Interesting vibe right here.
I see both sides of the argument, though not the exclusivity, or vehemence. As a fixative for poor technique or setup, or in place of learning proper dynamic control of the instrument, compression is not the solution. And when giving a signal to an engineer, live or in the studio, they will often want a 'pure' tone which they can treat as they see fit, so may ask that you don't feed them a pre-compressed or EQ'd tone. I've even been asked to record latin music with the tone control fully open, so that any tonal choices rest with the mix engineer. When part of a well oiled machine, it is important to be aware of which cogs are your responsibility, and which aren't.
That said, a comp can be a creative/tonal tool, and just last night I recorded for a heavy rock band, using a plectrum. Simply popping on a Boss CS-3 with a slow attack and high threshold (well, low input gain, but let's not get onto that!) brought out the pick attack and emphasised the 'growl' in the sustain. It wasn't there as a fix for my crapness, but made the tone and feel more appropriate for the track, much like choosing an appropriate bass does. The live takes felt better as a result, and the band were pleased with the final sound over previous sessions we'd done. In that case, some of the work was already done for the engineer at the tracking stage, which suited him fine. I know from messing about with it, that the same pedal with a very short attack smooths the envelope nicely (if a little obviously), and it is a sound I have up my sleeve for when or if it suits a particular situation. I have trouble believing that no respectable track has ever been recorded through a compressor, or that a band has never benefited from a touch of comp at the bass rig at smaller shows.
PM'd