I do see debate in other hobbyist forums and just like HiFi money influences peoples equipment selection and yet in my experience they are much more likely to have a supportive and healthy debate.
I wonder if its because there is significant skill on the part of the participant in taking part and honing skills in these groups, especially for musicians, and model engineers and that it is not all about the gear, just partly!
Probably the most amazing example I came across was a chap responding to my beginners question on 'how do i do this?', he grabbed an offcut of metal from his stock, set it up in his machines, performed the various machining steps he was proposing, photographed each step and documented each stage, all done that afternoon and posted on the forum, amazing commitment. Not a condescending word uttered about my lack of experience/knowledge.