Some of the cyncism Live gets is rightfully deserved. The same parent company still manages it. The game's marketing and production direction still follows practices people were burned by over nad over before. The product itself looks extremely underwheming given its hype. It's one thing to be "open minded". It's another thing to be undiscerning and unwilling to acknowledge the usual troubling signs one sees (and that the product does not look like a great game).
So frankly, Live deserves its flack until it actually produces a solid next-gen product that fits the moniker in both look and play.
Anyway, I do agree that Live makes progress if they can keep what works, rework what doesn't, and improve everything in subsequent years-- even if the game's mostly bad. I just think it's ridiculous to recommend others to fund EA to do so through a full-priced purchase when they've shown no willingness or ability to commit to any long term plan in the last decade.