Discussing a problem you're having with a friend but not wanting practical guidance is like going up to a street cop and telling him the woeful tale of how you were trying to find the library but simply could not, then getting miffed when he proceeds to give you what he considers good directions on how to get to the library.
Actually, not a great analogy:
If you're lost and go to a cop for help, it's implicit that you're there mainly for a set of directions. His duty in the relationship IS to resolve practical matters. Of course you wouldn't go to him just for emotional support.
Meanwhile, many people approach their friends in order to find some solidarity and vent their frustrations without fear of judgment, probably on equal levels with the desire for some sort of solution. They are also feeling emotionally vulnerable. Friends play many roles at once, with the relational/emotional support being a large part of things.
I think the role of a friend is to determine what is truly needed <not necessarily what they want, but what they need> by the person and do their best to play that role. And often the friend must equip the person to resolve the issue themselves (or encourage them in a way that allows them to continue the battle), rather than trying to just directly solve it for them. Providing solutions and little else transforms the relationship from an equal-level one to a hierarchical one, with the person with the problem being on a lower level than the one providing the solution.
(So they came to their friend as an equal level person and go away feeling preached to or talked down to or suffering the insinuation they weren't smart enough to solve their own problem, when really they just wanted someone to reframe things or tell them they weren't as far off-base as they felt.)
