Or they might take the plunge and play an initial scenario with someone only to find the rules quite gamey. For example, many new players will rip apart certain rules, saying they are unrealistic and ask to change them. They will be refuted then attack back saying that all ASL players are morons because they can't handle change. The ASL reality of this is that a new player will not be able to grasp the subtle ripple effect along hundreds of pages of rules and hundreds of scenarios. A new player must come to the grips that it is ASL, like it or leave it.
Many people decide to leave it.
Remember, I said it was a game, not a simulation. If I may compare it to other games I have played, it doesn't seem that gamey to me. I think many wargamers get hung up on the dream of a tactical game with lots of flavor, the perfect game. It doesn't exist. I have played other games, but not enough that I feel qualified to comment too strongly.