We shouldn't exaggerate the extent of disagreement here, especially in connection with advice to beginners. You won't find many posts, if any, claiming that Sig Kadets (Senior or LT-40) are lousy trainers, or that OS engines don't run well, or that any of the major brands of radios don't work, or that certain unnamed companies have great customer service. I don't fly electric planes much, but I have a good idea of what some good electric trainers are, just because they are recommended so often. And everyone who asks about starting out gets the same good advice, repeatedly: Find a club and an instructor, and don't buy stuff until you've done that. Sometimes threads that look like they're full of disagreements are just presenting a range of reasonable opinions, like a thread now about different kinds of glues (bottom line, different people like different glues, for reasons they are happy to explain). Once in a while somebody who plainly knows nothing about the subject will post something claiming that if a plane is flying with its tail low that means it's tail-heavy, or pushing the always-popular downwind turn myth, etc., and then people jump in, but that's the nature of on-line discussions.

I miss the old-time local hobby shops staffed by experienced modelers who could give you good advice, but they aren't going to come back, and the internet is a pretty good substitute. And some of those hobby shops weren't always above selling people junk, so we shouldn't romanticize them too much.

It probably is a good idea for rookies to steer clear of the AMA forum, though.