Pooling tips is fine, as long as none of the tip pool goes to management. Tipping out the busboys, and BOH is better for everyone at a high end restaurant. Sure it means as a server I didn't get to keep the entirety of the rare large tip that I got, but it also meant I didn't walk out empty handed when I had a night full of stiffs.

If even $0.001 is going to management, however, that is stealing tips.