They happen, but a plurality on the server has to agree to the change.
That’s why the power gamers have invested so heavily in all the in game ads saying how creative mode will be awful and PvP is vital to the generation of new content.
Christ, I’m an old head but I remember way back in the day when people would spend weeks on message boards arguing over the optimal design spec for MMO economies.
The first time I heard the “wheat domesticated people” hypothesis now popularized in the book “Against the Grain” was on a forum for Asheron’s Call. Also, a bunch of long form research about how agricultural practices impacted social development (wheat giving birth to libertarian yeomen farmers while rice encouraged people to collectivize as a matter of agricultural necessity).
None of it mattered to the MMO producers, since it all they cared about was farming the player base. But it was a fun time to be a college kid with a direct line to software developers.