The sooner people come to terms with the fact that this game was designed with casual players in mind, the sooner this argument will hopefully end. You can't tell SE to change the very concept of the game, sure it may not suit you or some others and that is the reason one game differs to another. In the end, whatever floats your boat, stick to it. I know FFXIV players who would like to play RIFT but won't because it doesn't suit their life-style. So if this game doesn't suit yours, look for one that does. No one is saying accept the game in it's faults, I am hardly a fanboy defending everything this game has to offer, infact i have very little to defend as it stands now and i am criticizing most aspects, but this very point i defend purely because i came into this game knowing this was the intention behind it and that pulled me. As much as i loved FFXI, I eventually quit it due to the grinding lifestyle involved.

Whether the system comes across as penalizing the hardcore players or rewarding the casual gamers, in the end, it's the same, the wording and the colors on your exp bar may differ, but the result is the same, the casual should be able to stay on similar grounds to the hardcore player to an extent(it's meant to be that way), otherwise casual players will quickly lose interest. This is the reason many gamers quit games like FFXI. No need to make a fuss out of this anymore. This is simply SE's idea of pulling casual gamers in. Take it or leave it.