Steel Roller Coasters vs Wooden Roller Coasters - you choose!

My case:C1) Attracts enthusiastsThe event is Pittsburg is an example, not an isolated event. 400 people came to just that event. There are many events such as that every year. The American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) have 25 more events scheduled in 2012 [2]. It is June right now so that is roughly 50 events a year. Consider the fact that the ACE has thousands of members, it is just one organization of many, and the fact that enthusiasts ride coasters hundreds of times, the revenue generated by the enthusiasts is vast. Secondly, the enthusiasts influence the opinions of novice and intermediate riders with their expert critical reviews. An analogy with movies is that if a movie is rated highly on Rotten Tomatoes, more people will want to see it. The critical acclaim it recieves will improve its popularity. Novices and casual riders can't usually appreciate the differences between wood and steel but rave reviews of a wooden coaster by an enthusiast will sway their opinion and make them try the wooden coasters. Enthusiasts prefer wooden coasters for the nostalgia, the element of danger, and the unpredictability as I showed last round with actual quotes from people attending the Pittsburg event. All these attributes can apply only to wooden coasters. Enthusiasts often travel from far away to experience roller coaster rides. Superficial reasons like line length are irrelevant. Con's analogy that computer enthusiasts often prefer the Linux operating system fails because the general public does not know how to use Linux. This creates a barrier to entry. On the other hand, anyone can ride a wooden coaster. They don't need to learn how to do it. C2) Unique featuresAirtimeCon says that the point of a getting on a roller coaster is to experience big drops. Why does one find a "drop" exhilarating? This is because of what is known in roller coaster terminology as "Airtime" [7] - basically freefall. "When a coaster train crests a hill at high speeds, riders typically rise from their seats for a free-floating few seconds. Most coaster fanatics crave airtime and consider it to be exhilarating" [7]. However, wooden coasters actually fill this requirement better and are well known for providing great airtime [5][6]. Pre-fabricatedCon claims that wood is uncomfortable because it jolts. This is actually an option, not a pre-requisite. El Toro at six flags for instance is a wooden coaster that is pre-fabricated. Due to this, it offers a smooth ride [3]. Critic Arthur Levine describes it as "smooth as silk" [4]. So, people who want a smoother ride can use a pre-fabricated wooden caoster while people who enjoy the rougher ride can use a wooden coaster built on site. If a park already has a regular wooden coaster, they can build a second pre-fabricated one for a different ride experience. The support structure will still gently sway from side to side creating a natural lateral movement, provide great airtime and have all the features of a wood coaster.SwayingCon doesn't address this. Swaying provides an an authentic and natural feel - a great selling point.C3) Fills a need The way a park generates revenues is by giving society what it needs. This directly increases profits by bringing "society" into that park.Wood coasters come with many features such as smooth vs rough rides, swaying, and better airtime and lateral g-forces. Now, let's say a park has 1 wood coaster and 4 steel coasters. Why build a 5th steel one rather than a second wood one?Free and volunteer advertisingThe ACE is committed to increasing their visibility of wood coasters[9]. Free advertising = more profits. C4) PollsCoaster enthusiasts are experts in riding and reviewing roller coasters. A novice or intermediate rider is more likely to weigh the opinion of an expert who rode over hundreds of roller coasters over that of other beginners who have no idea what the finer details of the roller coaster are. Enthusiasts can review various features such as airtime and lateral g-forces and understand what underlying mechanics make a coaster ride exhilarating. More importantly, the general public have not ridden enough coasters to give an accurate comparison of which is better. This causes skewed data and an abundance of outliers due to a small sample size of data that each person has access to - the number of coasters they have ridden. The methodology of the poll I mentioned is superior to a random sample because it eliminates the problems created by a small sample size. If a person only rode two coasters, they wouldn't be able to accurately compare airtime, speeds, accelerations etc because their body hasn't experienced the variety. RebuttalsR1) Unique featuresCon says that steel can support additional drop height. But why do people need additional drop height at all? So they can experience more time in free fall, i.e. Airtime. The "butterflies in your stomach" feeling that makes you feel as if you are flying. Wooden coasters do that better. R2) PopularityCon says people like height and speed but we seem to both be making the assumption that a typical amusement park already has about 4 steel coasters. Let's say that they are 200, 300, 400, and 500 feet each. The "height" and "speed" is only relevant for the 500 foot coaster. Why would an amusement park build another 350 foot coaster and advertise "height and speed?" But by building a second wooden coaster, they advertise an experience which changes based on the climate, is smooth or rough based on choice, provides great airtime and sways in a different fashion. The same applies to the features my opponent mentioned such as inversion, beyond 90° Drops, barrel rolls. One steel coaster can have all those features. If there are 4 steel coasters, they will likely have a variety in train car style as well.Besides, wood has plenty of types of coasters like twisters, racers, and out and backs.Con's anecdotal evidence is his own personal preference. He could easily have compared a top of the line steel coaster with a poorly reviewed wooden one. If his local park builds another wood coaster that can compare to El Toro or Voyage, his opinion will surely change. The people mentioned in Con's source likely have the same problem. R3) Cost While wooden coasters are cheaper initially, steel ones are cheaper to maintain. The overall cost comes out to be pretty much the same. Con says that wood degrades and needs to be replaced. That is part of what "maintenance" is. Replacing wood is why the cost is higher but this is offset by a lower initial cost. Depreciation favore building steel coasters but buying a cheaper initial coaster enables the remaining money to be invested for maintenance. Also, wood can be pressure treated. Pressure treating is the process of immersing wood in a liquid preservative and placed in a pressure chamber. The chamber forces the chemical into the wood fibers. Pressure treated wood lasts several decades [9]. Steel coasters become old sooner. If you build a record-breaking coaster, some other park will likely beat your record very soon. The features of steel coasters will soon become outdated in a few years giving a poor return on your investment. Wood coaster features (like a different ride each time) are intrinsic to wood and don't become outdated. A well built wood coaster like El Toro or Voyage will be a landmark for decades to come. Weighing mechanism What the park should build. We both agreed so there is no issue here. Sources[1] http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com...[2] http://www.aceonline.org...[3] http://www.thecoastercritic.com...[4] http://themeparks.about.com...[5] http://en.wikipedia.org...[6] http://themeparks.about.com...[7] http://themeparks.about.com...[8] http://www.aceonline.org...[9] http://tlc.howstuffworks.com...