Allocation of scarce resources is never an easy question, but it seems like sometimes MMO players are an especially tough crowd on this front. Which got me thinking - perhaps we are a tougher crowd precisely because of the games we play?
MMO gameplay can be broken down into two basic skillsets - the player's ability to react to situations correctly and quickly, and the player's ability to min-max. From our very first quest to rid the world of 10 rats, we are taught to optimize our performance. This tactic kills rats faster with less risk to the player, while that weapon skill is ineffective compared to its peers.
Can we then truly be surprised when players apply these same approaches to maximizing their gains out of whatever loot system - random rolls, DKP, etc? My guess is that loot rules in general distribute loot according to the letter of the rule, rather than how their designers (developers or guild officers) intended. If there is a loophole, though, one might expect a pack of MMO players to be the first to find it.