This has to be a joke right? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills reading through this thread.
As others have pointed out, 5 gallons in a 25 gallon fermenter has A LOT of headspace. Theoretically, during fermentation, the yeast scavenges the O2 and the CO2 escaping your airlock/blowoff tube should fill the headspace. BUT, as soon as you open the fermenter, which it sounds like you did multiple times, O2 mixes with that CO2, and you no longer have headspace clear of O2. O2 after fermentation spoils beer. The term is oxidation and causes staling. This causes darkening and flavors include leather, paper, and wet cardboard. Obviously this ruins shelf life. Bottling will make it worse, as you expose the beer to O2 yet again.
I see you mention that our ancestors brewed in monster vessels, but as others have said, it's clearly an outdated practice. I do realize that many breweries still perform open fermentations, but they are monitored, and after primary fermentation is complete, they get sealed to prevent oxidation.
3 - 4 weeks is proper for a 5 gallon batch, or maybe you know something the experts don't? I checked the specific gravity and the alcohol content today and all is GOOOOOOOD. I'll be bottling within the next couple of days. Just waiting for a time when I feel like it. Remember... when our ancestors first started brewing they didn't have calendars.
BTW... That was just the title of my post and it was meant to get some attention. It really is not black. I thought I might stir the pot a little and it worked. Every critter you can imagine came out of the woodwork to put in their 2 cents.
2-3 weeks is plenty of time for a Pale Ale fermentation (and most other beers, actually). Many brewers here bottle or keg after 14 days. That's been my schedule for Pale ales, and it works out quite nicely. No need to keep it on yeast longer than that, but that's a whole other discussion. As for trying to "stir the pot a little", what did you expect would happen? Almost every response here was posted to help you out and you started calling people "thick skulled and brainless wonders".
These forums are an awesome resource. I've learned a TON on here, from like-minded people. You clearly have much to learn, and we are all willing to help out. Fighting with people posting legitimate responses is not the way to learn.