There is a German proverb that translates to "the tone makes the music", meaning that an outcome often depends on how something, e.g. a suggestion, is presented.
In discussions about the pros and cons of tabs, I feel that they are frequently encumbered by the fact that some participants had never actually seen good tabs, with rests and rhythm and so on. Tabs are a form of musical notation, so people who use advanced tabs already do read music. If someone only speaks English and you come along and suggest that maybe they should learn how to speak a real language that isn't quite as simple linguistically, you might find yourself under attack.
Someone, in a previous discussion, had posted quality tabs that illustrate that point.
There's probably less opposition if the suggestion is made to learn DIFFERENT ways of reading music. What you refer to is just one way, just like English is just one language (you can write deep books in other languages, too, or even in English!), and it's pretty abstract and constructed, far less intuitive than tabulature (in case of stringed instruments). It, too, is only an approximation, it's not music itself.
I feel that being competent at reading different forms of notation, tabs included, is as beneficial as being fluent in multiple languages. Both opens up entirely new horizons, and both gives you more tools to express yourself.
