[toyodafenninro]

I've always looked at EQ disputes of this nature fairly pragmatically.

It's always on the guild, not the player. It sounds like a jackass theory - and it certainly doesn't absolve an individual player of blame - but really it's not much different than any company one might work for irl. People quit, for whatever reasons they might have, often having used resources that could have been used better on another employee, if only the company had known ahead of time.

Should a droppable item be handed back to a guild if someone peaces out? Sure - in utopia. I just think the smartest guilds are the ones who look at any droppable item, from the guild bank to fresh off a mob, as potentially gone as soon as it is awarded. It is, as another poster mentioned, a sweet bonus when someone is "fair" and hands an item back before quitting or selling their toon.

The good thing is, for the most part, the two upcoming expansions will solve this by making most raid loot nodrop. This way, when people sell their toons, at least we can all say handing the items back was in most cases impossible.