I said that I would not go the traditional route. You can't give up on something that you don't attempt in the first place.
Yes - a number of agents/publishers don't even send a rejection. Websites suggest if you haven't heard within 3-6 months to take that as a rejection. A curt reply is much better. My favourite so far has been a big red x lol seemed better than the management guff they usually send. I'm like yourself I won't send to those agencies.
I am a hermit. A rogue, an outcast. I don't deal with anyone who is ill-mannered toward me. I have clients, they be nice, or they be gone. If only people in the paying publishing world would give an opinion then I would not consider them so rude. It is the 'bluntness without reason' that OP mentioned that I am referring to when I deem them ill-mannered. Why do you assume that I will go to a 'vanity press/self-publishing business' ? They are not the only ways to self-publish you know. No vanity press will ever see a cent of my money.
Self publishing is a growing industry and people go down that route for a variety of reasons. The more I've written and spoken to people who have done both traditional and self published, the more I'm considering the latter. It allows for more freedom and individuality. Some of my favourite authors are self published and wouldn't have been given a chance in the very conservative, modern publishing industry. I'd rather self publish than make some of the changes agents and publishers seem to want from some of my stories.