Asherons Call: MMORPG's Are Designed By Newbies!

At least according to Richard Bartle:

Virtual worlds are being designed by know-nothing newbies, and there's not a damned thing anyone can do about it. I don't mean newbie designers, I mean newbie players - first timers. They're dictating design through a twisted "survival of the not-quite-fittest" form of natural selection that will lead to a long-term decay in quality, guaranteed. If you think some of today's offerings are garbage, just you wait...

Sound interesting? Then read the entire soapbox over on Gamasutra.