[Valg]

Players care that the game is stable and will continue to operate. I don't think the players particularly care about whether or not any money becomes salary.

KaVir's examples above (e.g., one untrained guy operating out of his house for a middling income, vs. a team of people who run a game in their spare time) are illustrative of why. Games run for profit fold their tent all the time when profits aren't meeting expectations-- your argument is a double-edged sword. You might not toss away Threshold when it's your sole income, but then again you might axe it in a heartbeat if things go south and you can't afford to do it the way you're set up to do it.

The best evidence of stability is stability. Providing dates of operation and related information covers that well enough in my opinion. A '100% free' game which has been running for over a decade is very likely to continue running. A commercial game founded this month may or may not last through December.