Buff-y, the Paladin Slayer

All pallies know the frustration of being peppered by chat requests for buffs. They're incessant, often rude, and -- in many cases -- clueless as to how our buffs work and who should get what.

Well -- it's time to pull our collective helmets out of our buttmail, fellow Buffadins.

Because, to a very large extent, we're to blame by being so utterly uncoordinated and/or unaware. C'mon, Pallies! Let's get our sh!t together. We are turning something incredibly advantageous to raid success -- fours, kick-a$$ buffs -- into an object of embarrassment and ridicule. While I agree that we should ignore requests for buffs until the appropriate time (i.e., when all the raiders are present), once it's time, let's follow these easy guidelines to successful raid buffing and shake off the nasty Stank of Incompetence!

Pay attention. Watch for chatter from other pallies on buffing. Be aware that -- as a pally -- you are almost always going to need to provide buffs.
Get organized. Announce to the raid what buffs you're giving, or even take charge and assign buffs to each pally.
Be flexible. Differences in specs can mean that some pallies have better capability in one buff versus another -- or not have a buff at all.
Be Consistent. Once you have a buff assignment, STICK WITH IT. The only changes should happen if pallies switch specs or leave the raid.

Here are some general rules about class-buff pairings (in order of importance):

Paladin

• Holy = Wisdom, Kings, Sanctuary
• Prot = Sanctuary, Kings, Might, Wisdom
• Ret = Might, Kings, Sanctuary, Wisdom

Druid

• Resto = Kings, Sanctuary, Wisdom
• Balance = Kings, Sanctuary, Wisdom
• Feral (DPS) = Kings, Might, Sanctuary, Wisdom
• Feral (Prot) = Sanctuary, Kings, Might, Wisdom

Warrior

• DPS = Might, Kings, Sanctuary
• Prot = Sanctuary, Kings, Might

Mage

• Caster = Wisdom, Kings, Sanctuary

Warlock

• Caster = Kings, Wisdom, Sanctuary

Priest

• Caster = Wisdom, Kings, Sanctuary

Hunter

• DPS = Might, Kings, Wisdom, Sanctuary

Rogue

• DPS = Might, Kings, Sanctuary

Shaman

• Melee = Might, Kings, Sanctuary, Wisdom
• Caster = Wisdom, Kings, Sanctuary

Death Knight

• DPS = Might, Kings, Sanctuary
• Tank = Sanctuary, Kings, Might

Disagree? Good. Help me make this better. But the point remains...

Pallies, stop being such effin BUFFoons!

[Edit: For additional, extremely well-expressed perspective on this topic, checkout Firesong's view. ~Hazl]