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if you dont buy EA games you have nothing to be mad about
some games should be in EA before release and they are not, and some should not be but are EA to avoid bad ratings
some folks like the EA process, let them enjoy it

I've played plenty of early access games that I've enjoyed a lot, games that without people buying them in early access, wouldn't have been finished and improved upon bringing a lot more joy to me, and other people who wouldn't have played them in their earlier stages of development.

Not all early access games are bad.

That said - there definitely are those who abuse the system and don't even try to improve the game. One of shittiest examples I can remember was ARK developers making a random scorching earth dlc without fixing the base game (it had problems with performance, balancing, bugs - and that's just in single player, multiplayer suffered from douchebag alpha tribes destroying the servers...). Their policy in general seemed to be to put more and more stuff into the game and ignore any problems and hope people get distracted by new shiny stuff.

Wanna hear something worse?

I saw a nice little game on kickstarter a couple of years ago. Seemed like it had real potential and unique mechanics.
And what's best, the developers promised the game was mostly done and will be released within 3 months.
Well guess what...
That game is called StoneShard.
It took the developers 2 years to release it.
It was just released recently, and it's still in early access!
There is like 10% of the game's content there. It's not that it's bugged (it is), its that the content isn't there yet.

Not gonna lie, I've been burned by Early Access games before but the few really awesome ones that did make good use of the system instead of exploiting it to make money off a half assed demo they did for school so they could work on their other more lucrative project, well, those made it all worth it.

Nobody forces you to buy EA games FFS. so DONT BUY THEM! There you go! Problem solved, case closed. People are complaining for everyhing!

Fellow who doesn't pay for games bitching about people who do.
Now I've seen it all.

People got introduced to Day One Dlcs and forgot about it, after that is it really surprising how gaming industry squeezing gamers out of every dime? Probably most of those Early Access games in Steam not going to get finished, they will be abandoned in half way in best case scenario. Anyway, some games like Bannerlord i don't mind to buy in EA, some devs proved that they know what they doing and they respect their fanbase enough to polish their product. I wish those games had some quality control from Steam but that's a dream.

Your argument is moot. If the buyer sees potential, they will buy it and support the company. If the trailer/preview is attractive enough for people to buy the game, marketing did its job and nobody coerced players to buy the game.

I bought two EA games on Steam and both were decent. One was Slay the Spire and I knew that it was coming out of Access, so I bought it at a discount. If you are able to mitigate your risk, you can wait for more news or updates before buying.

Maybe your poll should have included alternatives to EA rather than just random choices.

Never preorder.
Never buy early access.
I know that sucks for some Devs but well that's how it has to be.

Not a bro, but totally mad (I mean, it's been ages since I left my apartment, of course I'm mad by now). Still, while I tend to avoid EA exactly because of beta testing stuff you've described, I'm far from criticizing people who don't mind this approach, that's totally their right.

There are some decent games in Early Access I bought and advise you all to buy them- Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG, Metal Unit, Edge Of Eternity. They has regular updates, Of course they needs some polishing, but these games aren't bad even now, better than most games, that never weren't in Early Access.

I wouldn't buy an early access game unless I was comfortable with its current state of development, much like any game really. True, the game is in flux and the final result may change between the time I buy to the time they release it, but that is true for release games as well. Many are patched, balanced, added too, etc. My major concerns would be that the game is stable, fun to play, and looks to have enough longevity to make it worth while.

If it is a multiplayer game I would also make sure that they have a large player base and are an established company, to make sure even with eventual drop off people will be around to play with, too much and the game will simply wither and die, and the servers should remain up. I've seen others burned by early access games getting a surge of popularity only for it to plummet rather quickly, not entirely the fault of the devs. Sure the devs can probably try to add stuff to bring them back but games of the week can fade/die rather quickly regardless.

things like these that are designed to help the little guy can unfortunately be abused by some bad actors. early access has pushed games through that range from cinderella story to straight up scam. that's just how it is. it's up to the consumer to not be stupid with their money. though i gotta say i really wish steam would be more lenient with their refund policy when it comes to early access games.