I don't mind at all since I don't watch shows until they finish airing it or get close enough that there won't be an overlap. Got tired of waiting like 9 months for a show to come back on again.
Game of Thrones being the one exception to this.

The end of the 2nd season of Alias is my all-time favorite.

That is an excellent point. The short-season cable shows have awful gaps in their schedule and cliffhangers invariably become meaningless for them. How many people remember a cliffhanger from eight months ago, unless the show was a blockbuster?

If I were running a cable net, you can bet that every show would be forced to have self-contained seasons.

I like cliffhangers where the WTF? moment is significant enough that it affects the entire story arc. I am looking forward to the entire next season, not to just see part two of a 2 parter.
Hate it when the cliffhanger from previous season is wrapped up nice and tidy in first episode of new season.

I do not care about "clifhangers" as the resolutions are not worth the wait and the setups are often forced and very, very transparent.

Shows on the USA Network are notorious for that type of cliffhanger.

I agree.

I love cliffhangers not only on season endings, but even episode endings. What I don't like are cliffhangers that aren't resolved because the shows get canceled. I wish networks would adopt a policy that if they cancel a show that they create one more episode to satisfy the cliffhanger if a show had at least 13 episodes aired. At least then those who made the commitment to stick with it wouldn't feel as burned.

One way to do this is to make episode 1 of the next season part of the order for the current season.

For example, I am given an order for a new show on TNT "The Jolly Adventures of Groucho". The season is 13 episodes, but the order is for 14. This allows me to put a cliffhanger at the end of E13. If the show is picked up for a second season, then the 14th episode becomes S2E1. If not, it becomes S1E14 and the series finale.

I think True Blood usually has the best season finale cliffhangers because they (for the most part) resolve the main season story early in the episode, then offer a bit of a teaser to the next season to get you hooked. I also don't mind cliffhangers for something like Lost where it gives fans something to chew over during the hiatus.

On the flip side I hate the 'bait-and-switch' type of finale when a show like Smallville would engineer a "game-changing" cliffhanger just to hit the reset button on the next season premiere. I especially hate when they do something like the ending to Alias season 3: set up an intriguing cliffhanger scenario in the finale, only to retcon it into something different (and lame) in the next season premiere. Don't set up a cliffhanger if you're not going to follow through!

If the show is good I will return to it next season. No need for a cliffhanger to "hook" me.