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Now this is a system I like as it has consistent, distinct and largely objective categories and it actually does what it's advertised to do (lets me know, in broad terms, what is required of me to advance in the game). I would certainly find something like this more useful than a more detailed breakdown of payment options that still generally wouldn't tell me a lot about the impact of my participation (or lack thereof) in any payment scheme would have on my game.
I would still expect to see some heated debate about whether or not some muds were properly listing themselves. For example, if a mud lists itself as Advancement Category 3 and offers donation equipment, the players' own perceptions about how difficult such equipment is to come by through normal gameplay, and the necessity of such equipment to adequately compete, could lead to some squabbles about whether or not the mud is more accurately an Advancement Category 4 mud.
One other criticism I could foresee for this, based on my recollection of previous threads on this matter, is that it may not adequately provide for muds that don't accept payment, but which might provide advancement perks for people in exchange for out-of-game time spent, say, writing docs or providing web page art. My own instinct would be to consider this as part of Category 2 since, technically, what is involved is still time. But, considering that the reason this issue is sometimes brought up is because some people have an aversion to muds which offer in-game perks for out-of-game action, it's probably worth noting.
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