I don't understand why people think shorter block times are better. It only means you need more blocks for the same security, thus meaning the block chain just gets needlessly bigger. Many Bitcoiners understand that, but many Altcoiners don't want to understand that, because that would mean their Altcoin has no advantage at all.
The real problem with short block target times is network propagation. Once a block is found, it's not relayed to the whole network instantly. If you see a cryptocurrency with short block target times, but still not a considerable amount of orphaned blocks, you know that the network of that coin is not properly decentralized, but rather centralized.