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I was intrigued by the idea of "different strokes for different blokes", and the more in-depth explanation done by someone (name eludes memory atm, sorry) that iluminates a good point in this discussion: rules, actions, and money in and of itself/themselves are just neutral tools for getting some kind of job done, whether it be to pay for a server, make a quick buck, get a good sword fast and therefore advance more quickly, or what-have-you.
However, what is done *with* the actions, rules, or money that truly defines them as 'good' or 'bad' (good and bad being, unfortunately, subjective enough statements to further get me into murky territory). The end result, however, is usually acceptable to those who are in the thick of the problem, and (usually) unacceptable to the bystanders. For instance, I've never played a pay-to-play MUD, and before today I considered them all worthless crap not worthy of any attention. I haven't changed my resolve not to pay to play a MUD; however, I can see why paying for play, equipment, or bonuses may not necessarily be an all-empowering ability that makes the game completely unfair.
Example: I pay 300 USD and get myself a really nice set of equipment for my character. I spend another 2 weeks beating up every MOB I find, and level myself quickly. Other people in the game, (most likely more experienced veterans than myself) see that I've taken a bit too much advantage of my excessive income (chuckle, I wish), and team up 10 to 1, kill me, loot my corpse, and I'm back to almost square one.
Even if they couldn't kill me, they'd just ignore me. Never group with me, recall whenever I came by, and never respond to any of my comments. That, in and of itself, would drive most people from a game within a few months.
So hey...why worry? If virtue is a valued attribute in a game, virtue will be upheld whether or not an administration or group of players decides to agree with it or not. The people really do rule in this kind of environment; it's more of a democracy than admins really want to admit. So RP is you like it, PK if you like it, give me money if you like it, and I'll let my players deal with you afterwards.
-Visko
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