Yes- I agree that you should take TA with a grain of salt.
I always vet the responses based on where I am going and who is rating.

I do use TA but also look carefully at who is rating, where they have travelled and level of detail in reviews. I look for the information that is personally helpful to me.
I am from US and I find that travelers from other countries have a completely different set of expectations for Mexico and Caribbean accommodations, service and prices. I take that into account. When traveling to Europe I look for US travelers with similar expectations as mine and weight them accordingly.
I agree that TA can at times be overweighted to folks who will do things the hard way (to me) to save a couple bucks. And I respect that we all have different budgets.
So if you are looking for ways to save a couple bucks--you can find that info. And if you are looking for ways to make things more enjoyable and you can afford more--you can find that info as well. Just have to self-filter to find what you need.

Good discussion.

1 thing I've found is that I've slowed down a bit as I've gotten older, I used to be a very fast traveler and still am but slightly less. So I think age is another factor and perhaps TA is older, (although I think FT is also pretty... um, mature as a whole).

Another factor at play is I think pride. As in, "You think my hometown/country is only worth X days/hours?? What an insult!"

On my last big trip, I was actually told by locals in Athens, that spending 3 days in Meteora was too long. It was the first time in my life someone said that to me. I didn't think it was too long though but could have done with 1 fewer day, 1 more would have been way too much.

Frequently do ambitious itineraries with the S/O. Doing a 2.5 week trip EWR-(HKG-)-BKK-REP-DAD-HAN-CTU-XIY-HKG-EWR in mid-May. Don't have more than three days in any location. I do a lot of research beforehand to understand cultures, food, what to do and what not to do -- that way we tend to get a lot out of the respective 2-3 days.

In general, I have found the law of diminishing returns to apply for stays rather quickly. If you really like a place and didn't have enough time? Return two years down the road. If you don't like a place but have all this extra time? Congratulations, you've just wasted one of your precious days off. There are so many places I want to see -- if I spent the time folks on TA say are necessary in each place, I'd have to live to 300 years to be able to see them all.

That is a lot. ;)

There's a lot of variables - Europe is not a country, and each country has its own ways of doing things. In the UK, I'd expect 25 days' paid leave per annum (plus 8 days' public holidays) as a minimum, but wouldn't expect to take more than 2 weeks at a time (I have managed 3 in the past, but there's a lot of work either side of that!)

Somewhere like France, though, it's commonplace enough to amass statutory time off in lieu and take the whole of August off (frankly, so many people are away that month that very little gets done anyway, so you may as well go).

Personally, I find a long trip makes it too difficult to return to the real world afterwards!

Yes, I felt very much like that in the past.

Getting older I enjoy work more and more and find travel duller and duller, so the more vacation days I get, the less I need. I forfeit the majority of my leave these days.

Oh I'm always trying to extend any trip as much as I can - if I spend most of a day to get some place I'd love to make up for it with some extra day(s). And of course I often say "well you ask if one day is enough, I have spent weeks visiting that area." Yet, even a glimpse can be stirring. I recall arriving Munich by car with a colleague late one afternoon, check into hotel, take U-bahn or S-bahn to the main square, half and hour stroll, watch the clock chime, early dinner in a biergarten, and out of town the next day. Great memory - and that was 20 years ago :)

(OK I did later get a chance to spend 3 days in Munich but somehow the memory of that afternoon is imprinted more, perhaps because it was more intense given the short time span).