[Disillusionist]

Positive assertions are a slippery slope if someone doesn't want to name names, but I could offer a few from the player perspective. I know that being a content-contributor can engender winks and nudges, as could other behavior that encourages GM favor. The rewards may not always manifest in game content, cash-value perks, or other tangible rewards (although they do), but 'one good turn deserves another' happens frequently enough as to deserve not being dismissed outright.

I've been handed items, given useful information or insights, had a blind eye turned to mild infractions, and seen adjudicated player disputes swing my way, even if the fault for the dispute was shared. It definitely happened, and was definitely denied and discouraged and punishable in the official policy docs. So long as an admin sees the benefits of doing so outweighing the consequences, it's an understandable temptation, and in some cases, a smart business dealing, if a game is getting a free tangible product in exchange for thirty seconds worth of typing (>give character thingy, or >inform player of event).

It still is probably not a 'fair' practice, as defined here.

Human nature is a pretty good indicator, too. As much as we'd like to believe that 'under the table', 'a handshake arrangement' and 'you wash my back, I wash yours' aren't part of a business model, the fact is, they are. Presuming that commercial and non-commercial muds are somehow exempt from this common business practice seems a lot harder to swallow, even if I didn't know for a fact it occurs.

Sometimes, it's just good PR to pretend like such things don't happen,