Stan, You hit it on the head, I think. My Dad taught me how to pack *** years ago and he showed me the proper way to fold and roll shirts, pants, and everything else for maximum space and packability. I never realized until your post, but that was where he learned it (in the Coast Guard, and later, the Navy). It has always worked very well FOR ME.
With respect to tents and sleeping bags, I find it very hard to believe that anyone could fold today's tents twice and have the creases (if you can get creases) in the same place because nothing on these tents is square. On the old wall tent designs, I can see the argument. They were sqaure, and had a specific routine to the folding process. However, the heavier duck material seldom showed ill effects. OK, that stuff was like stainless steel compared to todays tent fabrics.
I still think you stand to do more damage by stuffing, and I also think you put more mini creases in the material that way. I have several tents that have been folded and rolled for 20 years, and the fold lines disappear when I put them up. These are old wall tent style backpacking tents that sold in the 70's and 80's and made of nylon very similiar to todays stuff.
I still stand by fold and roll but I respect those of you who don't. It's your gear, and I think you should be able to pack it the way you want without fear of criticisim.
Very enlightening thread.
Happy Hiking,
Tom