Ultima Online was play and it had just as many, if not more, jerks. RO is now pay and it still has plenty of jerks. People asking for cyber, cussing you out, PKing (in games that allow it) newbies and looting them, etc etc.

Monthly fees are somewhat neccesary for a good gaming experience. You have mods to watch the game and fix problems (somewhat), and all the other benefits... but those arent completly neccesary for a good game. I had tons of fun playing RO beta. The only time it bothered me were the rollbacks and when they switched from Beta 1 to 2 and I was sent back like 20 levels and lost all my inventory.