KiNgBrAdLeY7: 7) They ruined cheese and exploits. No Firebead Elvenhair abuse, for example, or killing off Aec Letec with only ONE CLOUDKILL, anymore. No keeping items from 1 with black screen pause. Everything is cut. EVERYTHING!
They fixed a bug; I'm not exactly sure how that is supposed to be a bad thing.
KiNgBrAdLeY7: 6) The weapon specialization system and thief skills from/through original 1, were far more effective, powerful and desirable to those of 1 enhanced, a.k.a. 2's system.
I hear you on weapon specialization, but that's also true of Tutu.
KiNgBrAdLeY7: 8) They went against the lore and restriction of original game and rules, themselves. For example, they allowed all ranger kits to dual (in the originals only beastmasters would and could), and some races are allowed to roll classes that previously were not allowed to.
9) They took initiatives to add stuff that wasn't there. Now, anyone with intelligence below 18, is not able to cast high level spells at all. For example, Aerie will NOT cast level 9 spells, even if in the original she was perfectly able to. Same goes for poor Yan. Maybe turnips robbed them all from spells? Or the developers from common sense, for turnip's sake?
In between you bringing up the AD&D rules in 6 and 8, I'm a little surprised that item 9 is that big of an issue, since in the rules, mages with lower intelligences can't learn spells of certain levels (from levels 5-9 at INT 9 to level 9 at INT 17). Maybe you're referring to the original BG rules, though; sorry if that's the case.
KiNgBrAdLeY7: 5) The forums and the fanbase is full of... gays... They started DEMANDING things, much like male npcs being romanceable by other male pcs... Cover your asses, hug the walls, and get out of there, fast!
Oh boy. Where to start?
Firstly, can you blame them? The big draw is in being able to roleplay your character however you want (although I question how well it is executed), so not making that option open feels a little silly at best (lol, the devs never imagined that gay people might actually want to roleplay a character with comparable sexual orientation) and insulting at worst (it's not that gay people aren't welcome in the Baldur's Gate, they just don't exist). I tend to go with the former myself. After all, it doesn't seem like Bioware had a problem with gay people, in much the same way that I don't think that most studios hate anyone who isn't a handsome white dude (
not that it makes the end result any more pleasant).
Secondly, if the possibility that an NPC might have a thing for you and you aren't interested, what's wrong with (1) not doing or saying anything to give grounds for them to think you reciprocate and (2) if approached, tell them of the lack of said interest? You know, that thing that people do when someone flirts with them and they aren't interested. It's not like being gay or bisexual automatically means that you stop respecting barriers like that; if the NPC persists anyway, then it's not their sexual orientation that's the problem, it's that the NPC is a shitty character (regardless of how good their build is).