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Alicia's reply

People must be free to make their own mistakes.
Although your advice is given in honest earnest, and with best intentions in mind, no one's advice can ever substitute for the genuine learning experience of a huge screw-up. Granted, offering your best advice can free you from liability; if something goes terribly wrong, at least you did all you could do.
But it is important to recognize and appreciate "all you can do," and although part of being a good friend is offering your sincere suggestions, another very important part of being a good friend is sticking by your Tried-And-Trues through their largest mistakes, _and_ their refusals to take your good advice. A good friend will do what they can to steer their loyal compatriates away from harm; an excellent friend will still be there after the storm to bring their friend in out of the rain without condescension or reproach.
It may be tempting to withdraw advice entirely when it rarely seems useful or effective; but in many ways, the use of advice lies not in the issue it most obviously appears to address, but rather in the expression of care and concern from one person to another. Although advice may not be taken; it rarely goes entirely unappreciated. Advice is emotive; strong advice is passionate - and even if your subject believes you are wrong, he will surely believe in your best intentions... something that cannot be conveyed through passive agreeance. The advice-offer/rejection dance is a very special and privileged quality of a close and meaningful friendship, something that should not be forgotten.
In conclusion, please reconsider your decision to "not offer real advice" to your friends anymore; and for God's sake, don't lie and say that it isn't out of "frustration."
And post this on your blog if you please, because I think it is a useful piece of advice. (wink.)
Love,
Alicia

posted by AmeroKafka @ 2:55 PM