That's largely true.
Because of a wide mixture of reasons, too mundane and boring and drama-filled to go into here, most of the time I am not supposed to directly hand anything to you.
Monsters dropping loot is one way around that problem - if you hit it, and you were in the top number of attackers, then you've earned your loot. No favoritism.
If, say, at a meet-and-greet, there's a sash dispenser, everyone has an equal opportunity to click on it and get exactly the same reward. No favoritism.
Competitions are a problem.
You might accuse me of picking the wrong winner. You might claim that the competition was rigged. You might be able to present absolute proof that the winner cheated. You might claim that the winner was my third cousin seventy-four times removed.
All of which leaves the perception that someone with a unique rare only got it because they were cheating. Nobody wants to go to events once accusations of corruption at events start. Even if proof that the accusations are completely and utterly false can be presented, by then, the damage is done.
The Reward Hall gets around this problem. You might not like it, but that's the world we currently live in. If you win a competition, your reward goes on public display.
That's the way it is, and I do not have the power (or the will) to change it.
If you don't like the competitions, nobody is forcing any of you to take part. If no one shows up, or enters any of them, I can take a hint - I'll do non-competitive events instead. But as long as people do turn up, I'm going to assume that they're worth doing. Vote with your feet. I can count foot votes!
*divides by two, then divides by five, hopes no mounts were involved*
