Regarding Izzy, he doesn't need defending, but I will defend the idea he espouses, that "considerate gameplay" should be the norm. You attacked his idea through the use of a patronizing tone: "he means well, but...." Reading your new response, it is clear you did not intend that to be an ad hominem attack.

Now for the debate. First, we need to set a ground rule, which is that arguing extremes is counterproductive to a meaningful debate. Should I argue an extreme case, call me on it.

1. I concede this point: everyone has seen characters with outstanding sets who trashed a group but managed to die, and were put out that they lost their unholy. On the other extreme, our older players remember the day where gank/full loot/drop in our pit was the norm. I recall when I first started playing here the same Empire perma (healer/summoner/assassin/pole spec) hunted me down three times within one hour and each time stripped me down to my newbie breads. After a week of such treatment, I said "screw that" and played a different mud for two years. The ideal situation should lie somewhere between these extremes.

2. I posit that people are less likely to bandwagon if they are not punished unduly for taking risks. As a corollary, I maintain that the pk action is better if people do not bandwagon.

3. From my perspective, those who have stripped my characters are played by those who feel their characters are relatively immune to acts of retribution due to their builds or allies. Characters against whom I stood a chance were far less likely to empty my corpse. This leads me to believe that those who full loot/sacrifice do not do so out of an altruistic sense that it is good for the mud, but rather out of a desire to exert their dominance over others.