Need Before Greed and the Curious Case of Purple Syndrome

I've had some concerned parties express to me lately that there have been some questionable needs on epic loot drops, meaning that some people may be typing "u" for an item even though the loot may not be ideal for them. The loot auction process can be stressful enough and we're all looking for those items that will help move our characters to the next level, but it may be time for us to re-emphasize what a true "need" is. If nothing is done we risk wasting the value of epic drops.

People can spend their loot points however they wish insofar as their need for the item is a genuine need. There are a few common situations where a posted need may not really be a need and should be challenged by the master looter, raid leader, or other raid officers. I will list two common situations and would appreciate others' input.

1. Needing on a less-durable item: Sometimes we all may choose to wear an item that is less durable just for the exceptional stats (example: paladin wearing mail item, druid wearing cloth item, shaman wearing leather item, etc). However in a raid situation where loot is often contested many people feel that needs for less durable items isn't legit. Perhaps we should be more willing to support mail-wearers need for mail, leather-wearers need for leather, etc, and have their "needs" take priority.
2. Cloth healers vs cloth dps: Frequently cloth wearers of all kinds will type a "u" on similar non-token items. Stats such as intellect, spellpower, spirit, and haste rating are equally useful for healers and dps. However, certain stats help make an item look more like a dps item or a healer item. Hit rating is definitely a dps thing while mp5 is definitely more of a priority for healers. Many feel that we should keep this in mind when judging the validity of clothwearer's needs.

I appreciate any feedback on this issue and I will be talking to raidleaders about this. I think that if we as master looters, raid leaders, and raid officers will step in and screen all those "u" postings a little more we will get more usage out of our epic items before they get replaced and vendor trashed.