I basically agree with you (edit: Paul) there, but I think the issue is somewhat deeper. In my experience, a lot of people appreciate being told what to do. Not in a top-down way but in a guiding friendly way. That's something that creeps through all layers of society, not just games.

If you pick groupwork in school or university as an example (not sure about the translation, well working in teams to solve a problem). Let's say you've got a handful of students and just spectate them while they approach the problem. They make zero progress until someone of them steps up, starts dividing workforces and tells people what to do.
Or just randomly walk up to a person you know and ask them to make a quick meaningless decision. Something simple like A or B. You'd be surprised how that makes them quite uncomfortable and puts them under stress. Quite a few people have problems with making decisions of their own. I think in part it is the fear of making a wrong decision and having to live with the consequences. Translating back to a game, a wrong decision might make it harder for the player or actually make him miss out on something great. Even something as simple as "I didn't get that sword, damn gotta reload".

Gameguides tell those people what to do, take away the decision and thus ease them into the game. They won't have to feel like they somehow missed something or didn't get the best possible ending. It's not my way of gaming, but with that perspective in mind, it kinda makes sense. If there's anything positive to it: They enjoy it. Which is great. Who are we to tell them to stop enjoying it, to play it the way we do? Can't everyone be a leader or a person having learned to make decisions and live with them.

Optional sidenote:
A lot of companies are starting to be interested in succesful MMORPG guildleaders for management positions. Reason being those know to quickly deal with a social situation (as Drama will ALWAYS creep up), can endure stress (Drama Baby) and most of all are willing to live with consequences (can't satisfy everyone).

I use them occasionally. Only when I've hit a brickwall sponsored by awful gamedesign. My time is too precious to be wasted on random pacing about, looking for some horribly obfuscate way to progress.

Prime example, Jericho.
There's a part where the game needs you to climb a ladder while possessing a certain character out of several others. It never communicates this though. It just throws you in a dead end, tells you to go ahead and then waits. This is made worse by the uber busy visuals of that game and the fact that by now you've crossed a myriad of ladders, none of which were climbable. How are you supposed to magically find the one magic ladder out of a dozen while somehow playing the correct character to climb it?
Up until this point, the only differences they had were their weapons loadouts. Least of all problems, you didn't even know you were actually looking for a way up as the place you climbed up looking like just about every other bloody building you had been walking past previously.

There, perfect example for the usability of a Walkthrough. I had the choice to throw the game away or look it up. Since it was my least favorite character that was required to go climbing, I would have literally never found out on my own.

Or... Valve doesn't really have any experience with the fantasy direction of things. Which is actually the case. I don't think Valve Characters typically lack emotion or the ability to convey mood, in fact I think they do a pretty good job at that.
It's just that they've never done Fantasy Art before and that actually does show.

I'm wondering, the UT Announcer Sounds (like unstoppable) are they creative commons now or did Valve buy a license or something else? They keep popping up in those DOTA2 replays and streams, so I'm wondering.

The social aspect of social games just seems to be about farming your friends, as in doing the marketing for the company. Snowball Style.

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No offense, but you might want to take a chill pill. No one is out to get you. If you felt personally offended by someone making a joke about the reputation of communities, fair enough. Nothing I can do about that however. For one, the issue with the communities reputation is prevalent. It's there. (For giggles: Google "Heroes of Newerth Community", it doesn't take long for the topic of bad community reputation to creep up).
Most important of all however, I'm not exclusively talking to you. If you'd like to notice, several other people voiced their opinion about it, to which I replied with an excerpt of my own opinion.

Just had to start up Beyond Good and Evil again.
Did Soundtracks ever get better than this?

And, as I had mentioned, that would be considered honest, fine feedback. There is always a reason for that kind of talk

99% of the time someone rages at you like that its cause THEY made a mistake and its easier to blame your "shitty ass noob baddie teammates" than it is to admit it was your mistake.

Also that.

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Really not sure if you aren't just trolling, hard. But since I give people the benefit of the doubt: League of Legends indeed DOES have a racist problem. Don't believe me? Well could an official employee convince you? -> Lookie, lookie: http://euw.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=285221
That's what the community has become to be associated with. Does that mean I just called every single one of them a racist? Please... don't  be that way (Hint: I did not). There are also references for the other associations. Most notable on Tigsource (oh noes), the assumption that Steamusers are considered self entitled idiots. Are they? Doubt it. But that's what they've become associated with.
Just like X-Box gamers having a bad reputation, Counter-Strikers being known as cheaters, bankers being known as greedy money vampires and politicians as crooks. Does that mean they all are? Nope. Does it even matter whether they actually are? Not in the slightest. Its reputation and nothing else.

Concerning the Skill Argument:
Maybe it's another one of those "lost in translation" things that do creep up. I do not mean to say that those games require zero skill. Just that the core principles are easy to pick up. Compare Mobagames with let's say modern Flight Simulators, can you honestly keep a straight face and say they (Mobas) require a lot of skill to play in comparison?
One you can play with just the mouse, the other one requires you to memorize 200+ Hotkeys and a Starting Checklist to even get off the ground.
Keep in mind, we're talking about Skill Requirements, as in you need to grasp a certain amount of concepts to play the game. I'm not talking about playing it well at all.

Concerning the Beta:
Just search for DotA in Steam, follow the link to dota2.com and sign up. The reason I recommend doing it through steam is that you don't have to login.

[don't]

I never got a lot of trolling when I was into LoL and I played for a decent amount of time. Either people just liked me more or (more likely) I didn't suck as much as people who get trolled as much as you seem to be indicating. And saying that DoTa-likes don't require skill is silly. If you don't think they require skill, then that's clear evidence of you never having hit the skill barrier where people stop trolling.

I'm not surprised at this response, naturally it has to be about "skill". The one constant that is always open to attack and can never be proven. If you look carefully though, I've never said they don't require any skill at all, but instead that they're not hard games. Also the point where people would stop trolling, which kind of ELO are we looking at? Cause the ones at the top of the ladder are trolling just as much as those at the bottom of it, so we would be talking about some sort of hypothetical utopian thing.

To further emphasize on the skill requirement (meaning, you need to grasp these concepts to play):

You move by clicking.
You get better by killing.
You buy stuff to get better.
Kill the enemy.
Kill their base.

Really, how much more simple can those core concepts be? They're what's at the base of just about every other game these days.

I never understood such claims about the playerbases of Dota-likes.

I wouldn't say they're claims, as anyone can prove these claims be simply logging into a Moba Game.

If you played good, like they would expect you to in any multiplayer game, you never received any hate or flame;

That's just simply not true, have you not seen the cesspool of top players and how they run their mouth every bloody second, insulting each other left and right? Case in point, Mobagames are the only genre I've ever seen where congratulating your enemy with a gg is considered a flame and will result in massive bitching and whining.

after all, what could they say about you then?

You didn't pick the champion they think is best, you didn't buy the item they would have bought etc. People have opinions. Opinions differ. Round 1. Fight.

The community in these games, in my opinion, always gave incredibly fine feedback (due to their honesty) and allowed you to improve.

WTF ARE YOU DOING IDIOT, L2P NOOB! Fucking fucktard fucker retard, I hope you die in a fire you dipshit pile of shit. OMG, YOU SUCK!!!!!!!!!! FUCKING REPORT THIS MORON ALREADY!!! DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE OF CANCER YOU FAGGOT AIDS BAG.
 
Not insulting you there, mind you (really am not). Just providing typical "incredibly fine feedback" Moba style. I hope you can see how this kind of feedback doesn't possess any kind of quality to it. Not sure if you have access to it, the Tribunal in LoL really does show why Moba Games has such a bad reputation.

Absurdity is the main source of entertainment, after all.

Not my kind of entertainment. Not sure if wading through a wall of insults ever was entertaining to begin with.

I do not think people who hate such games just detest the skill requirements.

What skill requirements? I'm sorry but Moba Games aren't exactly hard games. Anyone that has ever played your average RTS Game or RPG will do just fine. So again, what skill requirements?

What is it, exactly, that makes people afraid of these games?

Afraid is pretty much the wrong word for it. People just value their time. The decision is a pretty easy one, do I want a good time or do I want to experience abuse. Hence, the decision to stay away from Mobas. As stunning as it may seem, given how gamers behave in games, people generally don't enjoy insults and verbal abuse.

Your mind be infested by Pen and Paper and Railroad Gamemasters!

"What does a hero truly need...? That is for you to decide!"

This is incredible. Also, I can't say I expected the item merchant to be the star of the DotA 2 trailer.

"What does a hero truly need...?" my quiet answer: "Money and a Credit Card".
"Hats" might have been a possibility too. That would have made me laugh and people rage all around the globe.
Concerning the communities, yeah, going for a private circle of players should be easier from what I can tell. I just hope it doesn't need such a huge time investment to play, like LoL (Runepages, uberexpensive heroes etc). Concerning the trader himself, it kinda reminded me of a caricature of Gabe (damn, another 3 months in the HL3 dev cycle. I'm sorry Gabe, I love you).

With the power of xenophobia and racism (Chorus: LoL)
Arrogance and Superiority Complexes (Chorus: HoN)
Entitlement Issues and general Idiocy (Chorus: Steam)
and rabid Elitism and Nerdrage (DotA)

We proudly present DotA 2 - The Dipshit Empire.
Seriously, I can't wait to see the community on this one. We might hit a new low yet.

I've been somewhat burned by commercial Indie Game Releases lately. At least, I stopped buying Indie Games at release, no matter how much I'm looking forward to them. Naturally, they can't afford thorough testing but also seem to be rushing release quite a bit resulting in horrendously bugged releasedays.

I'd like Intersteller Marines on the list. If only for the way they do business, which I really like. There's just so much power behind being open about the development process, it's insane.
Also Bastion, but that doesn't need to be put on the list, what with it releasig in a handful of days.

Anyway, my votes apart from Intersteller Marines.
Another Metroid 2 Remake
- Because this actually has the potential to turn out good and not least of all actually make it to the finishing line.

Infested Planet
- I like the concept. Ever since public beta it seems to have fallen off the planet advertisement wise though, which is kinda sad.

Trine 2
- Because, hell yes! Trine 1 single handedly turned out to be my personal favorite indie game of all time. Can't help but feel hyped about Part 2. Although it does look somewhat the same.

Dungeon Defenders
- I really don't know, never really read up on this one but for some reason I'm waiting for it. Guess I'm weird?

1. how does the game feel challenge wise?
Mostly fine, although I felt the green weakening status was a bit too much. Since it essentially sets your attack to 1 for the next fight and most enemies have about 3 HP, this means you will get hit 3 times. Everytime I failed, it was because of this status. Question: Is it intended that poison is applied, even though the enemy was killed in the first round? Because damage isn't applied, just the effect.

2. does any enemy feel to strong?
I think some of them could give more experience points for the threat they pose. Spydaur for example is quite nasty. With 4 damage and 4 HP, he will hit the hero at least once for 3 exp. Spider on the other hand with 4 health, 1 attack and 5 exp was a lot of experience.

3. were you able to level up?
First couple of tries I never quite payed any attention to the exp of enemies. I always levelled up. I found myself dragging out the level up to just shortly before the bossfight so I could go in with full HP later on. In a way, it was more beneficial to kill smaller enemies than to take on risks.

4. do the statuses make sense?
They do, although it would help if you could still click them when they're on the heroes side. I think the poison one should only last for one attack instead of an entire fight though.

5. did you beat it first try?
Nope.

6. what would keep you coming back?
Persistency in a way. Like collectible trophies from the Bossmobs or something like that. Those trophies could be selected like options and have a variety of effects. Like a card simply turning the border of your card golden. Why? Well hell, why not? Or a card giving your hero a red colored armor instead of the standard one. Point? No real point in it, but it might tickle the "must collect" fever.
Anything more complex would probably already be overkill though.

7. are there to many enemies or not enough? do you just need more varieties in the statuses?
Not really sure about that.

8. is the slow healing over time (shown by your little heart filling up) needed? I don't think it is.
Nope. I noticed it early on and thought it a good idea at first, but turns out doesn't serve any particular purpose.

9. did you notice the player getting critical hits.
Yes. Thought they were pointless to be honest. The game does seem to be about taking risks (well not quite yes, but the intention of it). By the time a critical hit occurs, it doesn't help me because I've already calculated the risk of the encounter. In my experience it never actually helped me anyways since I still ended up needing the same amount of attacks.

10. would you want to be able to pick your hero?
No need for that in my opinion. They don't really differ, so there's no need.

11. (assuming there is much more content) would you pay for this on an android phone? possibly 2 dollars?
I don't have an android phone either and I really don't know about the average price of smartphone apps. I guess I'd be interested, but it's hard to gauge from what is there at the moment. It's promising for a proof of concept though.

I don't know, old computers were a bitch to use as well. Half of the time stuff wouldn't load or rather be stuck in an infinite loop and you never knew why exactly. So you were busy restarting, keeping on restarting until it suddenly worked. And the instructions to fix a broken C64 weren't "give it a good kick" for nothing. Also "did I give it enough time off power to clear the memory? AWW hell, no. Now I'Ve gotta wait all over again".
One way or another, I don't think the joy came from the hardware but rather the sensation of something different, something new. It's only natural that we lose this sensation over time and I'm affraid there's no way to get it back.
You can emulate all the quirks, the hardware and software but you kinda can't emulate yourself because like those things, you've changed too.

/edit:
As such, there are no golden design principles to be rediscovered from old games in my opinion. Retro Gaming has tried to do so fevereshly and in some cases they succeeded in making great games - but even those can't bring back the magic of the first exposure. Case in point, pick a Call of Duty Kid and see the fascination and joy he derives from the game. That's because it's his first exposure.

Very well, I was expecting "won't anyone think of the children" replies regardless and I kinda got them with replies like "lunacy", "dumb" et cetera. What people seem to be confusing, in part probably because of translation issues on my part, is that I'm not saying helping people is a bad thing.
Now the harmful effect of charity isn't rooted in the actual help that is provided by proxy. That is helping, fair enough, as I said it's looking nice at the tip of the iceberg. But the way this help is achieved is outweighing the benefits and that does indeed apply to all "give money, be happy" charities in my opinion. I appreciate Allen's Post and respect it. He's basically saying "that's how I roll" and it's perfectly fine and acceptable, maybe even respectable, because that's not the issue.

The issue is with the segregation of the sick and weak. Civilizations have a tendency to lock them away out of sight. In some cases like development countries, the discrepancy is even greater.
Basically, those issues do persist because people lost their connection with society. Since money and corporations are operating globally, they form a global society as well. Why is there hunger in Africa? Because for several reasons, it can't properly connect to the global society in terms of politics and trade. Why are there poor people in rich countries? Because they can't properly connect with the local labormarket and local trade.

And here's the breaking point of "donate money, be happy", it's a mechanism to keep these issues locked away and out of sight. As Allen said, most people couldn't care less, and that's fine. They don't have to.
The mechanism of "donate money, be happy" is to give away money, so the organisations keep those problems out of your sight. Yes, your money does help. But it also makes the problems disappear from your view. And that's something every donation based charity shares. It's just the way they operate and work, by definition. It's some nagging imagery with an easy solution to get around: Pay up. I've repeated myself several times now, but that's only to emphasize it.
Those problems don't go away because someone throws money at it. They will invariably come back again, so people can throw more money at it. People earn capital all around, even if the organisation is honorary.
And here's the other part of it. There's no real interest in fixing it, there's only a recurring mechanism of "make it go away". I'd rather have 100 people get off their asses, grab their X-Box and go to a hospital themselves to play together with the sick kids, than a million people paying large amounts of money. Why? Because those 100 people are helping them reconnect to society. It doesn't take a million people to do that, that's why it's okay to not give a fuck.

Charity is the blindfold to a problem, a cover to make it look pretty (damn are those some high res artful images in their campaign, must have cost a lot to ship all the photography equipment).

P.S.:
I'm sorry if my wording made it seem like all help is bad. I just believe the mechanics of donation are when it comes to helping people in need.

I felt free to outsource the charity discussion into this thread:
http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=21079.0

If you're interested, discuss. If you think I shouldn't have posted that, do tell me in a PM and I'll remove it.