Like ive said a bunch of times in these forums, Manual grouping doesnt provide “social interaction” it provides TEDIUM. which in turn encourages social interaction, in order to avoid all or a portion of said tedium. Having a huge friends list and a bustling guild, being well known respected and liked by the people you’ve played with, IS and SHOULD BE the most efficient route to gearing by a mile.
And unless RDF is heavily penalized, that all goes out the window.