No, this is one of the system's rabid detractors spouting their battle cry again.
Seriously, while I could go on at length on the system, its uses and misuses, I'll tell you up front: this thread is yet another AE Flame War waiting to happen. There are people who LOVE the system, and people who HATE the system. And they are...
Never
Going
To See
Eye-to-Eye
Ever
Primarily because there are too many children-in-adult-clothing on both sides who've allowed themselves to become emotionally charged over the whole thing.
But, in the interest of actually providing you SOME insight, before this thread is consumed by a whirlwind of ire and vitriol, I will say that yes, there were and remain rewards for running the missions built with it, and yes, in the early days, people found ways to abuse the system. Since it was largely the first of its kind, this didn't really surprise, or even upset, anyone with a modicum of sense. The developers have since taken numerous incremental steps to prevent blatant abuse, but PLers will be PLers. If they can't or don't use the MA (Mission Architect) for it, they will still find a way... largely by resorting to most of the methods they used prior to its existence.
I personally enjoy the MA. I support the idea behind the UCG (yes, I play STO as well, and you can look me up there as @Captain_Thiraas
). I enjoy telling stories. Such tools allow me to do so. The mileage of others will, of course, vary... vastly. You won't find many here who choose to calmly weigh the pros and cons.
No, this is one of the system's rabid detractors spouting their battle cry again.