Originally Posted by
ThirdChild_ZKI
Thing is, I'm actually not against parsers. But I'm not trying to ignore the human nature that'd be in full effect with them. Please refer to my earlier comment about a PvP situation. It may be different from PvE and scripted encounters, but the main point is someone tried to contend that a person who did slightly more damage than I did in a long match but scored no kills (versus my slightly less damage and 10 kills, the most of my team) performed better. Were you going to look at the damage alone, sure you could say that person did "better". What that damage actually amounted to is what really tells the real tale there. And let's not act like it's not easy to pad and fluff numbers. Let's also not act like people won't simply take things at face value "because the parser says".
Simply put: the parser might say Player A deals more damage than Player B, but Player B performed mechanics with better technical expertise, perhaps at times sacrificing damage to ensure a critical mechanic - like T8's Allagan Field on a melee - didn't complicate or wipe the party. If it's all numbers, sure take Player A and enjoy dealing with that, especially if you're a healer. Player B isn't a lesser player nor worth being overlooked or excluded (like people would do, let's not kid ourselves) simply because of numbers.
Parsers aren't the problem, the human element is, and SE knows exactly who they're dealing with. Give a man the opportunity to do wrong, and you'd be amazed how many actually do. Give an arsonist matches and watch the world burn.