Well, this got a little more reception than I expected. Here's a little more info to fill in some blank spots.

1. I have not reported the Scholar in question for this action. I was merely fuzzy as to whether "attempting to get an item someone Need Rolled on" in this manner is against the TOS. People seem to be in agreement here that it is not against the TOS, but it was kind of a jerk move. I was also apparently wrong on the "If I DC, I lose the right to the item" theory. Apparently I just need to be connected when the clock hits zero. However, I did find that if I am DC'ed when a chest is opened, I have no roll.

2. The healer never attempted to vote dismiss me. I was chatting with the others through Teamspeak and would have definitely been informed if such an attempt had been made.

3. The healer made absolutely no indication that s/he wanted that piece of gear for any reason. Perhaps I should have asked, but the healer could have just as easily asked me to leave at that moment because "My alt wants it" or something.

4. It is absolutely true that the gear matters more in these dungeons than others. In most dungeons, we have a 1 out of 8 chance or so for the piece of gear we want from a given chest. In these dungeons, the chance is far far lower to even see a piece of gear, any piece of gear, at all. Seeing this piece of armor drop was a truly momentous occasion as I'd been specifically trying to avoid Tam Tara in order to hunt for it all month.

5. If this were just a normal "oh, he's just going to let the timer tick down? Okay, /sit", I'd just sigh, wait, and then move on. The issue here was my very well known connection problems making this whole situation many times more stressful than it ever needed to be. I was convinced that the healer was hoping that I would DC or at least DC at the right time to lose the item entirely, which is why I thought it might be against the TOS: attempting to circumvent a system of the game to obtain an item someone else rolled for at a higher priority than you.