Some new entrants in cryptocurrency trading do trade blindly on coins without doing their research on coins before investing, majority invest base on FUD or a pump group which are not realiable.
The following are some of the factors to consider before investing in coins base on long terms investment:
On-going Projects
Community Hype
Market sentiments
Future projects
Social media reach
I actually respect your opinion on things to watch out for when choosing ICO but sometimes opinions are not always right. The best thing is to make research about the product of the ICO and the team behind the project. I believe those are the two Paramount things to watch out for.