I've found there to be "trendy pedals" within every gear forum where numerous individuals with similar leanings congregate. Especially where manufacturers maintain a presence or are hosted with their own subforums, it's natural to support your own.
It's just nature of the beast (humans), to surround themselves with likeminded individuals...whether the group has tunnel vision in trying to nail down a particular sound or search for virgin ground & go experimental with little pretext...and everything between.
Parallel thinking, groupthink, homogenous whatever. It's phenomena that extends far beyond the gear implications. Monkey see, monkey do whether conscious or not. In the microcosms of society that are internet forums, one doesn't need to look far to spot [it]. Some forums emphasize form (and conformity) over function and image more than others...standards...1upsmanship and so on. I'd say ILF is the anti-TGP in many respects, but the 2 are probably more alike than different...sans median user age. I def don't mean to talk down my nose about not wanting to use the "popular" dirt pedals here (or there as it were).
And yeah, I've always been an outsider among contemporaries; who typically doesn't identify with groups.
Individuals within the group...that's another story. But....ILF. I do identify with that

I just don't want to be using the same gear as everyone else when there are so many other options available. Luckily my preferences seem to naturally lead me in other directions...off the beaten path and back; in search of abandoned routes which I can stroll down with funny Pythonesque walks...where I have weirder idiosyncrasies to deal with
