IMO, if you are really far away from the battle and picking off random combatants, you are not helping the team defend an objective or go on an offensive. When I snipe, i am always nearby an objective so for 3 reasons:

1) If the enemy team is advancing, it is up the to sniper to injure/kill enemies rushing the team objective from afar and buy time for the frontline troops time to respawn/retaliate

2) If the enemy team is defending an objective, it is up to the sniper to injure/kill spawning soldiers so the team can capture it more easily

3) If the team has completely left an objective unguarded and an enemy spy infiltrates a team objective, it is up to the sniper to have a sidearm readily available to kill the hacker in order for the team to keep the objective.

In a sense, a sniper plays the same role as a heavy, but with different methods.

If a sniper is doing none of the above, if the sniper is picking off random enemy troops he/she is not a team player. Also, one cannot use the excuse that "a sniper is a team player if he gets kills to force the enemy to respawn" because the only the kills that really matter are the ones that will affect the team's overall intentions. IE) killing a random in an open field is not as effective as killing (or simply injuring) an enemy running with 3 others that are rushing an objective. Only the latter will give your team a fighting chance.

CCP has done a good job making it so the snipers far and away from the battlefield don't have the ability to contribute as much to the fight as a sniper who is closer.

That said, I've found the role to be most helpful in these ways:

1) Intel. Nobody but a dropship can gather intelligence on enemy movement like a sniper. But the sniper is at least safer, and the sniper can also gather the intel faster.
2) Squad Support. In this game, being sniper isn't about getting a high kill/death ratio and only taking really opportune shots. You're not helping your squad that way. When your squad engages the enemy, you need to be taking shots on the targets, whether they're lined up headshots or not. That extra damage that the enemy can't prepare for or block can EASILY tip the scales in favor of your squadmates.
3) Tactical denial. There are usually several safe positions that give a sniper an eagle eye on at least one objective terminal. If the team knows that the Sniper has eyes on this target and can snipe off any enemy trying to hack it, they can save their remote explosives and manpower at guarding other locations. This is a huge factor while defending, as the single sniper becomes a tremendous force multiplier. Remember he can still support his squad from afar after defending the objective.
4) Anti-Sniper. Nobody can kill a sniper quite like, well, another sniper. Most snipers are used to being able to sit in one area and camp away. But if you can drive them off and keep mobile, you'll save your squadmates a lot of headache when they try to cross from objective to objective.

That aside, I feel there is no issue with red line sniping or MCC sniping. These types typically stay in the same place, and return to the same place, making them easy kills for anyone with a sniper rifle and 10 seconds to spare.

I am definitely of the opinion snipers should be taking a perch somewhere with a good view of the battle, but where they hopefully won't attract much notice.

Duking it out at a range is the role of assault rifles/scramblers/laser rifles. The sniper rifle is about hitting the enemy VERY hard from an unexpected angle, and used properly it can win battles for your allies.

The fact that many snipers focus too much on the not attracting notice part, and too little on helping their team part, is just a product of this game placing too much emphasis on K/D. Personally I think they should up the victory points for taking objectives, give bonus victory points based on the AMOUNT of the gap between your kills and deaths (So that someone who got 15/5 would get a much better reward than 5/0) and just up the ISK/SP rewards for helping your team win in general.

IMO, there only two kinds of GOOD, PRODUCTIVE snipers: tactical and overwatch.

In skirmish especially, a good overwatch sniper takes a dropship up to a high point with the best view available. And a mic is necessary for this. I played with this guy in my squad who would constantly be telling all of us stuff like, "3 guys coming from the north towards A" "2 camping out at B" etc. etc.

The next type is the tactical sniper. This kind moves with the squad, scouting out the area ahead while also aiding in firefights. With the massive sway, this is difficult. The fact that snipers have a very difficult time hitting anything closer than a few meters, they are effectively farsighted and can not fight in the thick of it. I suspect that when cloaking arrives, snipers (and really all speedy, sneaky scout suits) will be much more effective in combat considering a scout suit is so squishy.

I'll give you some feedback.
I played sniper role from the Mordu's Private Trials build all the way to the very end of the Chromosome build.
I went Tactical Assault in Uprising.

There's a misconception that a sniper HAS to run with his squad, and engage in mid-range combat. This is due to the hatred that snipers receive when they operate at ultra long-range, or at some position inaccessible to the enemy (like behind the red line, or up on a tower). People get frustrated, and start trying to insult the sniper.
Snipers are not viewed as "honorable", because a sniper doesn't allow his opponent an "equal opportunity exchange of fire". So if he is a proficient sniper, and actually starts killing a lot of people, and those people can't reach him; they cry, *****, moan, throw tantrums, throw insults, and come to the forums to complain about how a sniper killed them... It's "the redzone", it's the damage, it's ALWAYS absolutely fkin EVERYTHING else except their OWN failure.

To make people feel better (or because they fall for insults on their tenacity as players), some snipers take it upon themselves to fight at mid-range, like their non-sniper rivals want them to. Before Uprising, this simply caused snipers to get chewed up by Assault Rifles and Laser Rifles. Today, snipers that do the "honorable" thing, simply get chewed up by Scrambler Rifles and Tactical Assault Rifles.
.

I'd like to see more ladders, allowing access to more sniping positions. And less of those stupid, head-level barricades around rooftops.