Hi-ho,
I don't think it's the worst lens ever made, but it certainly isn't the best tool for the job. Having said that, at the price it's hard to beat for the range it covers.
Wide open it's pretty soft, but if you stop down to F/8 it's OK. At 18mm you need to spend 7 times as much money to get a really sharp lens. You gets what you pays for...
The plastic construction is a bit of an annoyance as it feels like a toy attached to the front of the 20D. It's weight and 'feel' match the 300D quite well though.
The focus can 'settle' sometimes, resulting in soft images particularly at the 55mm end.. This is because the barrel that the end elements sits in is sloppy. basically the focus motor drives it to correct focus then the barrel shifts slightly again if you move or shake the camera slightly. In AI servo mode this can lead to quite bad hunting at times..
Manual focus is difficult due to the small focus ring (around the end of the lens) and the sloppy barrel as above.
The focus speed is actually quite good, although not the snappy and silent focus you get from a ring USM lens on canon.. But again, you get what you pay for.
Chromatic aberations and flare are on par with other Canon consumer zooms. Some folks claim it's terrible, it's actually not that bad compared to other comsumer lenses.
Colour and contrast is OK, not great. Again on a par with other comsumer lenses.
I think the major reason folks complain about the lens is that they miss the fact that it is a cheap kit lens. Also a bad habit many digital camera users have is inpsecting their photos on a pixel by pixel basis... Sure it's neat to be able to do that, but no cheap lens is going to give you single pixel level sharpness under all light/setting conditions, and many very expensive lenses wont either.
It's worth noting that some reviews of the 16-35 F/2.8L USM which costs $1200US say it's soft wide open at the 16mm end. It is very difficult to make a lens in this focal length range sharp for a large(r) sensor camera.
For what it is, I'm happy with the kit lens, and it's my only wide angle lens for my 20D currently. The most annoying thing I find about it is the 'murky' colours I get compared to the 50/1.8 and the 24-70L which I've borrowed a couple of times.
BTW, I'm saving my pennies for the 17-40 F/4L USM. (or the 16-35 if I get rich fast..)
The only two images I've got on here with the kit lens:
 
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