Barbeques allow /everyone/ to be outside socialising, instead of one or two cooks being confined to the kitchen for large blocks of time.
They also work when out camping, where your "kitchen" is a small calor gas stove and a cool bag, and you don't have oven/grill facilities.
Exactly, BBQs are more of a social thing. From my experience and BBQs that I've been at, it's been a case of people often cooking their own food (people bringing their own beer and meat) when they want it and how long they want. With a gas BBQ it makes it much easier to just be at cooking temperature whenever you want. Also makes it easier to turn the BBQ on later in the evening if people get hungry again.
I like the idea of cook your own food. (Even though I've not got a clue myself, sowould need help - but that's actuallly a good thing).
Also, the main reason some/most people confine barbeques to their garden is lack of imagination - generally, I suspect there's no reason they can't go to a local park or similar.
My brother and his friends will often all go down to the beach for one - I suspect mainly because they all still live with parents and both can't have a bunch of friends invade and want to get out of the house themselves.
Although they probably also waste money on the disposable supermarket things, rather than having a decent barbeque.
People tend to make barbecues meat-fests, but I think many vegetables benefit hugely from chargrilling - corn-on-the-cob, skewers of cherry tomatoes, onions or shallots, mushrooms, chunks of courgette & cloves of garlic. Stuffed baked spuds can be finished off in foil. And there's no risk of food poisoning.
Council-run parks tend not to allow BBQ, but the principle is true enough.
you're going to the wrong barbecues for point 1, and for point 2 see my previous post to truffy plus the social point others have made.
Ooh yes, Halloumi good. Halloumi with chilli.
At this point I feel I should mention Australia (especially Brisbane/Queensland) where there are public electric barbeques in all the seaside parks. They're only electric - I assume because Australia has a few issues with open fires - but someone from the local council goes round and cleans them every morning. Brilliant idea.
wow! I didn't see any of those in WA. What a great idea!