Well, although it was one of the most thoughtful posts I have seen in a long
time, it got the usual treatment from VI. Here was Gordon's response.

While I'll leave in-depth determination of "role" to those playing it, I
think that you've answered your own question here. Bards are good at so many
things, you're surely here to do some of those things. I feel that Bards
excell at making a good group better. That's my opinion. What's more
important though is, what is a bard's role to you? If you look at it as a
walking-talking mana battery, there's not really much I can do to make you
feel better about it. It's the same issues with the clerics who often
complain that they are a walking-talking hitpoint-battery. You are a support
class. You support the group, and you do it very well. Whether or not you
are happy with that role is up to you.

- Gordon

Pretty pathetic in my opinion. Obviously Gordon just doesn't get it.
There's a huge difference between the satisfaction one gets from saving a
comrade's life (virtual or not) and the satisfaction of knowing that the
druid can get off one more Careless Lightning because you stood around and
played mana battery. What a joke. Obviously in VI's "Vision" bards are not
meant to be real characters. Our role is solely to support other's efforts.
They should have called the class "Sidekick" instead.

Kit