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I agree. But in Wolverine's defense--he wasn't always that way. There is a panel fairly early in JB's run, with Wolverine looking down through a window at Jean and Scott getting out of a car. He obviously had a thing for Jean but the feelings were one sided. It was a HORRIBLE mistake to have Jean and Logan "hook up".

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But that is EXACTLY the kind of "instant gratification" I'm talking about. When it was Scott and Jean who were doing the will they/won't they dance, some fans clamored for them to get together. Most writers were savvy enough to realize that would be a mistake, but it happened eventually anyway. Then Wolverine was introduced into the equation, and the clamoring took on a different note.

A big problem lies in the fact that too many fans, and since they come from the same pool these days, too many writers, do not think long term. They want that instant gratification, and they do not ask "Then what?"

Look at the X-Men movies. Watching them I was reminded of something an editor up at DC said years ago about the Christopher Reeve Superman movies -- that it was fascinating to watch them make all the same mistakes the comics had made, in less time and with more money!

Storm take him out on a duel.

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Looking back, I think that is where Claremont lost me. 

Storm turned punk was bad but I gave it the benefit of the doubt because I thought it may be a storyline set up.  I don't know what he was thinking with Storm.  Was it that after Jean was gone he focused of her?  By virtue of her powers, she was already one of, if not the most powerful team member, but he had to go over-the-top with her.  There was no need for all that.  What purpose did it serve?

I used to hold the first Claremont run as THE X-Men for me. A few years ago when I quit the X-Men during Matt Fraction's run, I realized that I had alot of X-Men comics but many of them were crappy. I first removed any issue written by Chuck Austen. I had only previously removed the Nightcrawler origin but decided that I liked almost NOTHING from his run. I then removed the Grant Morrison, Ed Brubaker and Joe Casey issues.They're all writers that I tend to like but not their X-Men runs. A removal of the Alan Davis stuff pretty much just left the Chris Claremont stuff, Giant Sized #1 and the pre-New X-Men issues that I own.

I realized that I didn't really like the X-Men after #200. What did they give us? The Beyonder, Mutant Massacre, Inferno, Fall of the Mutants, the Outback X-Men, and the Banshee team before it all became Jim Lee's X-Men. Nothing that I would ever really want to go back and read. I wouldn't say that Claremont lost me but I certainly don't enjoy those issues enought to keep them. If those issues don't appeal to me then certainly this trainwreck of a franchise now will never appeal to me. 

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In the first few months after I left, Storm DID pick up several of the "bits" Chris had wanted to do with Jean, that I'd said no to.

I have the entire run from GS1-175 bagged and boarded.  I  liked Paul Smith's art or would've stopped sooner.  I read later issues but my interest had dwindled.  I probably have the later issues somewhere but not in the same long box.

I tried many times to start reading the title again but it was never the same.

One thing about Uncanny X-Men #200 that made it special to me, was that my hometown of Tallahassee, Florida gets mentioned.