There is a core problem in the mechanic of healing threat dispersal. In Vanilla/Classic and Burning Crusade/Burning Crusade Classic, at the very least, the threat generated by healing is supposed to be dispersed (i.e. split evenly) amongst all mobs that player is in combat with (i.e. present on their threat table). For example, if a healer is in a dungeon and engaged with three monsters and drops a heal on the tank for 6000, then they are supposed to generate 1000 threat on each individual mob (assuming no threat modifiers are present beyond the standard 0.50x multiplier for healing). That is, 6000 * 0.5 = 3000, then divided among the three mobs: 3000 / 3 = 1000 per mob. Instead, what is happening (and has been happening since BCC beta, at the very least, if not also before then in Classic) is that the healer is gaining 3000 threat on each individual monster.
This issue is so large and has so many detrimental effects I am absolutely amazed that it has gone unfixed this entire time. This is a mechanic essential to how the game plays.
Examples of this issue having game-play altering negative effects:
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Healers are capable of ripping aggro straight off of tanks on Hyjal trash. I’m sure most raiders can attest to the problem of healers getting trained down by mobs all throughout the zone - and being confused by it. Because it feels like it shouldn’t be happening (because it shouldn’t be happening if the mechanic wasn’t BROKEN).
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Healers can get aggro and be focused down within moments of humanoid packs entering M’uru’s room throughout the encounter. A Priest dropping a Circle of Healing with some crits occurring can easily result in two Berserkers walking over and deleting them, resulting in a wipe. How many wipes are being caused at least in part due to this problem, and how many guilds would have killed M’uru by now if they hadn’t had their time wasted from wipes because of a broken mechanic?
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Healers can easily die on the pull in Dungeons/Heroics, especially with non-Prot Paladin tanks. If a tank takes a high amount of damage right as the pull is initiated and that damage gets healed up while the mobs are in transit still, the healer is almost guaranteed to have aggro on several of those monsters. And will probably die.
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Other circumstances that are too numerous to list here. You will find a multitude of other threads all over the forums explicitly talking about this issue or alluding to the problem, with most players never recognizing what is actually broken in the game causing their issues.
I wish I had made this post sooner because maybe it would have brought the problem to your attention - but I honestly believed nothing would be done to fix it regardless. I discovered this problem almost 8 months ago, back in October while in Tempest Keep doing Kael’thas progression, and in Serpentshrine Cavern while killing Tidewalker. The fact that our healers had to stop all raid healing when the Murlocs spawned until they were firmly picked up by a Prot Paladin tank, is ludicrous. When Serpentshrine Cavern was main-stream content back in original Burning Crusade, Prot Paladins were scarce, and yet healers didn’t explode consistently with only Prot Warriors or Feral Druids picking them up. It is abundantly apparent that there is a significant and severe difference in the operation of the healing threat dispersal mechanic when looking at original Vanilla/Burning Crusade and the Classic versions.
I encourage you to do internal testing to verify the game is not behaving authentically. I have done personal experimental testing under controlled conditions on your Live servers and have confirmed that threat is not being dispersed (I no longer have the records/data from my testing so I am unable to include them here). Like I said above, your forums are full of threads from other players experiencing negative outcomes and frustration that are all stemming from this.
References:
Kenco’s Guide to Threat, from both Vanilla and Burning Crusade eras.