I agree with many of your objections and here are my views and also
how my (old) mud went about fixing them.

Barrier to Entry:

For those who create characters not attached to an account, the
creation process asks if you would like to create one. This is what it
looks like during the creation process.


(mud) offers an account system so that you may group your characters
together, and build up a standing record of your accomplishments.
Characters on accounts which have earned good standing through past
actions will be eligible for special rewards and benefits that those
who choose not to take advantage of our account system may not be.

Accounts are to be used by one person only. Shared accounts are not
acceptible under any circumstances, no excuses. Therefore, any rules
infractions committed by one character affects the standing of the
account as a whole.

Note: if you already have an account, please disconnect and re-login
using your account name at the name prompt.

Do you wish to create a new account (y/n)?


Fairly straight forward, I believe. When accounts were being
introduced, you had the option of your current character being your
account.


Rich get Richer:

I compeltely agree with your assessment in that a similar thing
might not work here re: rewards. The way my (old) mud worked, you
start out with approx 14 trains to up your stats (we did away with
rolling b/c everyone just used rolling scripts) in order to tailor
make your character. In exchange for these various skills, you trade
trains. Want to be a linguist and learn racial languages easier? It
costs 1 train. Wish to be able to dual wield weapons that normally
wouldn't be dual wield-able? 2 trains. Wish to create that heirloom? 4
trains.

Its not exactly empowering the character over others because, in fact,
you're crippling yourself in the longrun. Itreally starts to weigh in
because you're effectively trading -1/2 dexterity (or some
equivalent) for the ability to hold 100 extra pounds.

That being said, there are only 3 (to my knowledge) traits that offer
a mechanical advantage. The others (nearly 30 or 40) are for
role-playing purposes. Things such as Blacksmith (weapons don't dull
as quickly) etc just offer traits to your concept'd character.


Preaching to the Choir:

I'm not saying that my mud was immune to the people who are
harrassers and what not because of accounts. I'm just saying that
accounts offer a worthwhile addition to the current populace by
rewarding those who consistantly perform well.

The Black Cloud:

So it is known, accounts aren't viewable by anyone else, save
immortals. I would imagine that the IMMs have methods to see who you
are and your past characters regardless of accounts or not.

Regarding poor performance.. the way, to my knowledge, that the
account system works, is we are only docked points (and consequentally
rewarded them) is due to poor roleplaying (and, I assume, cheating).
I've also heard allusions to having to document why on every docked
point (which happens rarely, to my knowledge). As such, throwaway
characters and people who do poorly at first need not be discouraged,
so long as they play the role they've stated that they want (in their
ROLE).

I hope this post better illustrates the point I was trying to make
and addresses some of your concerns.

-aunes