Just linking another thread/poll we had on DKP/loot council a while back for anyone wanting further reading:
The theoretical best loot system is master loot with a master looter who has perfect judgement and wisdom. Good luck finding that though.
Yup, just like the theoretical best system of government is a Dictatorship with a perfect Dictator.
Well a quick glance at my signature, and I think my favouritism is pretty established, and there are plenty of reasons for that.
Loot Councils, are on paper, the absolute best system, as it is a community needs oriented system, rather than a individual gain based system. DKP is not oriented towards supporting a greater good, but rather on the individual cogs that drives a machinery. DKP is automatically fair for all users, as you directly trade input (attendance) for output (gear), meaning that the metrics for operations are simple, transparent and fair. However DKP becomes problematic as soon as you grow or adjust your roster, as new members are placed at a relatively worse starting point; e.g. back at square one, while the old core, is already miles ahead.
Loot Councils are however more focused on the total raid output, and should in theory at least, have it as a set objective to distribute gear fairly to those who need it, and who are committed to the cause. Good Loot Councils use a lot of metrics to ensure as fair a distribution as possible, and if guilds adopt transparent systems for this, then i think you have a very strong starting point. The key problem with Loot Councils is however corruption, and sadly this problem is relatively common, notably in classic. Often, you see guilds forming around a core of friends (big or small) and very often, you will see the emergence of an inner circle within guilds, where disproportional amounts of loot are diverted to, compared to the rest. Corruption can be offset by active members, strong systems and enforced transparency, which is why i put a lot of work into creating a platform for this.
There is also a lot of underlying culture in this whole debate, as its clear that DKP is quite popular in the US, while Loot Councils are popular in Europe, and naturally this coincides well with real-world politics, systems, structures and mentalities.