Thinking about this "Don't like it, don't buy it" is seems like its rarely a good response to someone, simply because it's so obvious, shouldn't need to be said and comes across as rude. Its also a response that is designed to shut down the conversation and seems to imply that the original complainant doesn't have the right to complain.
Where this discussion gets a bit knotty is that it seems to me like there are a number of different forms of this.
1) The original complainant had done basic research on the game, was aware of the games flaws and bought it/is going to buy it anyway.
2) The original complainant had done basic research on the game, but found that it was worse (objectively/subjectively) than they had been led to believe.
3) The original complainant hadn't done basic research on the game and bought something terrible as a result.
4) The original complainant hasn't played the game, has done basic research on the game and presenting a reasonable argument of why he isn't going to buy the game.
5) The original complainant hasn't played the game, isn't going to buy it, and hasn't done basic research on the game but is complaining anyway.
For number 1:
Random Argument Man said:
It's mostly for people who tend to over-exagerate their criticism and probably needed to tone down their ALLCAPS mode.
Zhukov said:
Someone says, "This DLC is overpriced! $10 for two hours of content! What a rip off!"
Now it seems to me that the obvious response to something you consider a rip-off and one which you can see coming is not to partake.
So really what is happening is people are implying that the price was a disadvantage, but the game/DLC had enough advantages that they wanted to buy it anyway (or they have the mentality that because they liked the original game they need to have every sequel/DLC available). In this case you should maybe point out that there must be some advantages to the game or they wouldn't still be buying it, or to ask more directly at what price point they would stop buying it.
For number 2 and 3:
SUPA FRANKY said:
Eh, you should be able to tell if you will enjoy a game by watching gameplay, reading reviews, word of mouth
The point here is that the complainant IS providing "word of mouth" for other people. For 3 this word of mouth might not be very useful in the sense that all the information was already there and the complainant might be late to the party but it might still be useful for someone somewhere.
For number 2 I can probably gain something useful if the poster is able to express well what he knew before buying the game and why that lead him to make a wrong purchase. For example a few months back a poster on this site mentioned that he hadn't liked NFS Most Wanted (the new one) and after I asked directly he said the main reason was that there was little sense of making progress through the game. As a result I held of buying the game until it was a little cheaper as I find that having clear progress though a game influences my motivation to play it (while it matters much less to others). While I'm sure reviews mentioned this disadvantage it didn't jump out at me in the same way it did when it was expressed by complainer and so I found it useful.
For both of these, instead of just saying you shouldn't have bought it, a better way is tell the poster how you specifically knew not to buy it (i.e. link to a review or point out that licenced games are rarely worth buying) assuming you didn't buy/like the game, or to explain why you liked it if you did. In any case try and present your argument with a bit of sympathy to the complainant, even if you secretly think they're a bit of an idiot for not doing the research. "Sorry you didn't like this game, but I had a lot of fun with it" creates a much friendlier atmosphere that "DLI,DBI".
For number 4 and 5:
"Don't like it, don't buy it" isn't quite the phrase as clearly the complainer isn't going to buy it. It's more like "Don't like it, don't complain here, this is a thread for people who like the game". It does lead to this:
PainInTheAssInternet said:
Person A: I won't buy this product because the community is saying it's shit.
Person B: Don't knock it until you try it.
Person A: But it's near-unanimous.
Person B: You haven't played it so you can't judge it.
For number 4 if you feel like the poster is wrong you can engage with them and explain why you think they are overvaluing the disadvantages or undervaluing the advantages of a game using your own experience if you've played the game or referring to reviews/word of mouth otherwise. For number 5 you can just politely say that plenty of other people disagree (objectively/subjectively) with the information the complainant is presenting and leave it there.
Smooth Operator said:
Yes it seems plenty of people don't understand "Don't like it don't buy it" is the final statement to all other information, as in "These are the facts, if they are not satisfactory then do not buy."
Except the long version still comes across as being quite abrupt and still something that shouldn't need to be said.
If you are involved in a long argument with someone who is unreasonable and consistently ignoring facts, then you might want to sign off with such a response. I think the OPs point was that people tend to pull out DLIDBI immediately after the complainants first post without really engaging with might be reasonable points (or genuine concerns that turn out not to be true).
In any case there are nicer ways of finishing the conversation. You mention that its "the final statement", but this seems to assume that someone on the thread has the right to declare the matter finished and settled. If you've argued with someone for a while and you still disagree with them, the nice way of bowing out of the conversation would be something like "I understand your concerns with the game and I don't really have anything more to say about them except that I personally (enjoyed they game)/(am excited about buying it) and would recommend it to anyone who likes [this kind of game]" (or alternatively "I still don't quite understand you concerns because (my experience)/(a lot of what I have heard about the game) says the opposite but I'm not sure there is anything more I can say to convince you") Here you've put your point across as clearly as you can (to both the original complainant and anyone else reading the thread), you've not insulted the person and you let other people continue the discussion if they want, and the other person can't continue to argue without appearing an ass.
