I have yet to find a totally free mud that offers what I consider to be truly a interesting variety of skills that make well-rounded non-combat RP characters viable.
I *do* like the sense of achievment that comes with some sort of mechanical advancement, be it levels or proficiency at a chosen set of skills, so MUSHes have never really held my interest.
The commercial graphical giants like AC/UO/EQ have the mechanics and workable economy that make merchants, miners, loggers, and other 'professions' viable. There are some commercial text muds that also provide this added dimension to mudding.
I think most adults are willing to pay for something that they truly are entertained by. You should not be surprised by the large number of folks who are willing to pay for play. What *should* be surprising is the number of players who seem to think of free muds as an entitlement. Sure I explore and play free muds; there are folks out there that aren't as interested in making a buck as they are doing what they do as a hobby.
As long as there are folks running free muds, I will gladly explore the ones that seem intersting to me; on the other hand, I do not dismiss P2P muds as 'bad'. I have played both P2P and 'free'. What keeps me playing isn't wether or not I have to pay for it, but wether or not I enjoy it. If I REALLY enjoy it, I am willing to pay a reasonable fee.
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