Now that you can legally window EQ...

[Eumerin]

If you don't like bards for the simple reason of them playing songs where you might just catch their messages, why don't you turn of bard messages? If you don't like their song effects, why don't you turn them of? If you don't like to play with them, just never group with one.

Do not go around messageboards saying they should be gotten rid of. :P

I don't have a problem with bards in particular. Just Chorus of Refreshment (or whatever its called).
I'm a paladin. I stun a lot. I have to leave particle effects on so I can tell when a mob is casting and so I can interrupt it. Unfortunately, that particular song is AE as near as I can tell, instead of group only, which means that when you have a lot of people in an area, you have a lot of sparkly bits constantly refreshing, even if said bard is ungrouped.
I don't have a problem with the vast majority of bard songs. I couldn't care less if a full group of half a dozen people has a bard twisting multiple songs when I'm nearby. I usually leave all of the particle effects maxed in combat and have no problems at all even when three or four spell casters fire off their nukes simultaneously and make my screen look like something resembling an orange and green LSD trip.
But even with all particles and opaqueness dropped to zero, my framerate still comes to a screeching halt every time I arrive in a new zone with a bard playing chorus of replenishment while hanging around fifty people or so (for whatever reason, it appears that the only thing that fully excises bard particle effects for that song is /showspelleffects off).
So yes, I dispise that song.
And I never said a word about any other songs that bards played, nor about bards in general.

[Kheera]

Before I got my new pc it use to take me 10 minutes to get to the vendor that sells Celestrial Solvent and buy 10 stacks and get back out of the bazaar. Anything done to lower the lag = a good thing in my opinion.

Celestial Solvent is sold on two merchants in Shadowhaven also; I usually buy there because of the lag in the bazaar. The Bargain Merchant, and another (forgot the name) in the Fordel section of town (east side of town, in the hallway between buildings north of the bank, I think, but a little west of the bank).

Kheera

[Ariene]

Before I got my new pc it use to take me 10 minutes to get to the vendor that sells Celestrial Solvent and buy 10 stacks and get back out of the bazaar. Anything done to lower the lag = a good thing in my opinion.

Celestial Solvent is sold on two merchants in Shadowhaven also; I usually buy there because of the lag in the bazaar. The Bargain Merchant, and another (forgot the name) in the Fordel section of town (east side of town, in the hallway between buildings north of the bank, I think, but a little west of the bank).

Kheera

It is also sold in PoK at the dark elf merchant. If you go to the bank then follow the path behind the bank to the dark elf that sells regents and coffins, he also sells the solvent.

[Wandor]

Just Chorus of Refreshment (or whatever its called).

It's called Chorus of Replenishment, and every caster around the bard would take exception if the bard stopped singing at your request. It's an HP/mana regen song in case you didn't know, better than KEI.

I'm a paladin. I stun a lot.

You don't need spell effects on to see when a mob is casting, turn your text messages on (others spells I believe) it is way less lag than having any spell effects on.

[Eumerin]

Its easy to miss spells in the thick of combat with the particles off, even with all of the various filters set to filter out other sorts of spam, particularly when I'm in a group with spellcasters. The particles help me ID who is casting when a bunch of messages scroll by in short order. I can turn off messages saying when others hit and/or miss, but if I turn off the spellcasting of other players in my group, I also have to turn off the spellcasting of mobs. And my own tinkering with the settings has determined that, for whatever reason, bard songs keep shedding particles (just a lot less of them) even when most mob spells no longer do so.
Then there's also the problem of what to do when you're fighting more than one mob of the same name. Its all well and good if I'm only fighting one Froglok shaman, but if there are two identical mobs, I need the particles in order to ID which one is casting this time around and needs a good stun.
And yes, I have had bards that I don't know using it while I was both fighting and in range of its effects.
Personally, I'd be very, very happy if VI would just kill the graphic on it. Its a bit much to have bard-style spell graphics on an AE song. Note that is my ONLY complaint about the song, and would be an easy fix to the thing.
Is that really too much to ask?

[Sylphan]

I was spending less time in the bazaar actually, since that patch causes Everquest to lock up every hour or so and I have to reboot. But now that only happens in full-screen mode... if I actually put it in a window it's fine.

Actually I find it the other way around... I visit EQ web sites more often since it's easier now to switch to a web browser without leaving the bazaar.

[Jora_Delossian]

if I turn off the spellcasting of other players in my group, I also have to turn off the spellcasting of mobs.

Not so. You can set PC spell text messages to all/group/none, and NPC spells to on/off.