I'm confused by the apparent anger toward AA and its scheduling in this thread. When you book a flight, look closely at the connection time(s). If you're not comfortable with the amount of time, don't book the flight. If you still book the itinerary, you're accepting that you may have extra expenses/wasted time/other hassles if you misconnect, particularly if the reason is weather/ATC/something else outside AA's control.

I like having the option to book a short connection, because sometimes it may the the only way to attempt to get somewhere on a particular day, especially when I need to fly late the the day or if I'm flying somewhere with a limited number of flights. I do agree that it's annoying if a GA takes you off a flight -assuming- you'll misconnect when you're actually physically able to make it to the next flight before they close the door -- they should really be more careful not to do that.

Otherwise, when I book a short connection, I know going in that there is very little room for error, and I don't book anything where I don't have the tolerance and/or personal resources to deal with the fallout if I truly can't make it to the connecting gate on time.

Anecdotally, quite a few FTers seem to be booking backup flights on other airlines these days, particularly given the generous refund/credit policies still in place. Personally, I've had to rebook on UA a few times this year (even WN once -- yikes!).