"Stop, Drop, 'n -Roll!"

[TLI-Inferno]

[rant]
Item-Sharing: d(^.^)b
Item-Looting: q(-.-)p
I've been getting sick and tired of people who run past and steal every single item dropped by a Boss. Especially when 1: The items are not even good for their class, 2: They didn't help fight the boss, 3: They simply sell the items, or 4: They -repick after picking up the items.
Due to my senseless rage at such people, I've decided to develop a catchy motto: "Stop, Drop, 'n -Roll!". Join the movement by raging and kicking/banning people who item ninja (because this is definitely a constructive way to solve problems, lol).
JK, don't take things to extreme. But, seriously, whenever items are dropped, go through the following priority list:
1: Who helped fight the boss. Anyone who did not help to fight the boss does not deserve to get items that a people who fought the boss earned. This is top priority. Once you've narrowed it down to who helped fight the boss,
2: Who the items are best for. There is no sense giving a mage a dagger and a tank a staff. Even if a person in your group is not getting any items, it's better to let one person use an entire set that fits them than to split the set among players who don't need it.
3: If multiple people need the item, or nobody needs the item (for using), THEN you can narrow it down to who has gotten the least amount of items.
4: If the above three priorities have not eliminated all but one player, deciding who gets the reward, then the remaining players will -roll for the item, and the winner gets it. Only the players who tied for needing it the most will roll for it, meaning that if the drop is a dagger and three rogues without weapons need the item, then a mage will not join into the -roll. If, on the other hand, all of the rogues do have suitable weapons, and the mage has no weapon at all, he could -roll for it. However, it would make no sense for a mage to -roll for a dagger when a rogue needs it.

If you want to eliminate looters, you will have to warn everyone in the game and tell them your procedure before you begin boss-fighting. You will also have to demonstrate that you do have an in-game way of kicking them, in order to enforce your policy. If a person purposely breaks any reasonable rule pre-set by yourself, then you HAVE to enforce the rule by punishing the person in a way such as kicking them. If you don't kick the person, they will be more likely to repeat their offense in the future, whether they do so again during your game, or they wait to do so in someone else's game. The only way to minimize item looting is to always punish item looters until they don't want to take the chance.
[/rant]

[Setokaiva]

Just my 2 cents... Why does it not make sense to give a Mage a dagger? True, Mages don't normally equip weapons or armor above staves and robes, but daggers are normally permissible, because they're simple to use and effective for many things, not just killing, so I can see any sensible adventurer carrying some form of knife or dagger, even a spellcaster.

But yeah I agree, item looters are very annoying... I've always tried to treat everyone equally and divide up items as they are needed among the team, for instance a Ring of Intellect to a Wizard. But some people will ninja everything that hits the ground, and might even sell useful stuff to a shop. Such people need to either learn the value of sharing, or stop playing RPG's.

A game like Tomb of Jarahcon is a good example of team-based play. You can play through the game single if you're good enough, but when you go in a group the amount of enemies stacks up very fast, and you absolutely have to work together with your team or you will lose. You need strong teamwork and everyone in the group has to pull their own weight. TLI-Inferno might not care for ToJ that much, but I'm sure he agrees with me on this one.

[TLI-Inferno]

Seto, I never said to NEVER let mages carry a dagger. What I said was that people who need the item more, such as Rogues, should have first dibbs. If there are no rogues/hunters/heroes best built for daggers who need the dagger, than other people such as mages or tanks who want to wear the item can have an opportunity to take it. However, when a group spam clicks to get items first, and you end up having:
A mage with steel armor, a dagger, a leather hood, etc.
A knight with a mage robe and a staff
A rogue with a warhammer
Then there is no sense. Everybody could possibly make use of having one item out of their class, but a mage most definately needs a mage robe more than steel plating, unless his tank fails (which would be due to having a mage robe instead of steel plating), and most definately does not need agility items.
Generally, agility heroes can make good use out of any stat. Strength heroes can also make use out of every stat. Mages, however, require only intelligence for spellcasting and armor/health to stay alive. Because their damage is primarily dealt through spellcasting, they do not need to increase their attack speed and physical damage as much as a rogue. If they want to, they surely can, but not until the rogue is as agile as he needs to be.

And yes, I do agree with you. An item should only be sold if nobody in the group needs the item for using himself. My list of priorities in the original post already explain the order of decisions.
First, it goes to classes it fits best. If there are no classes there who need it, or they have no need for it, then it goes to people who are not of the appropriate classes who might want the item. If nobody wants to actually wear the item, then it goes to whoever has gotten the least amount of items, so that they can sell it to catch up on gold.