It is quite common to find a lot of people within the crypto sphere fighting over a token base on their interest. Those who are invested in bitcoin will shill bitcoin, and those who are heavily invested in Ethereum will shill Ethereum. I do not find any problem in shilling your favourite coin. I shill my favourite cryptocurrency, hive/steem. However, it gets a bit tricky when people get into unnecessary arguments or fight over which cryptocurrency id superior to the other, which is a very subjective thing.
There are thousands of tokens out there, most of which are useless, understandable. It is ready hard to find those hidden gems and most people go for the popular tokens/cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Ethereum and obvious reasons and rightly so. However, fewer people are drawn to those types of cryptos. Most people like to search deep to find hidden gems which offer interesting prospects. Buying bitcoin is a safer bet (although a volatile investment) but it isn't the only good option.
I have come across a handful of bitcoin maximalists--people who consider other cryptocurrencies to be shitcoins. They don't see any value in other crypto investments which are quite unfortunate because there are some amazing crypto projects that i believe will do well in the nearest future. Unfortunately, we are in an industry where *price* is equated to *value* and this creates an illusion around many projects. I have said in the past that the crypto industry is filled with speculators--people who just want to make a lot of money from speculating. I think cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has more to offer and until the average person begins to see this too, a lot of what we are building here is just hype. Cryptocurrency as a means of transferring value from one person to another is still a very big deal but blockchain technology can be used for so much more. So i find it perplexing when people argue about their favourite crypto project and the first thing that comes to mind is price or market cap.
I believe the crypto industry is far too small to be segregated along so many lines which is ironic because, by the virtue of the decentralised nature of many cryptocurrency and blockchains, it's almost impossible to avoid the issue of separation and unnecessary trolling. People are loyal to one community and feel other communities are irrelevant. It is ridiculous but it is the reality of things. I am not a bitcoin fanboy but i do want to see it succeed because that, in turn, will open the door of opportunity for other good projects.
Like i said earlier there are a lot of projects out there, rather than get overwhelmed by them find one that suits your needs. So the question is: WHAT DO YOU WANT?
Most people want to make a lot of money and i don't fault this. If you are a speculator then do your research and know what token would suit your long and short term plans. If you are a builder or a venture capitalist whose interest is to build capacity and possible make as decent profit then you're tasked with the duty of searching deeper for projects with use-case(s). If you just want to get involved in the revolution than find a project you can contribute significantly to.
I discovered hive/steem, which honestly is the only thing that could have made me interested in cryptocurrency. I had heard of bitcoin and the likes. My very first crypto wallet was a Litcoin wallet--i never used it though. Hive/Steem, on the other hand, made cryptocurrency very relatable even with all its complexities. Social media is a thing everyone can relate to in this time and age, and having a blockchain where social apps are built on is quite amazing. I came here for the prospect of earning doing what i love--writing but now it is something deeper. I want to build things here. It isn't the easiest feat but it is something i am looking forward to. Now i understand why people shy away from building projects and communities. It can be very demanding but rewarding as well.
Away from the excitement of crypto, there is a lot of toxic behaviour that mitigates the growth of the industry. For a pretty small industry, there is a lot of bickering going on.