[Threshold]

A majority of what? 10 people? Don't you need a bigger sample size before you start claiming broad based support for an idea? There are a handful of people who want this change. There are a handful of people who don't. Please do not act like this issue is the result of players begging for it. This issue is here because a couple of MUD admins want it to be an issue. That's it. Don't even begin to act like this is some kind of grass roots movement.

That has already been done numerous times. I'll give you a few MORE examples - on top of the tons of examples that have already been given.
Furthermore, there will be no end to the arguing about what constitutes an "in-game reward." For that matter, there will be argument about what constitutes accepting payment. In any reasonable mind, selling merchandise is most certainly accepting payment, for example. But some people actually try to argue that selling merchandise is not accepting payment.

The purely selfish reasons that motivate some admins to push for this change is a very serious and disgusting problem. It should not be ignored - despite your attempts to have it ignored.

Without naming names, at least one admin has outright admitted that their motive for supporting this is selfish and is based on feeling it "cheapens" their use of the word free if other games can use the same word. You can't just rule that out by saying it is a "personal attack." That kind of motive throws into serious question the value of making this change. If Lasher makes changes to TMS for such twisted and biased reasons, he will set a terrible precedent that will negatively impact the site for a long time to come.