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Your conceptualization is a bit shortsighted, and I imagine comes more from some ill-inspired personal vendetta than any attempt at logical analysis. To say the things that you do without any qualifier to them makes what you are saying trite at best. My personal experience alone negates your central argument that players are required to pay-to-play with any reasonable efficacy. In my personal experiences with IRE's flagship game, I had already led a city state, been a guild secretary, and established myself as a more than competent fighter before I had ever made a credit purchase. To this date I've only made that single credit purchase for a mere $40 in that realm, and that was a good 4 years ago. Yet my experiences in that early time before I purchased the credits were to date some of the best I have ever had as a MUD player. At no point did I feel "ripped off" nor did I feel that my money was being sucked up. Quite the opposite. At no point did I feel any obligation to make a purchase, and when I did it was because I generally desired not only to help myself, but to support the company as a whole.
Does OOC wealth sometimes influence an individual's competency within the realm? Sure it does. But it's a business. Are you going to fault every car dealership because they offer more powerful cars to wealthier customers, or fault computer distributors for the same reasons? I'm sure you'll respond with the comment that those companies never claim that anything of theirs is free to begin with, and that is a valid argument. But consider how many other products out there are offered on a trial basis. Would you not be more inclined to purchase a product if you have been able to test it out beforehand? This is even true with car dealers, who offer "test drives" that serve the same purpose as trial periods. The IRE business model goes beyond either of these concepts and allows players to have an UNLIMITED "trial" period with unrestricted access to all aspects of the game (as let's remember, the same items that can only be purchased by individuals who spend money can be had by those who don't through in-game transfers between the gold/credit currencies) and never once require any sort of donation or fee to continue with the trial.
Obviously, IRE desires customers to purchase their credits. They are a business and want to make a profit like any business. They are not a hobby MUD and it would be unreasonable and foolish to expect them to function like a hobby MUD functions. But the fact that they allow players to choose whether or not they want a leg up or not at whatever point in the player's experience they desire speaks volumes for their own credibility.
In this sense, Achaea and the other IRE realms are indeed Free-to-Play. You can play all you want and never choose to pay a dime. But let's face it. If the games weren't as good as they are, we wouldn't be having this discussion in the first place, because no one would want to spend money on a product that they weren't enjoying. And again, that choice is entirely their own.
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