Quote Originally Posted by RichardButte View Post
I'm sorry but nowhere did I say it's impossible to tell if a DPS player is bad, only that it's so infinitely easier to tell if a tank or healer is bad that determining this about a DPS is like a forensics investigation by comparison.

If the tank can't hold aggro, you know the tank isn't doing their job. If the tank dies, the healer isn't doing their job. You know these facts IMMEDIATELY without needing to look at gear for even a moment.

The situation you described sadly proves my point: you basically had to interview this DPS while examining their gear to get the info you needed, info which should really be readily available in a game that features DPS checks as part of the challenge.
The person in question did that AFTER seeing how slow stuff was dying. Gear is not a concern, overall performance is. They where just trying to figure out WHY it was so bad. So.. this situation would taken the same course with a DPS meter. Also you did say "never" so you are disagreeing with your own post, maybe an edit is in order.