Thanks for linking to that post! Very interesting. I was most surprised by the poll results for Dawn, that the majority said they never lost sympathy for her when most people I know (in fandom and in real life) find her annoying and wish she would go away or shut up most of the time. *shrug*

I think the reason Buffy-hate, on the other hand, stands out in my mind is that she's, you know, the titular character so the vocal dislike is more shocking. And possibly more vocal too. Still, I am reassured by those poll results.