John seems to forget that most people coming here for help are neither pros, and may never have built a shower before. What works reliably for them and what a pro does in his sleep are VERY different things. The techniques learned from experience open up many more possibilities. When you are doing something for the first time, reliability and often economy are excessively important. WHen you are dealing with a client as a pro on an expensive project, you have other options. But, the DIY'er may only have one shower in the house, so getting it done is important. The multi-layered, numerous separate products, with their individual learning curves, and the inability to use the leftover for the next project really increase the cost and time and chance for failure. The DIY'er often wont' know where to buy the stuff, or want to run all over to seek it out. THen, he has to consider if it is important for him to keep his warranty in effect - he doesn't have a pro he can call back to fix a problem, if he misunderstood the instructions and did something wrong, or messed it up and has to buy it all over again. Things a pro doesn't do often if he wants to stay in business.
So, something known to work, saves time, IS a premium product to a typical DIY'er. The use of a surface membrane IS a major upgrade to a conventional shower. That John can't see that is his shortcoming.
We're talking to different people, trying for different results. A simple shower, done right is often what's desired and can be paid for. The average guy here is not in the market for what can be done by a pro and a budget of $10's of thousands of dollars and months in the making - he is trying to figure out how to make a shower that doesn't leak so he can get back to his 'normal' life.
We're not talking about dumbing down the end result, or setting it up for failure...overcomplicating the thing can. FOr many people, using a wetsaw is a first time endeavor. Picking up a trowel to spread thinset is a challenge. Setting tile without lippage is a problem. Mixing thinset (or being sold a mastic instead) suitable for the job is a challenge when you've not done it before, and may not have a suitable drill motor or mixing paddle.
John seems to forget that, since he's been doing it for awhile...the tasks are second nature. So, to talk about a slurry bond coat, and screeds and floats is like talking greek, and while it may seem easy once you've done it, if you don't need to do it in the first place, and don't want to go pick up the tools and extra materials to perform the task, and the risk of not getting it right and having to start over, throwing away money and time you had to scrape up in the first place...people just don't want the added complications.
I'm all for throwing in some special touches, making sure you consider the tile layout to avoid things that just don't look good, and ensuring what you do install is done correctly, but not everyone is really interested in frills.
Look at the Stata-Mat thread and how many layers of stuff and different products are there in that? All for an install that does not have Laticrete's blessing or warranty when it could have been done much simpler. Schluter isn't going to warrantee a job done with Laticrete's materials, and why should they?
I'm not advocating talking down to the people here, I'm advocating giving them info they ask for to solve their problem in a manner that they have a good chance of succeeding in, and, where they don't have to go out an buy a bunch of tools they probably will never use again. Offer up the possibility of some enhancements, and alternate techniques when appropriate.
I don't think we'll ever see eye-to-eye. And, unless asked to stop, I'll try to be here to offer up an alternate solution that actually follows the manufacturer's instructions, and offer up alternatives for enhancements, if it seems appropriate.