Why do people chop bolt anchors?

Context is everything here,  by chopping the OP means the hangers and nuts were removed leaving the studs behind,  hardly the ugly chop job seen at times elsewhere.  As I said the studs were improperly installed and the the studs are farther out of the wall than normal. 

Next time I'm up there I'll recess the studs and patch the holes.  

rgold wrote:

As climbing has developed and diversified, new demographics have become part of the mix, with a resulting diminution of consensus. Climbers no longer come to these questions from a shared background and outlook, and in some cases I wonder whether the gap can even be bridged.

As repetitive as these types of threads are I usually try to contribute to them to try to help educate. When I first started climbing in the 90s I remember when the added bolt anchors were chopped off a popular 5.9 and I asked my climbing partner why. He explained it to me and I got it, but if he didn't explain it I'd be wondering why not make something easier, safer, and quicker. Hopefully the people who read why on Internet forums also pay it forward and explain it to other newer climbers either online or in person. The principles/guidelines we've had a consensus on for decades really make sense. When people complain about these guidelines they don't have a better solution that doesn't lead to a free for all and bolt wars of placing and chopping. So I'm a glass full kind of guy and hope that we agree to the same principles in the future. For the most part I think we've done pretty well for the last couple decades with the advent of climbing gyms and the Internet brining in lots of new climbers. Also it's a lot easier/cheaper to remove bolts than place them so it puts the advantage in the hands of the bolt removers.

In general, communities don't place bolts, individuals do, without any kind of permission or consensus from a community.

In general, communities don't chop bolts, individuals do, without any kind of permission or consensus from a community.

The idea of the climbing community in an area tolerating or not bolting or chopping, or the idea of the ethic of an area being established... is not anything as concrete as a consensus. Its typically, merely a handful of people who actually get out and bolt or chop. An area can be perceived to have an ethic of no bolts, or no bolted anchors, if a single person is going out and chopping all the bolts. That's not a community, consensus, or ethic. Its just a dude with a hammer and chisel.