Hail Folks,
I am Opposed to this idea/option. I could not care less what other MMORPG's do. Ultima Online is Unique, and uniquely superior in many ways to all the others.
What I would rather see is the following:
All Crafting Equipment (Looms, Spinning Wheels, Forges, Anvils, etc) in Houses become deco only and unusable.
All Crafting may only be performed at "in town" crafting areas such as the Brit Forge in NorthWest Brit, the areas surrounding Luna Bank, etc. This causes our Players to come together as Crafter and Customer, as Mentor and Student, etc.
Disable Vendors for they promote "remote selling" where seller and buyer rarely if ever see one another. Either let the Crafting Areas also serve as "Commerce" Centers where wares may be offered and bought and sold, or designate one or more Commerce Centers per Town where sellers may bring Items for sale, or promote Auction Houses per Shard to promote Commerce.
Ultima Online is designed for massively multi-player participation and interaction. Its Design needs to promote, encourage, and cause Players to seek out one another.
I AM NOT saying that it should be impossible for Players to be "loners" or to enjoy a "solo" style of play. However, that should be the more difficult path than that of the community participant.
These are a few of my thoughts. I invite yours as well.
Lord Elladan of Trinsic/Baja