Back before we started using DKPSystem, our guild used a different formula for handling loot distribution, which was based on the ratio of earned / recieved items. Since DKP doesn't support this particular formula, we switched over to a more traditional DKP system, but to be honest I still miss our old system, and I miss the lack of problems and disputes that came with it.
The ratio system stems from a desire to balance two competing pressures: On the one side, you have the "they earned it" philosophy - the idea that the people who have contributed the most should get the highest rewards. On the other hand, you also have the notion that you want to bring the people with the crappiest gear up to par with the others, since that strengthens the guild as a whole, and makes much it easier to take on end-game content.
Our system divided loot into two categories, dubbed "items" and "set pieces" (the latter not only included class-specific armor, but any item that could substitute for class-specific armor.) 'Items' were awarded using a different formula, which I won't talk about here.
Each player had a 'set piece ratio', which was calculated simply as:
(# of raids attended) / (set pieces recieved + 1)
During a raid, items would go to the eligible person having the highest ratio; Passing on an item was only allowed if there was someone to pass to, i.e. items may not be disenchanted if there is someone in the raid that can wear it and doesn't already have it or something better.
As you might imagine, there are lots of subtle consequences of this formula. For one thing, a relatively new player with 0 items was just as likely to be awarded the next drop as a veteran player who had lots of gear and lots of raids. At the same time, however, once you start earning rewards, you'll have to attend a good number of raids in order to keep your ratio up.
Note also that the formula is self-balancing - there's no runaway inflation or deflation, no adjusting of boss points or loot item costs (although if you really wanted to, you could make it a ratio of points rather than simply items/raids.)
The final '+1' was to prevent division by zero for a brand-new player, but that number could be adjusted to tweak the balance of awards between newcomers and veterans. (One proposal that had been debated was the idea of making it +3 for alts and +1 for mains, however that's a side issue.)
The end result is an elegant balance between the two competing needs I mentioned earlier. The system tends towards equalization of the ratio, gearing up the guild as quickly as possible while still giving strong preference to those members who have made the greatest contribution.
Anyway, I'm not expecting that DKP system will drop everything and add support for this, but I wanted to point it out as an interesting alternative.
