I hate Dimebag discussions because it's generally not anything more intellectual than "DERP, I hate Pantera so Dimebag is a faggot" VS "Dimebag is a God, pay your fuckin' respects to the best human of all-time."
But as a serious fan of both Varg and Dime, I'd just like to say... Dime can be considered a visionary just like Varg can. Dime was, by most accounts, a genuinely amicable guy who filled people with good feelings. His "vision" could be considered using harsh music to uplift and for good will instead of bad will. That one account of someone who apparently decided to fall off the wagon with Dime... that's freaking bollocks. Every junkie that relapses might as well blame it on Dime. And then we can blame every murder on Varg.
Since everybody else said their thoughts on Dime, I want to as well. TBH Phil Anselmo is the bigger reason why Pantera is my favorite band, but Dime would still place as one of my all-time favorite guitarists. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't personally think that Dime's solos are hot shit. I think he has at most a few solos that I think are awesome. But I'm not all that focused on guitar solos in the first place. I think Dime's riffs are damn near unparalleled in their balance between complexity and catchiness. Virtually all of his riffs kick ass and he has plenty that are among the best ever. Listening to his stuff makes it seem like it must be easy as shit to make multi-faceted riffs because he throws them out virtually non-stop.
As for the Pantera hate... I can understand disliking, even hating Pantera's music. It's a far cry from the lo-fi extreme music that most people on here favor. But I think a lot of people around here hate Pantera solely because their music happens to be associated with people who like to party. That's superficial and doesn't look at Pantera fairly. There's a lot more to the band than frat boys getting drunk.