What Use Is An F-call?

What use is an F-call? I've now had my foundation license just over 200 days. If I had a dollar for every time I was asked: "When are you upgrading your license?" I'd be able to retire, well, at least eat out. I'm unsure about the sentiment. I understand when it's asked from a place of encouragement and improvement, but often times it appears cloaked in the notion that an f-call is merely a stepping stone to a "real license". Allow me make some observations. If I had an advanced license and I decided to engage in QRP, low power broadcasting, then I'd get accolades for my ability to get to another station on the smell of an oily rag. If I built a magnificent antenna from scratch, I'd get enquiries about the design and suggestions on improvements. If I came up with a particularly nice design for a power supply, or a filter for a generator, or any number of contributions, I'd be welcomed into the ranks of a "real amateur", whatever that might mean. You might have noticed that I c