If someone takes the quest and logs off, it's not reset and no one else can take the quest.

This happens with any quest not properly closed. You just need to get a DM to reset it, or just suck it up and not do the quest. :(

No, older quests reset automatically. This fix has been in for more than a year (unless it's broken now?)!

So you're telling me that if I crash while doing a quest, that the quest will reset when I log back in? I have never seen that.

I know a fix was impletemented that would reset quests when the entire party that took the quest left the game without completing it.