moment: instead of getting killed by [[IfICantHaveYou Don José]] as in the previous productions of nearly 150 years before, Carmen shoots him in self-defense. Chiarot meant the production to address DomesticAbuse, and he meant the revised ending to be a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome on Carmen's part. Of course, YMMV on whether it really is such, since it ignores major plot points, such as the fact that Carmen, upon reading the tarot cards, [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight sees death for herself and her lover]], ''in that order''. ScrewDestiny or AssPull?

** And, oh, on a larger scale, there is the pro-Bionicle/Hero Factory and anti-Bionicle/Hero Factory "debate". Certain older members of the Franchise/{{LEGO}} community seem to utterly hate these essentially action figure lines (and sometimes the people that like them as well), while their fans just want to be left alone to enjoy what they like.

** There are, of course, the web serials, which either granted the writer Greg Farshtey the all-too-needed freedom to explore and develop the universe without the bounds of having to promote toys, or just gave him an excuse to write his own tacked-together crowd-pleasing fanfiction into canon material, and kill off whichever character he found challenging to make interesting. Heck, Greg's writing in general seems to have strongly divided the fandom in the later years, with some hailing him as the only person worthy of ever touching the property, and others condemning him for [[DarthWiki/RuinedForever wrecking the universe]].

** Prior to the news of the line resurfacing in 2015, there was another break between those fans that wanted to bring the franchise back and those who thought it would have been a bad idea. Much of the former crowd has been made up of FanDumb, with the "anti-revivalists" often being more reasonable in their position, as they realized that, with all the similar but newer Toys/LEGOThemes (''Toys/HeroFactory'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'', ''WesternAnimation/LegendsOfChima'') adopting a ''much'' more LighterAndSofter approach, ''BIONICLE'''s darker and complex story would probably only suffer if it was really brought back. Part of what made this break so big is that a lot of the "pro" fans misinterpreted the other side's position, thinking that they didn't want to have ''BIONICLE'' back, period. After the first rumors about the series' return started appearing, the arguments mostly ceased.

** The original ''BIONICLE'' DVD movies redesigned the characters drastically to make them look more biomechanical, accurate to the backstory in which they have many organic parts. The fourth film and basically all other media depicted them just as the toys, basically as robots. Fans are split over which is more "right" -- most old-school fans who watched the old animations and played the games claim that giving them organic properties is stupid because mechanical robots are cooler, whereas fans who followed the story more closely attack this notion. The designs of the original movies also divide the fans purely by aesthetic merit -- some love them for making the characters feel more "alive", others hate them for often looking nothing like the toys, and because they barely have any recognizable LEGO parts on them.

* Video game magazines aren't safe from this either. ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' got the most flack since many anti Nintendo fans would always claim that the magazine was "biased" towards its own first party games by giving them high scores. When ''Nintendo Power'' was outsourced to another publisher, the staff slightly changed. People claimed Nintendo Power was biased up until the very end, but would somehow agree with them if the magazine gave any game an 8 or less. Then, of course, you had people who thought the reviews were just fine and got into {{Flame War}}s against those who bashed the magazine.
* What should be considered [[ItsNotPornItsArt porn or "nude/erotic art"]]... [[TakeAThirdOption or both]]. If there's a line, where should the distinction be drawn? Keep in mind erotic art can be very pornographic as well. In fact the line is so blurred some think there isn't a difference anymore.
** There's actually a website that lets you be the judge regarding some of the pictures they show you.

** Vivio defeating Picoha (a character based off of Usagi's future daughter Chibi-Usa) and causing her and her alternate timeline to disappear was also a controversial action, especially since it was essentially killing her. WordOfGod has clarified, however, that Picoha was the aggressor, attacking without stating her intent, and Vivio tried to defeat her non-lethally, without knowing what would happen to her.

* Descriptivism vs. prescriptivism in spelling and grammar. Do language experts ''prescribe'' "correct" spelling and grammar, or merely ''describe'' spelling and grammar as it's actually used? The Descriptivists pretty much won that one, but that only leads to further splits. When does a grammatical construction or alternate spelling pass from the vernacular to the "standard"? How many people need to make a certain mistake before it stops being a mistake and starts being the new accepted usage? Should etymology figure into these decisions? What about clarity? These debates have been raging since the days of [[FandomRivalry Samuel Johnson and Daniel Webster]].

* Pretty much anything and everything about animal welfare and animal rearing is up in the air. Many things are outright FlameBait:

* Among cruise fans, private balconies are a highly contested design element. Some people won't stay in a suite without them but others think they are ugly, windy, and would prefer bigger suites with windows instead. The issue tends to represent the two different groups that cruises market to, the deal seeker and the ocean liner enthusiast. The deal seeker wants a cruise ship with amenities, including things like water slides, a surfing pool, and of course private balconies. The ocean liner enthusiast cares more about the look of the ship and how well fitted out her public spaces are and generally don't show interest in any features you couldn't find on the ''Titanic''.

** Basically ''any'' "How old does my kid need to be before I start ____?" question is sure to provoke heated debates, with the leading two issues being weaning and potty training. Those who want parents to start early think the child's social development is at stake, while those who want them to start late think that starting early could be bad for the child physically.

** Should babies be breastfed or bottle fed (provided, of course, that they have a mother who can lactate)? Some mothers believe that "breast is best" since breastmilk contains antibodies and a mother can breastfeed on demand, whereas it takes time to prepare a bottle, but others point out that breastfeeding can hurt, some babies have trouble learning to latch onto the breast, and breastfeeding is more time-consuming than bottle feeding. Others give their children ''both'' breast milk and formula.

[[folder:Channels and Distributors]]
* Creator/AdultSwim: Anime vs Comedy. And within the comedy fanbase, Animated vs. [[NetworkDecay Live-Action]]... as well as Original Programming vs. Syndicated/Imported.
* While many shows on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} are prone to this, the network ''itself'' has been prone to this for ''years''. 1) When it started to "decline", which is usually chosen as 1986, 1990, 1997, 2000, 2005, 2006, and 2009. 2) When it started to get [[GrowingTheBeard "good"]], which many people say is in 1985 when Fred Seibert and Alan Goodman saved the network, 1991 when the Nicktoons debuted, 1999 when ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' debuted, or many different years. 3) When it started to get [[WinBackTheCrowd "better"]], which is often divided by many people with real no specific time. Lastly, 4) if the network is still "good", or keeps getting "worse and worse".
* Creator/CartoonNetwork is basically in the same position as Nickelodeon right now. Either it [[GrowingTheBeard really hit its stride]] with the Powerhouse era and went to hell in 2004 with the Cartoon Network city era, really got good with the Advertising/{{CN City}} era and started to decline in 2007 with the Fall era, or got bad in 2009 with the debut of Creator/CNReal. Others will say it hit its stride with the Powerhouse era, declined, but not by a considerable margin, in the CN City era, fully cemented into its AudienceAlienatingEra with the Fall era and reached its nadir in 2009 with the debut of CN Real. Another huge debate is if it's still sucking to this day, or it got [[WinBackTheCrowd a whole lot better]] in 2010, and continues to get better.
* Creator/DisneyChannel also gets this, though not to the extent of Nickelodeon. Either it was great from 1983 to 1997[[note]]When it was a commercial free pay TV channel like Creator/{{HBO}} and Creator/{{Showtime}}[[/note]] but got worse from 1997 to 2002, and got really bad in 2002, was at it's best from 1997 to 2006 and got bad since, or got bad in 2006, was at it's best from 2006 to 2015 and went downhill from there, and may still not be the best but has gotten a little better since.
* Creator/DisneyChannel and Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} have the cartoons vs Live Action debate. People tend to side with the cartoons for both channels, but pretty much everyone agrees that Creator/CartoonNetwork [[NetworkDecay abandoning animation]] was a bad idea.
* The digital video game store Website/GogCom branching out into selling movies proved to be controversial among its userbase, since plenty of people are afraid that it will take away the focus from games. The fact that they don't sell any big-name movies (just indie films and documentaries) caused people to feel underwhelmed and disappointed. (And the inclusion of ''Film/BroniesTheExtremelyUnexpectedAdultFansOfMyLittlePony'' in the initial lineup annoyed people who are sick of seeing the fandom leave its mark on everything.)
[[/folder]]

* ''Creator/Pixar'': There is a significant debate online about whether Pixar movies can be classified as Disney or not. Some argue that since Pixar is a subsidiary of Disney, and that all Pixar movies were distributed by Disney and have the Disney label on them, they are Disney. Others argue that Pixar is separate from Disney, and insist on not classifying Pixar as Disney.

* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'': The film's art style. While largely well-received for its frenetic and energetic style that made it stand out artistically from other Pixar movies, it has its detractors who find the {{Animesque}} art style ugly (some making unfavorable comparisons to ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', despite the movie's art style being far more heavily influenced by anime and manga) or just too big and jarring of a departure from Pixar's usual style.

* Creator/DisneyChannel also gets this, though not to the extent of Nickelodeon. Either it was great from 1983 to 1997 but got worse from 1997 to 2002, and got really bad in 2002, was at it's best from 1997 to 2006 and got bad since, or got bad in 2006, was at it's best from 2006 to 2015 and went downhill from there, and may still not be the best but has gotten a little better since.

* The entire concept of colorizing black-and-white films was a massive and heated debate back during the practice's heyday in the late '80s and '90s spearheaded by UsefulNotes/TedTurner. Detractors saw it as tantamount to vandalizing a painting and destroying the artistic vision of the film [[note]]their mood was not helped by the fact that early computer colorization techniques were often crude[[/note]], while supporters argued that it made older movies accessible to people who might be turned off by black-and-white and added new nuances to the movies[[note]]their agument was somewhat bolstered by the fact that TV stations and networks favored color programming over black-and-white[[/note]], and that Turner and other colorization houses were also preserving the original films, often in danger of being [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes permanently lost]] due to film-stock decay by making new negatives as they were prepping for the process. Turner himself would go from the "support" camp to the "detractor" camp by the end of the fad[[note]]only partly due to the controversy, but also because colorization turned out to be an absurdly expensive process[[/note]], and as a public ''mea culpa'' founded Turner Classic Movies, dedicated to showing classic cinema uncut and unaltered.

* The entire concept of colorizing black-and-white films was a massive and heated debate back during the practice's heyday in the late '80s and '90s spearheaded by UsefulNotes/TedTurner. Detractors saw it as tantamount to vandalizing a painting and destroying the artistic vision of the film [[note]]their mood was not helped by the fact that early computer colorization techniques were often crude[[/note]], while supporters argued that it made older movies accessible to people who might be turned off by black-and-white and added new nuances to the movies. Turner himself would go from the "support" camp to the "detractor" camp by the end of the fad, and as a public ''mea culpa'' founded Turner Classic Movies, dedicated to showing classic cinema uncut and unaltered.

** Veganism vs vegetarianism is the most common debate. Vegetarians will still eat eggs, dairy, and honey--animal products that don't require killing the animal--while vegans will not. The animal welfare aspects of eggs and milk are commonly debated, as are how healthy or dangerous being vegan is.

[[folder:Other]]