I think crafting is slowly being changed in the right direction for the game. This being said, there will ALWAYS be people who don't like crafting. That's okay. There are other ways to make money in game. I mean for those of you complaining about crafting, unless the reason for the complaints are because you bought the game hoping to be the Greatest Weaver on your server, if crafting isn't your thing...no worries just do something else. You can make just as much gil (if not more) with a battle class or DOH. Afterall, there are crafters who think exping/spiritbonding is tedious.

Really all they need to do is shave a little time off each basic synth. Meaning if it currently takes a player on ave 7 turns to complete a standard level 35 synth as a level 35 crafter, maybe shave it down to 4 or 5 turns per synth.

Mini-games, while I get how they sound like a good idea, will just add more unneeded layers to the already long system. Most people who support the mini game thing believe that solving puzzles will make it more fun. Please think about it...puzzles for EVERY synth from rank 1-50...that's a lot of puzzles, even if the exp is tripled, it will still take forever. Also, if they make crafting more complex, it'll make socializing while crafting much more difficult. I enjoy being able to talk with friends and ls mates while crafting, I think making the process much more active than it currently is, will cut off your ability to chat easily.
-I think the puzzle crowd mostly just wants it to 'feel like I'm doing something for a reason.' There are other ways they can do this, some are even already in the plans/works (Hamlets/Player Housing etc). I think if crafting had ALOT more quests and/or allow for apprentice-ship quest via your guild it'd already feel more productive.
-As to the rest, they seem to be tweaking the current system and making it more transparent. So now the buttons you push and the choices you make while synthing DO have a visable impact on the gameplay/crafting.

Lastly, I think people get frustrated with crafting exp gains because there really isn't a way to PL through them. Everyone is now use to seeing CRAZY (and in my opinion WAY to high/fast) exp gains in their battle classes that they expect to see the same in crafting. Sorry but crafting just doesn't get that kind of crazy exp.

PS: Working in a factory or knitting a shirt in rl is also repetitive and tedious, some people just find zen/solace in that repetitiveness....others would rather kill themselves.