Damage Meters: Friend or Foe?

I have a love/hate relationship with the damage meter.
The damage meter is a useful tool for raid management and self-improvement, but can also be abused. People who find is necessary to post the damage meter to show how "leet" they are annoy me. Raid leaders who look at the damage meter above all else are, in my opinion, short-sighted.
At the end of the raid last night, Dev did something he doesn't usually do - he posted the damage and healing meters to guild chat. I think part of the reason he did that was to show how high our top dpsers were getting. What it showed me is that I did over 2k dps overall, which is huge for me. I also cracked the top ten in a couple of boss fights. I've worked so hard for that moment. I'm so excited!
I run a personal damage meter, but I don't look at it during fights or it would drive me crazy. Flip doesn't run one, so I will whisper it to him during the raid so he can look at how I'm doing, and make sure he's on target with what he wants to do. I would suggest using the damage meter as a tool to help yourself improve, but don't base your self-worth, or even your image of yourself as a player, on it.