All the arguments for ex raids are now dead.

I won't lie, as convenient as it is for players to rack up dozens of legendaries something about being able to do so does sort of cheapen their legendary status. That said, the EX system as is wasn't the answer to that. To your points specifically;

-The February round in question was an accident, as people received passes to gyms they had previously spun maybe once. That round should not be considered in the EX assessment.

-EX raids as is are too limited because standard raid constraints are forced upon them. Having raided at a particular gym isn't much of an issue as connectivity with your local raid scene should narrow down what is and isn't an EX possibility. The EX raids being 45 minutes is the biggest hang-up; why not allow the raid to run all day so that groups can decide a week in advance if raiding it in the morning/afternoon/evening would be best?

-I mean, I'd be much more inclined to do a one star raid at a gym I knew handed out EX passes than one that didn't. This falls back to being in tune with your local raid scene.

I'm not saying the system is perfect or that rural players aren't dicked over by it. I'm just saying that for a lot of arguments there's a weird method to their madness, and while it can be improved upon greatly it does make some modicum of sense.

I have never met anyone that defends EX raids...

Not to mention there's a Task/Quest system in the game that rewards people for playing the game instead of punishing them for where they live.

Nothing has changed with Mewtwo coming out to normal raids. We all knew that it would happen one way or another. If Niantic is determined to keep EX in their game, they will. We like it or not. But they will give us the chance to get it somehow else with time.

Pokemon go does hand over to everyone all the pokemon. Sooner or later. The next pokemon coming to EX will be exclusive only for a period of time, as Mewtwo was.

Whether the arguments are dead or not, it is something that Niantic is going to continue. With the “share EX pass” in the game files, we know that it will continue. So now we know(or hope we know) that after a year of a boss being an EX exclusive, everyone will eventually get a chance to get it. I like the idea of opening my game to see that envelope open up to an EX pass. It’s thrilling. However, the system itself it flawed.

Given that this whole topic feels like a lazy attempt to troll, I'm not sure whether to give it a serious reply at all.

0) Clearly the exclusivity argument isn't dead, but the handling is different than assumed. No matter what, we KNEW that Mewtwo was never going to be the only EX boss. At some point he would rotate out. The only question was how he was going to be handled once he rotated out, whether people were just permanently never going to be able to get one (unlikely), whether he'd come back to rotation (which I had assumed), or if he'd be available to the public through another method. Under what we now know to be the new system, EX raids provide early access to coveted legendaries and give them exclusive moves. And, given that Mewtwo has been a top counter for a few raids now (including himself), there's a pretty clear benefit in having had one early.

1) You KNOW that the February invites were a glitch. The fact that you're referencing it as some kind of "proof" undermines any argument you were trying to make. Otherwise, lottos favor people who buy more tickets. The people who raid at gyms more often have a better chance of getting in. However, depending on your area, pretty much everybody who raids might get a pass.

2) lulwhat? Are you claiming that CDs -- which you can do without ever running into another player -- are better social events than EX raids which force together players who may never have even met otherwise? I just want to be sure that's the claim you're going with. Most CDs the few trainers I run into never stop to talk because you're in the middle of a catch-fest. A few of the EX raids I wound up talking to players for an hour afterward.

3) It DOES encourage people to do 1-star raids. I've had EX raid invites where the only raid I did that week was a 1-star raid. And the few times I didn't get an invite were weeks when I hadn't raided there at all and had just done normal gym stuff.

4) Everything is bad for rural players. As for the idea that you somehow think vacations are "contrary to the spirit of the game".... what?