There's still some BAB advancement in 3E - the worst progression eventually gets +10 BAB by level 20. But the point was the guy bitched about how his immersion was RUINED because he HAD to improve his BAB.
The guy is a moron then. If that actually ruins your game, go play solitaire.
But my main point stands - 3E is no better at building a gimped/disadvantaged PC than 4E and it's stupid to even argue that a system is bad because it doesn't let you build a gimped PC in the first place - D&D has never been about that and if you want that either house rule it or play GURPS.
Criticizing 4E on this basis is incredibly fucking stupid.
For many classes, simply stats-wise, it can be harder to build a gimped character in 3E than in 4E. A 3E fighter with a low strength is still effective based solely on their BAB increase. A 4E fighter with low strength is at larger disadvantage against an equal level opponent. And 4E lets you retrain as part of the rules - there is no provision in the rules for a 3E character that made a poor choice.
All systems have points of criticism, but it is all situational and at the end of the day, it is still just a game. If you aren't having fun, play something else. It's like these people are mad at the game because they don't like to play it. It would be like eating a Snickers, when you had the chance to choose a Coffee Crisp, and then bitching about how a Snickers wasn't a Coffee Crisp. Whose fault is it that you chose something you don't like?
It seems like these people play D&D, but what they really want to be playing is GURPS... but they still play D&D when there is an alternative that they can easily choose.
The discussions we have had on balance and other issues are at least related to the game we basically prefer to play, and we are talking about tweaking things, not playing completely different games. I mean, I'm not upset with D&D because it doesn't let me play a giant fucking robot... and someone who is, has bigger problems than their game choice.
They remind me of people who went to see Godzilla, and then complained that all the movie was about what a giant lizard stepping on a city...