I have always said that proxies are a consideration unless you flat out know you're going to miss your slot. If it's going to hurt someone's draft to proxy several picks ahead, I don't mind waiting on them to see how things play out before they make their selection. There are many times when at 5am est (when I tend to go to bed) I feel a certain way, only to get up around 1 or 2 the next day and have seen a slew of draft picks that have changed my mind. Because of this fact, and because I don't like giving away options that I may yet be able to come back around and pick up, I won't often proxy well ahead of my slot. I know of a few times I've seen someone I hadn't considered on someone's proxy list and it changed how I might approach my next pick. I don't like to give that away. Nor do I expect anyone else to, just to convenience myself or a few other owners who are ready to make their picks. It is a draft, not a race, and there's way more to building a great team in a draft than having a checklist of stats you want to fulfill.
This is something I feel strongly about, as many of the owners here already know ;) Rarely am I the cause of a draft lull, but I like to give everyone the same consideration that I myself want to receive.
The draft, to me, is as fun as - if not more than - the actual league.