Rant - post credits scenes

What is it with film makers putting small scenes right at the end of the their movies after the credits have finally finished rolling?

Yes, I'm talking about you Jon Favreau, director of IRON MAN. If you haven't seen the film yet then wait until the end of the credits for a very short scene that has a lot of people getting excited. For those that missed it, there are bootleg copies of the scene on the internet and, for once, I fully support anyone who downloads them. Youtube has taken it down because the studio has screamed copyright infringement, but come on fellas. It's like a couple of minutes that half of your audience never saw.

Once upon a time films ended with the words 'The End' and the lights came up and everyone went home. Then someone somewhere decided that every single person who worked on a film ought to have their name on the screen no matter what they did. Do we really need to know the name of the receptionist of the firm of accountants that looked after the insurance bond? Really? The credits on some of the big blockbusters can run for ten or fifteen minutes after the action that we came to see is all over.

Putting a scene after the credits might be a legitimate way of getting the audience to sit through the endless list of meaningless names and might even give some people a thrill (the fanboys love the Iron Man scene), but what use is it having the scene there if you're not going to tell anybody beforehand? I liked IRON MAN, but I am already predisposed to not liking the sequel because I was annoyed as hell at missing the scene. If you must put these scenes in then bloody well tell the audience.

Better still, when the film ends, let it end.