I also kite using the tap turning method described by Falkun and Juryiel. It’s definitely possible in first person, but more difficult. Also, I was able to strafe in Velious on live quite easily by using mouse-look and auto-run while turning.
This thread may be a bit misguided to begin with because bard AoE kiting absolutely happened on live during classic, at a scale similar to what people attempt on p1999. However, the knowledge of various methods for bard AoE kiting are more widespread on p1999 due to YouTube and the fact that mostly veterans of EQ play on this server.
I also believe what Falkun said about having an easier window to land the AoE on classic is right too (although I'm not sure how, the range should be the same). I almost never AoE'd on live anyways because it was more dangerous and required a lot of focus…I usually opted to swarm kite instead, which seems to not work very well on this server and thus everyone AoE's instead.
So far I've tried to teach a few other bards to AoE kite and recommended several YouTube videos as a reference, yet I don't think any of them really managed to pick it up. My point being that it's already pretty difficult and takes practice. Even once you've got it down it requires a lot of concentration, some danger of physical strain, and of course there's the high risk of dying (admittedly, this is easily outweighed by the exp rate).
I think the main thing to succeeding at AoE kiting is to keep your moves consistent and change one thing at a time until you land the DoT, then remembering what kinds of moves you made to get there. With practice, this method can be applied regardless of where the camera is, and dedicated bards will be able to kite as long as the classic mechanics aren't nerfed.
TL;DR: Strafing and AoE kiting happened on classic, AoE kiting was/is difficult on both p1999 and classic, and most folks I knew (myself included) generally preferred swarm kiting (which doesn't quite work on p1999) because it was less demanding mentally/physically.
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