In many cases "the squeeky wheel gets the grease." When it comes to SOE that is not the case. Usually when you complain that we did not get what we want, they go back over and realize they did not mean to give us all that they had. I say let the sleeping dog lie. We can solo anything in the game that does not summon or cast... no matter what level or how many HP. Bards are the true jack-of-all-trade/utility class. We were not created to excell at only one thing, but instead we can cover almost any position offered to us. If you want an ultimate healer create a healing class, if you want a killer tank create a straight melee class. If you want a class that can out pull and out solo any other class in the game... you are playing the correct one. This game was not made so that everyone would reach lvl 50 (now 80) in a day, week, month or even a year. Many zones and places 90% of the population will never get to experience. If SoE were to give everyone everything they wanted, people would be bored with the game in a matter of a few weeks and there would be no Everquest at all. Stop looking at it like the glass is 1/2 empty... actually it is 3/4 full.
If you want to know when bards were truly useless... think back to the point before AA's existed. No Fading Memories... No Boastful Bellow...No Run 8 indoors. Rangers outpulled Bards anyday. Want to reember a true nerf? Remember when they stopped letting our AE dots work on anything that was moving. Half the Bards that played at that time stopped playing or switched classes. Just remember, this is the first expansion in a long time that they didnt break something existing to the Bard when they updated.
So what is it that you are actually asking for? All I keep seeing is that bards are getting "nerfed" or we are not getting what we want. What is it you want???