If you all are going to address the issue of MT in MMOs you have to stop with the dismissal of "vanity items".

In games with crafters those vanity items infringe on the crafter population. point of example: EQ2 players are obsessed with "appearance gear". The armorers and tailors make items that are used as costuming and cloths. The EQ2 community had screamed out for better appearance gear for years. SOE threw in "cloths" for players that took the form of a single skin in a verity of colors for each sex. This did not satisfy so they screamed some more.

Then, SOE introduced MT with appearance gear for sale. those "vanity items" are items PLAYERS could make within the existing crafting system. Instead of providing more for the community of crafters to make, they sold them for cash dismissing them as "fluff items" and marginalizing their crafting population.

MT does not provide "fluff" or "vanity items" it dismisses a good portion of the player population as being worthless and unimportant.

If a system is designed for MT as incentive to spend money, that is one thing. Though fought with problems that is the way said game was designed. Ultimately if you are going to design for MT don't include crafting.