with this mindset the future looks dim

[Kuwagami]

I just don't understand one thing, people talk about experiencing content and exploring, but they go in asking the party for an explanation on what to do, so what is the difference between looking it up beforehand and having someone write down to you what you would have looked up?

There is a little difference between having read a detailed guide/watched a video and just have a few guide lines in the beginning of a new fight. I guess it would be the difference between being spoonfed and being served a meal.

You still have to figure out what the hell is happening to you in real time

As an example, I went in a moggle Ex group as a tank. No video, no guide, nothing. People just said "tank the kind, trade hate cuz stack, don't kill the adds". I still wiped us like a noob a dozen of times because I was late on trading, letting the adds having the damage buff, taking the meteor... Tons of fun really (joking here..).

Though it's true that there isn't much difference, as watching a video beforehand is about as useful as doing nothing. You know the big lines, and missed the tons of details which would allow you to do a proper job.

It's common courtesy, MMO or elsewhere, to do simple things that prevent you from wasting other peoples' time in group activities.

Not really. It HAS BECOME "common courtesy" when people started to harass other players about how much they were "wasting their precious time". There was a time when people were teaching the newcomers, because every newb instructed would become a valuable ally in future content. Nowadays, people are playing MMOs in a solo mindset : You're not playing together, you're maxing the amount of things you can do as a person in the minimum amount of time.
Playing together (aka "having fun") doesn't have a "time wasted" value. How could it be wasted if you *play* with other people ?

But yeah, time changes, mentalities do as well. It's just a pity that now new players are told to "WATCH A VID OR GTFO" when you could teach them yourself if you really want that bad to avoid a few wipes.

snip

got ninja'ed