Well, I own a Riv. A. Homer Hilsen and think its a great bike. I ride it all the time. In my mind it was money well spent. The Riv. lifestyle/fetishism is the same type of thing in my mind, as the people who only like Campy or only like Italian/French/Vintage bikes etc. People identify with things and that is what inspires them. I have no problem with that.
On this list, there is a very strong identification with value. Spending a little and getting a lot. A Riv seems the antithesis of this for many here. No big deal. People have different opinions and different likes. I feel the Riv was a good value because I sold a bunch of bikes I had picked up off of craigslist & ebay over the years, that all had some amount duplication. The Riv. replaced them all and I don't miss them. I ride more and wrench less, which works for me.
When I bought my frame from Riv., I had many interactions with GP on the phone and via e-mail. He was always really nice, helpful and generally loved to talk bikes. We discussed the frame I was buying and how I was going build it, use it and anything pertaining to C&V I brought up. He helped me identify two Ritchey bikes that I had and was genuinely interested in helping me, even trying to contact Tom Ritchey on my behalf (Tom was out of the country at the time). He seems to take a lot of s*it on the interweb for having an opinion ( I guess that comes with the territory) but I though he was a nice guy and enjoyed talking to him.. YMMV