One reason there is a tank shortage in group finder

What is a lazy dps healer?

Guardians have it rougher than the rest with zero aoe taunts to keep mobs focused on the tank. Assassins and troopers have it easier because of all the aoe moves they have. And for the healer not to be able to heal you and just dps tells me that the healer was in dps spec claiming that they were heals. I would tank more on my guardian if they were upgraded as far as abilities that caused more threat. Threat is all most tanks think about and if the dps can pull threat off of a tank with ease, something is wrong...

a lazy healer or a healer that is doing dps instead of healing. sorry if that was unclear to you.

This doesn't exactly answer the OP's concern, but I thought I'd add my perspective to it. I'm a new subscriber and have so far made the following observations. Please note that I'm still only lvl 35, so I'm not talking about end-game grouping.

1. The first flashpoints the group finder puts you into are Black Talon and The Esseles (sp?). Neither of which requires 4 on the team, nor a dedicated tank or healer, especially if you have 4 people -- which the GF gives you automatically. When I joined my first FP through the group finder I didn't know this, so I was stunned by how no one cared about group roles. I was (and almost always am) a healer. People actually complained to me about healing instead of DPSing. After several runs of BT I thought this was how the Flashpoints worked in SWTOR. Free for all. I was quite surprised when I hit Hammerstation, where roles matter. So, just a thought, some of those people who ignore their role can partially blame the first Flashpoints they go into.

2. The group finder sometimes assigns you a role you didn't choose. As I stated above, I am a healer. I queue as a healer, not as DPS. So, when I got grouped for Hammerstation, I assumed my normal role - healing. After the first fight, one of the group members initiated a vote kick on me for not playing my role. How was I to know that the group finder had made me a DPS? I hadn't chosen that option. Also, seriously, did that really warrant a vote kick? Luckily, the others in the group agreed with me and denied the kicking. All this to say, be aware that the group finder messes up. Don't blame the player.

3. I have never had a bad flashpoint experience. I've only played for a month now and I'm only lvl 35. But, aside from the experience mentioned in 2 above, all of my experiences have been very positive. People are helpful, patient with new players and very organized. I have not encountered ninja-looting. I have not encountered lazy healers (though that's because the healer is me ) and I've never encountered a bad tank. So, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. Of course, you all might be referring to end-game grouping, so maybe we're talking about two different things.

Anyway, that's one person's perspective. A pretty positive experience so far.

always the lesser class is the healer no matter how much try to show us thats is the tank

This is not news. This has been happening for years and years. You're trying to explain that being nice will get you farther than being an %&$ to people who genuinely do not care. I, as an aside, tank in every MMO I play (except GW2, which has no tanks).

It doesn't help that we live in a society that promoted aggressiveness and rewards confidence while at the same time not only punishing those who care to speak out or attempt to correct things but also seems to reward idiocy. When you have to 'dumb yourself down' to fit in it's time to review social acceptance protocol.

I have a tank, and I hold my own, pretty much all BH gear within my first week, not bad. I agree with OP but I would have told the healer to heal or get the **** out verbally and with a motion to kick following my LOL in chat. I think OP here was really graceful where personally I am blunt and not as graceful.

I learned how to play this game with my Sent, as a Sent I learned how to DPS, I learned fights, how to avoid damage the best way possible from where to stand and when to wait and hit. Now I main tank for the imps and working on a new tank for the Reps. I would never let anyone talk to me that way and the only problem I can see is that since you saw the problem and you kept letting it happen without fixing it (removing or talking with the one healing) then you were part of the problem as well.

Not everyone is a pro and many often forget that. As a Tank yes we do not have to wait for que's (perk of being a tank) ok but you know what... if someone is *********** up and you see they are *********** up and you don't tell them they are failing and screwing it all up, well then you are just as much of the problem as that person is? Tell them, hey,,, you can't do that or this you are here to heal or just dps and part of that is keeping me alive and everyone else or as a dps you have to wait for me to start combat or I will just let you *********** die if you want to be stupid... LOL

Some people learn very fast, some not so fast, we have to be patient. So while I agree OP eventually did the right thing, it's cause he told the healer off in the end, however by doing so and leaving so gracefully he also screwed 2 other people on that flash point. Thanks for the grace LOL

My point is, people need to be told if they mess up, some will ask others may not, or it could be pride or what ever, who cares? It's a game and we are all teamates in the end. All for one and one for all. If you see someone screwing up in the future tell them, right there and then don't wait ... Don't wait... If you tell them what they did wrong and they tell you to **** off vote to kick explain why or then leave your self understandable.

I am lucky as a tank as my real life friend loves healing.
We generally don't use group finder we find people who are chill and run with them only unless we feel like grieving D-bags or meeting new chill people we can run stuff together more often. generally its nothing more than just dragging around a few companion type things that type in chat we ignore.

Unless you are chill or become part of our group we will watch you die and emo rage while we are laughing on the phone. Nothing is better than pretending to be insanely bad to the hurry up guys we will watch every scene and wait for the auto response to kick in as we know you are melting with rage on the other end..

Not so much for the guild thing as we don't like structured times to be on or what to do. I've been playing MMO's for so long I naturally expect you to be a D-bag that i will i hate and this being a theme park I'm going in with a chip on my shoulder anyway ready for a troll... But more often than not I am surprised by how laid back most people really are in this game and going in expecting trouble and finding chill people is a pleasant surprise.

Yes we are antisocial but you need us more than we need you and PVP is more of what we like anyway. PVE is just for kicks

What level is your Guardian? I have one as my Main and she's got an AOE taunt, it's called Challenging Call and she's had it since level 30.

As a Tank (I also run a DPS and Healer btw) the things that annoy me most about PuGs are:

1. DPS leaping in first forcing me to have to fight them for agro
2. People pulling mobs that could be avoided, Kaon Under Siege is a great example, why do some people insist on charging in a pulling 12 Rhakgouls when we could fight them 4 at a time.
3. Healers that spend all their time healing the DPS and then wonder why the Tank dies
4. Stealth Classes that sneak past a mob then shout at the Tank for pulling the same mob due to the Tank's higher threat radius.
5. healers that think they are DPS
6. DPS that think they can Tank just because they have a Taunt button
7. People who use AOEs near CC'd enemies.
8. People that shout at the Tank because they put a Guard on the DPS rather than the Healer

Having Tanked and DPS'd every Flashpoint and Operation in the game I can say this with absolute certainty, Tanks, regardless of class, can take way more damage than even the best geared DPS or Healer, many of the bosses in Hardmode can one-shot any DPS or Healer but the Tank will survive (well 1 shot at least). Take Lost Island HM, if the Sentinel Droid gets incinerate onto the Tank, the Tank can survive it (just) with healing and using defensive cooldowns, a Healer or DPS will be wiped end of story. What I am trying to say to all the DPS and Healers is that the longer the Tank stays alive and in control of the battle the longer YOU stay alive. Without the Tank the DPS will take so much damage that the healer will not be able to keep them up and if the healer is targeted there is no way they can out heal incoming damage they'll be taking from Hardmode bosses.

Oh and just to balance the argument a bit, things that annoy me about Tanks when running DPS or Healer.

1. Tanks in DPS or Healer gear
2. Tanks that don't Taunt
3. Tanks that don't guard or guard the healer, guys the main purpose of Guard in PvE is to lower threat and trust me the only way a Healer is going to out agro a DPS is if the DPS really sucks.
4. Tanks that sit back and let the DPS charge in first
5. Tanks that use their Threat dump move as their main defense, saw a Tank do that once in KP on Foreman Crusher, was not pretty.
6. Tanks that attack the enemy that has just been CC'd, morons!

It's as simple as this.