IMO if people are dumb like that, then that is their choice.
personally I think people need to remember that the game is for fun, and to chose activitys accordingly.
seems to me the game is changing to allow people to progress with different methods of play.
if someone enjoys raiding, woudln't it be more effective for them to progress their gear and skill through raids?
if someone, for whatever reason, can or choses to only do 5 man things, then it allows them to do THAT and progress.
it seems bizzare how people seem to try to only go one way so fanatically.
IMO people should try to figure out and balance according to things such as:
1) what they ENJOY doing.
2) what they can TOLERATE doing.
3) what they have the means/time/connections to do.
4) what they will likely get to doing (considering projected situation for #1-3) before the expansion, and how far into the expansion they speculate the potential gear to last...
if someone can do something they enjoy, to get something that they are not likely to have a chance to upgrade before the expansion... then the fact that something better exists, is irrelevant.
if they can do a little bit of something they don't enjoy as much to get something thats BETTER... then that could be worthwhile.
like on this character I got vindicator boots and belt. the likelyhood of upgrading these items before the expansion, is pretty unlikely. so the cost was well worth it.
if I can manage to get into arenas(as sucky as it'd be) and get the cheapo axe... I'll likely not get to upgrade that either.
I don't feel bad for people who can't find balance in how they play the game. they make their own bed.