I hate pugs. (Hardly related to MB)
So yesterday I did something that I almost never do. I responded to a message in trade channel about a group 'looking for more'. I was bored, the guild was unusually quiet (busy crafting), and I had been impatient to get into Naxx. While the tons of heroics we'd been running and our successful VoA and Obsidian runs were nice, I was itching to try out Naxx.
My hunter is very well geared and would have no problem in there. My priest is a little light on gear (a few epics, but lots of blues). I had experienced the burn out of a year and a half healing in Kara, Mags, Gruuls and ZA for the guild. Being sick of healing, I had intentionally not geared her up much.
Anyhow, the group was looking for a healer. I had been reading up on Naxx and was bored, so I volunteered. I get an invite to the group, fly down there to help summon and recieve their vent info. To my horror and shock, the only thing they wanted to talk about on vent was how crappy my gear was and talked about my character as if I wasn't even on vent. It was frustrating, since I am a capable healer. My gear is so-so, but I've healed some heroics quite nicely. Since this Naxx group was supposidly so over geared, it shouldn't have been a huge issue. After listening to them go on and on like a bunch of elitist jerks for more than 5 minutes, I ended up just dropping group.
I realized that all of the abuse my poor priest had taken from pugs in Burning Crusades is the main reason that I started to MB in the first place. I'm glad to be in a guild of great people who work well together and treat each other decently. In the future, when I'm bored I should go do some more Multi-boxing (and be more patient about Naxx).
/end pointless whining.
Gear is not an accurate measurement.
You are right about gear not being a valid way to measure someone's dps output. Several times we've been a dps short on a heroic and "pugged in" the last spot. I've seen some horridly skilled folks out there. Mages and rogues in full epics putting out only 500 dps. We usually get to just before the first boss and post the meters. "Sorry, bud your dps is just not sufficient. We're dropping you before you're saved." We've had some dpsers swear they can put out more, but it's not worth dragging someone through and letting them take gear and money for nothing in return. Many times we just ended up finishing up as a 4man team (or taking a completely undergeared guildee alt who can put out 800dps, so at least they get gear instead of some stranger who is an idiot and doesn't understand his character's class).
My big issue about the naxx run for my healer was that they wouldn't even let me go and prove myself on trash. I didn't even care if I got saved and they decided to remove me after a boss or two. Gear isn't everything. I've done so much healing on my priest and think I'm more than capable.