One problem that I see time and again with working on a unified project is that people on Graal often try to usurp each other because they want a server to only be full of their own ideas and no one else's, or they think they can run a server better even though they took no part in actually creating it or working on any of the content. There are also frequently problems with players asking for rights and then disappearing a week later, in hopes that they can show up again later with those rights and just start doing whatever they want without other developers noticing. (Which never works.)

Strong development teams only come as a result of getting people together who are motivated enough to act upon their ideas and get things done. But now we mostly have a community of well-wishers, and unfortunately that does not lend itself to progress. Nor do managers who do not actually take part in the work themselves, and simply expect others to complete things for them. It's kind of a miracle when good teams come together, and as a result we get newer, better servers that often trump the old ones.

I don't really agree with this point of view. There have been lots of developers out there who are not in it purely to make money for the company, even though that's ultimately what each server is for. Basically, as long as you're not a complete douche to players and possibly make some concessions to earn money for the game as a whole, Graal administration typically does not interfere with your business. The only servers that have been required to do it so far are the ones that are basically done now, and I think it's reasonable if you're not being asked to pay for renting the server anymore.

There have been plenty of projects in the past that have been made by artists who are very devoted to their work, and they never expected pay because it wasn't even offered at the time. They did it for the sake of completing a major collaborative project with others. While one might argue it's futile and useless because you won't be making a lot of money with it, you have to stop and take a look at what has been accomplished in the past by people who were never concerned with it in the first place. They did their work because they were proud to have it as part of the game. And really, they still do.



That said, I think the Kickstarter thread was closed mostly because Moonie is old and doesn't entirely understand what people are asking about. She just looks at the rules and interprets them as best she can. Sometimes she's wrong, but you just have to accept that and move on. That's partly why this forum excludes her as a moderator.

The only way I could see people getting paid for their work is through crowdfunding, but I think it would eventually lead to a lot of unnecessary drama in the future as well. (Like people claiming they were never paid, demanding pay for unsatisfactory work, etc.) When you start offering players pay for their work, they may come to expect it every time they do something, even if their contributions are not on time, need improvements, or otherwise.

However, a problem that I see going on is that new content almost always goes to old servers anyway, even if their player count has been dropping substantially. Or else it goes to new servers, but in a scattered fashion instead of being concentrated. People sooner fill staff positions for a longer amount of time on servers that are already well-established than they do on new ones, because it's easier to work on top of something they feel is already done.