The can of worms only opens up with a new brewer that has absolutely no idea what a "good idea" is (eg. the infamous 'bratwurst beer' from that one commercial). Some of the instructions that have been tossed around on boards I've seen are like telling a newbie, "Here's some copper, zinc, gunpowder and paper; go make yourself some fireworks!" Yes, you might get something beautiful, but you might also blow your fingers off. Lets face it, there are an astronomical number of things that you can do to beer to customize it but for the first timer it is daunting and a gentle, well-defined nudge can really get the new brewer excited about the craft.
Going back to my original argument, my suggestion is not that new; I have a shelf full of cookbooks with recipes that give variations. The cake mix shelf at the store is full of boxes that give optional ingredients to be added the cake to spice it up. Heck, even the bag of chocolate chips in my freezer tells you to add 3/4 cup of walnuts if you're so inclined. You can do a lot of non-standard things with a box of yellow cake mix but at least the box lists 2 or 3. Is it so hard for kit makers -- or even fanciers of the kits -- to add well-defined variations to their recipes?
I'm not asking the experienced brewers to "do my work for me" as another comment in this thread has intimated. I've got 7 non-kit batches under my belt (literally and figuratively) and only one was strictly a recipe by someone other than me. I have no problems experimenting, but someone less crazy and more intimidated by cooking could be turned off by having to sift through some of the witch's brew comments that have appeared on forums.
I apologize if I sound like I'm ranting, Jim, but I got frustrated by your and anothers comment that dismissed my suggestion for helping the rank newbie. I was there just a year ago and I found it more than a little annoying that no well-defined (yes, I keep using that phrase) step existed other than "post your idea, we'll tell you if you're off your rocker" type comments from people.