You take it! No, you take it!

One of the ways that you can tell when you're in a guild that doesn't put top priority on loot is when you see that type of conversation about minor upgrades, or on gearing alts. At the same time, I wish it would stop. My guild uses a loot council system, which means the officers and a randomly chosen member decide who gets loot if more than one member considers it an upgrade. I love this system, because there is no randomness to it, yet officers can (and often do) reward positive behavior such as showing up to raids, staying until the end, and playing a class role well.
This whole topic came up in my mind because this week, we decided to do a 25-man Naxx run with alts. When I got back from scouts with my boys, I logged in on my druid, and noticed that there were only 24 members on. I immediately asked if I was needed, and on which toon. The response was a very strong, "Bring what you want." I brought the druid because she needed gear, but I was seriously willing to bring the warlock to get some raid data to support my position that what I am doing is working.
The thing that perplexed me was the extremely protective tone a couple of the guys had. I know I deserved the same chance to bring an alt that everyone else had, but do they honestly think that I would have offered my lock if there was no benefit to me bringing her? In loot decisions, I trust the officers and the loot council, and only say, "Give it to X" if X has not gotten loot in a while.