Look at Salu in my sig.
They're viable... but the no-movement casting LBs / not 40 y range LB really hurts. I often find myself healing more than im doing damage as ele, so I've found that they're most viable as a utility class - purging, fast wind shear CD, earthbind totem, and thunderfuck to split people.
They're a ton of fun though. LBs crit for about 400 and you can be beyond inventive with thunderstorm (think roof of WSG...).
I think what drives people away is that they're probably the least viable in WSG, which is of course the most played BG for f2p. In arena, Ele are fantastic support, consistent dps, offer control, and are very decent off healers. 3s are hands down where I've found them most enjoyable.