I did not go through all these discussions but answering your question, "Yes, you can go to H1B directly from F1. I, indeed, did not take any OPT and moved directly from F1 to H1B. So, do not listen anything, just find ways to do that because it is possible and like I said earlier, I am saying this because I did it. Hope it helps. Please let me know, if I can be of any other help.