Yeah, that's what I will never stop hating about debate: people using irrational argument under the assumption that they're rational points. There's hundreds of different manners in which that behavior manifests, and one of my more recent pet peeves on that subject is seeing people espouse catch phrases as if some internet meme zinger equates to shooting down philosophical opposition... it doesn't. But missing the point entirely while you think you get it is equally as frustrating to see.
On a somewhat related note, I'm a fan of Jim Sterling's work, but I took exception to his stance on
"A Game by Any Other Name" in which he even specifically cited complaints about
Fallout 3 used its name as a basis for expectation as if that was somehow innately foolish. Overall he was spot on with his observations, but while a name is little more than a name, a name's
association is very meaningful. If you called FO3 "Gumdrop Tornado Miniskirts" that wouldn't have had any affect on the game itself, but it does impact people's expectations. If you called it "Battlefield: Wasteland", people would have expectations for it to play like other
Battlefield games, and they would have come away greatly disappointed; and rightfully so! Names don't impact the ultimate product, but they're not meaningless, either. FO3 fails for a great many, many reasons, and disappointing on the level of expectations that fans rightfully had for associating it with a magnificent series that preceded it is just one of its many failings. As a game on its own, FO3 is not that great, but it would have received fall less scrutiny had it not been intentionally associated with a series of much better work.
If you say you hate FO3, that doesn't mean you hate open world games. That doesn't mean you hate shooters. Assuming as much doesn't do anything for you, so why not ask people for reasons? It could be they just didn't enjoy it. It could be they hated shitty writing, poor graphics, absurd game physics, linear storytelling claiming to be the opposite, grating and repetitive voice casts, uncanny valley animations, the overall package's glitchiness, etc. It could be they don't like shooters or open world games or post apocalyptic settings. But if you just assume and you don't ask, you don't know whether their reasons are flighty or if they're very grounded and for good reason.