In Defence of DPS meters.

[Paidhi]

Cool strawman, bro. Nothing about parsing means you value numbers over people. Nothing about not parsing means you value people over numbers.

My being literate does not mean I value books over people. My being able to see the full visual spectrum does not mean I value colors over people.

The difference is simply one of informedness due to access to convenient information. That is all.

Yes, that sentence was not exact. Im not English native... Maybe: "many players enjoy interaction more than gaming skill" sounds good?. I hope you get my point.

[Shurrikhan]

Yes, that sentence was not exact. Im not English native... Maybe: "many players enjoy interaction more than gaming skill" sounds good?. I hope you get my point.

I think I get what you're pointing towards, but even that general idea doesn't quite make sense. The more skill one has, the more interactions are available to you. Granted, not all of those interactions are socially entertaining, which seems to be what you're looking for, but they're a start. Player skill and higher skill ceilings, especially where not particularly relevant to cutting edge content, makes for "wow" moments that can entertain your party. Player skill across your party can allow for situations with more numerous and deeply manipulable factors that can better invite coordination and interdependence, creating distinctly team-based exciting and/or comedic play. Though there are fewer now than once, much of skillful play is alike to silent nods to other players.

When the tank takes a minor AoE over costing his melees their positionals, when the Paladin uses one of his Requiescat casts to Clemency himself since the healer has no oGCDs coming up and is currently in the middle of going ham, when (formerly) a Samurai would adjust rotation slightly to snap a Slashing debuff onto the add just as it appears right before the Warrior's Inner Release phase (which would otherwise have to be delayed to get Storm's Eye up), there's a sense of "I see what you're doing, and I'm going to do what it takes to let that happen."

Though, again, less important these days, getting up to speed and then turning an eye onto your teammates to support them has always been a fun and largely community-minded part of the game. Yes, there are optimal plays that oblige those interactions at the highest levels, to the point of "Why didn't you delay you Storm's Eye so I could could open with a full-power Midare on the add?!", but even among Savage raiders alone, there would appear to be more in the minutia of gameplay (not pre-play, as in composition choices, especially if/when noticeably imbalanced), at least beyond basic competency, that players are thankful to get than butthurt not to get.

Tl;dr:
Many like seeing gaming skills from other players precisely because it allows for more interaction between themselves and others, and in a more reasonable and reciprocal manner (rather than the mere "interaction" of carrying and being carried or taking unnecessary damage and finally having something to GCD-heal).