[tyingq]

>when they are looking for a 1 sentence answer.

That's the rub. It's gone way beyond that. Contextually extracted bullet points, full (and sometimes multiple) paragraphs, images, charts, tables, highlighted phrases, etc.

>There are legit means to preventing Google from indexing one's site.

Yes, you can opt of out protection rackets :)

Edit: It's not the only issue with rich snippets. Here's two examples of a "rich snippet" that are bad for everyone: http://imgur.com/a/mpayp http://imgur.com/a/IZmmJ

Both sites being used for the answer are obvious affiliate site that cares only about who is giving out the best commission. Doubtful any info they offer is useful.

Or how about just flat out incorrect facts? http://i.imgur.com/1nNreR2.png