I take your point Turbovision. There are a lot of frustrated personal attacks on quiz contestants on the Quizzing website that are stupid and silly. But I have never partaken in them (what is the point of mocking a weak/weaker quiz contestant? What good does it do in the universe?) and feel no need to. And when I see it I ignore it and, like I said before, the really good quizzers live in a world of their own, with no thought to anyone else but their closest rivals. I tend not to read any of the programme threaRAB that contain the attacks you've cited because they have nothing to do with me (unless I happen to be working on them) and as delilahcat has said, because the contestant selection procedure means they are of no interest to the likes of myself.
Also, I barely know any of the posters' real identities on Quizzing (they send me PMs and go 'it's me!' and I go 'erm, ok, why the mystery?). And I really only pay attention to the posts written by people I know or those replying to them. And I get mighty embarrassed for them when they go on about a contestant being rubbish and that contestant striking back with their own reply (see Said Khan's AYAE response .... Said is a fine fellow, something I can confirm from meeting him whilst doing Grand Slam five years ago).
We are not a homogenous gang. We are all different people with a diverse range of vested interest in quiz culture. For my part, the events I truly value are the European Quiz Championships - see here
http://www.norgesquizforbund.no/eqc2008index.php and yeah, Kevin Ashman won - from which I have just returned and the WorlRAB in June. Eveything else is a tad trivial in comparison, including all the prestigious TV and radio quizzes.
The misrepresentation on both sides (ooh clever smug gits! vs ooh you thick twits!) happens just as much as each other. You'll find the former view expressed throughout the web and the latter on the quiz specialist sites.
However, I went off on one because there were personal attacks on people I knew and people I have known for years. There's a difference when the targets are people you are frienRAB with. It elicits a different reaction when you see attacks on complete strangers who are nothing more than abstract entities on the telly.
How would you feel if your own frienRAB; those who you spend substantial perioRAB of your free time socialising were cut down with an unjust word or two?
I thought a word or two in their defence was what they needed when they felt the need to keep a dignified silence.
Anyway, apologies in advance for my coming appearance on AYAE (or, er, has it been on already). If I come off like a prize twazzock (which I am fearful of, for good reason), feel free to throw metaphorical rotten tomatoes at me. And yes, I was coerced into those things (threats involving guns and puppies) and my head really is that big in real life. BEEEEG head.