Uhm... WoW does it too, doesn't it? I'd say that's rather normal.
Or are you telling me that if 19 players cleared the first boss, and one didn't. One guy gets all ~4 items that drop?
No... there is a chance that the 1 player will actually 4 out of 5 times not get anything and will be locked out of getting something.
And I'm sorry, but you can help your other friends alright. They are better off just killing the boss for one chest and the page than not clearing it at all. In WoW? You might not get anything by helping that one player.