Why is "grinding" such a taboo thing in mmo's these days?

The reality is, that questing is the same thing as grinding but with some fancy "story telling" associated with it. So now you're quest grinding instead of grinding on mobs until you're 80. After that, you get to grind those instances and arenas for gear and don't tell me that crafting isn't a grind too in WoW. The way I see it, WoW just took the xp you'd normally get on mobs, and moved it to a quest reward.

And isn't Multi-boxing more conducive to grinding than a questing?

That said, I'm really enjoying myself in Aion. I love the art style and overall feel of the game. It doesn't try to be innovative and for that I'm grateful.