Originally posted by slayerangel
I think fans hate Riley for oh-so-many reasons. He wasn't Angel, so the B/A shippers didn't like him in intimate scenes with Buffy much, of course. He seemed to be so normal, it was boring. He was this normal guy who can't really handle the world of a Slayer. He hung around when clearly knew that Buffy didn't love him back and went so far as to get his pleasures elsewhere and torture Buffy with an ultimatum. That's why fans don't like him so much.
On the plus side, he deserves sympathy. Here was this girl that he loved so much and she didn't love him as much back. It would've killed him to have her be in his arms and having her thoughts be miles away. He wanted to understand her and wanted to be what he thought she wanted... darkness. She evidently took him for granted, so an ultimatum is as harsh as it may seem. The problem is, it's the more hated side of Riley that fans remember, but c'mon, he's a good guy.
Also, it was clear that Buffy and Riley will never have the intense relationship that Buffy and Angel had and always will have. For instance, Buffy didn't tell Riley about her mother's tumor, yet when Riley was out of the picture and she didn't trust Spike yet, she leans on Angel. With a kiss to go with it, too 😀 .