Exactly. I've never asked to be protected, the last instance I got a call on my phone while I was in the lounge asking for me to come to the gate, by the time I'd gotten there I'd already been 'protected' on the new flight (which was zeroed out), I refused because they only had middle Y- seats, vs the Y+ window I was in, had my ID thrown back at me (I had to pick it up off the ground), I asked to be pulled from the flight, they said they would, but they never did.

I, personally, value the protection, since when I'm agreeing to get bumped, I'm only doing so if I'm getting on specific new flights (I don't exactly fit in Y- seats, and haven't had a middle seat in well over a thousand flights), so doing so with the promise of 'we'll get you there eventually', specifically knowing how AA treats its customers, I prefer having the specific flights held so AA's agents can't go back on its promise.