Is it me or it is ridiculous the amount of forum wars between the fans of those three?

(Abbey fans in the war too, but she doesn't seem to have too many fans!)

Has any other year had so many different factions so virulent?
I know other past contestants have been very unpopular (snowdonia, dr Pamela, DVO come to mind) but this year looks like everyone is attacking everyone.

I like all of the 4 you mentioned and hate to see any of them being attacked.

I agree & am trying very hard to be fair & positive but things do get very tedious.

Whichever way it pans out the judges seem to either over-mark rivals or under mark their favourite. When sometimes, just maybe the judges are getting the overall leader board about right.

I wonder if it's because its the first time the show has had three (four) prominent female frontrunners this early?

I think all three are pretty fabulous though, I think the wars are kinda sad - especially when the arguments boil down too:

Sophie: Not into it, too aloof, chained to her patriarchal husband, looks like Brendan is dancing with an ironing board

Susannah: Desperate, mutton dressed as lamb, not classy, attention seeking, gurning despot.

Natalie: AMG RINGAH EATS BABIES AND IS SMUG ABOUT IT

Most of the arguments have very little to do with their dancing techniques and are direct attacks at the personalities themselves. And I genuinely don't think any of them warrant it.

It's happened before and will no doubt happen again, usually in any series where there's more than one "attractive" (as that's obviously subjective) female to provide competition.
However, nothing has ever been as bad as the year Kelly Brook was a contestant on SCD. The vitriol and outright disgusting and libellous stuff that was posted both on the official BBC SCD message boards and here on DS was unbelievable.

I've seen worse.

Me too. It will get worse though, as there's still four weeks to go until the final.

So have I. In fact, it seems pretty tame this year compared with the vitriol we've had in previous series. At least it's spread around a bit more this year, they're all getting a share of the flack.

Oh dear...

I have only been following since series 6, but the forum I think since series 7.
I have seen plenty of attacks but they were more two sided instead of this jungle.

Anyway...

It happens every year, and every year someone asks if it's the worst year for bickering on the forum. I can't decide which year was the worst, but it's not this one. The consensus seems to be that this year ain't exactly vintage strictly, and apart from a few folk, people are being a bit half-assed in slagging off other couples and in defending their favourites.

Abbey has fans too but most of them choose not to get involved.

And I have seen far worse, this is nothing in comparison imo.

Hysteria levels are pretty consistent from year-to-year. A lot of it comes back to cognitive bias - and that's not going to go away - but also the way RTV manipulates its audience. The contestants become the viewers' virtual friends (or enemies) and some people just lose all perspective as they would with their actual social circle. In a way it's cringeworthy but ultimately very human.

I don't feel this series is exceptional. As ever gamblers and trolls of all sorts make it look even worse than it is.

I remember the Year Gethin and Matt Di Angelo were preforming, it was all out war in the end. Far worse than this.

Indeed.

It feels very Natalie v Susanna and Scabbey v Sophie.

Ok, thanks. I guess I have short memory.

Well I say again that it's better to be talked about & bickered over than not talked about at all. Patrick & Ashley are not talked about at all. Better to be passionately supported than ignored.

Gethin was ROBBED!

Yaay.

People had been leaving Abbey alone lately, which had me worried she had no chance of winning. Thanks trev, now I know you, at least, feel that she does.

ETA: I think this is one of the nastiest years in a long while. I said on another thread, with all the female contestants slugging it out, I can really see one of the men snatching the glitterball while everyone is occupied with pulling hair.

You're welcome, and most correct. It's a love/hate thing.

My problem is I like all 4 of them, and although I thought Natalie a ringer to begin with the last 2 weeks have shown she has a lot she needs to improve just like the others - the VT's are making me consider if we are being manipulated

I don't think any of the fans of the female celebs can claim a moral high ground in these 'fan wars'. I've seen some very unpleasant stuff posted by some Abbey fans too!

Yay indeed

It happens every year and I've seen the most courteous and rational of posters lose it now and then over the years.

There have been celebs I don't take to and I don't make negative personal remarks about their appearance and try not to about their personalities. But I do respond to some posters who make it their mission to rubbish contestants other than their favourites. And I don't mean rubbish them by saying they don't like their dances or whatever.

We are all but human and ultimately we all have a right to an opinion. Either way.

The defending of certain celebs against the slightest critique is alarming to me, and the reason why I don't contribute to as many of the threads as I'd like to. I can understand defending your favourite if the criticism is very personal or insulting but I have seen posters get incredibly upset if anyone even makes a small dancing-related criticism. Equally, I cannot understand the forum members who post again and again about certain celebrities, attacking every little thing they say and do, almost to the point of obsession. This happens even more on the X Factor forum, which I sometimes post on.
I just don't understand why some forum members get so offended and upset with people they have never even met, ABOUT people they have never even met. It's a light entertainment show. Life's too short to argue about it.

Love the middle paragraph and I agree somewhat. I'm on my phone so I can't quote it at the moment