why are people so ___ when it comes to different ethernet cable connections for xbox 360 ?

So what's your point?

Cat5 is rated for 100 Mbps, 5e for 300 Mbps, and 6 for 1 Gbps. All of which are appropriate for most home routers which are usually 10/100, and all are faster than your internet connection which is usually where any problem lies.

Sometimes its just a matter of replacing a cable, not what the cable is rated for.

Worrying about which type of ethernet cable is pointless. Even old Cat3 - which they don't sell anymore - is going to be plenty good enough for 99.99% of home users.

An ethernet connection - ANY sort of ethernet connection - is going to be more stable than any wireless connection. However that's different than their internet connection. Most internet connection problems seem to stem from the TCP-IP settings of their router and/or modem which has nothing to do with whether they're using wifi or ethernet (or even carrier pigeon for that matter.) If they don't have a router at all it's going to be more complicated, or if their router's NAT setting is too strict they won't even be able to get out to the internet even though the Xbox shows it has a network connection out as far as the router.

Even if all that is working, the majority of the network equipment and cabling between my Xbox and Microsoft's Servers isn't even within my control, or even within my ISP's control. Say a backhoe accidentally severs a cable outside of Chicago, and suddenly I can't get to Live. Well, there's not a darn thing I can do about it except hope that the owners of the cable realize what has happened and get it fixed.

Because many users are broke children who don't care.

I know cat 5e is the best....and I agree with you.

*** Online Gamers should be sepparated based on connection speed. Then all the laggy trolls can troll eachother. People would fix there stuff SOOOO fast!