[Lasher]

IMHO it's a potential conflict of interest that can be managed with a strong zero-tolerance policy. We strongly encourage staff to play, to the point that they no longer even have to give up their main player to join the team in the first place. In 11 years we've had two incidents and only one directly related to a staff member having a player. We had an imm caught giving their alt some gold 8 years ago, both were removed immediately, the MUD was told what happened and life moved on.

The value we've gained from having staff members familiar with how the game really runs (vs how its designed to run) massively outweighs this. In fact, one of the most common complaints we get is that the staff do not understand the intricacies of clan raiding well enough to improve it - I do draw the line at allowing staff players to take part in raids when they have inside information on clan defenses.

The consequences in RPI muds may be deeper as that seems to be mostly what you're discussing, but in games, in business, in pretty much any service you offer - the best way to learn what really goes on is to walk in the shoes of your "consumer".