Am I bad for actually "tanking"?

[Torunya]

Hey guys, Lindis here.

So I've long since caught on that most players who roll tanks spec toward strength more instead of vitality, if not completely. I'm assuming it started due to the high dps requirements in later content, as every job is expected to deliver certain numbers from their damage output to optimize efficiency and thus clearing said content.

Now I've been playing mmo's for a long time, and I'm no stranger to tanking. I stuck with Paladin in ffxiv exactly because I prefer to tank. I really love it, and always do my best. But to experience players leaving and/or badmouthing me for speccing fending gear just leaves me puzzled.

All this focus on dps is honestly turning me off, and I feel like this 'trinity' of Tank/Dps/Healer is more or less evolving into Dps/Dps/Dps. And those reluctant to go with the status quo are just straight up ostracized.

Am I alone on this? Because if others feel the same, please tell me so I know I'm not going crazy. Sorry if this has been brought up before.