Different methods exists for distributing loot in MMORPGs in a fair manner, one such method is Zero-sum DKP(Dragon kill points) systems. It's a system where you are award imaginary points (DKP) for every raid you attend, these points can then be used to buy loot (gear for your character) which drops from the bosses killed during the raids.
In Blood Angels we used a custom made Zero-Sum DKP system to ensure fair distribution of loot without DKP hoarding. When a system is zero sum then the total amount of points all players have must equal to zero. This way it's possible for new players to obtain gear, because old players don't have a huge DKP lead. The special property of our implementation of the Zero-Sum system was that a ghost player was represented on every raid. The amount of points earned by this player could then be used to reward players that did an extraordinary job, e.g. by helping defeating bosses for the first time.
The system was developed with ASP 3.0 and ran on a Microsoft Access database, although it was also tested on Microsoft SQL and Firebird database solutions. Aside from being a Zero-sum DKP system, the system also kept track of loot acquired by the players and their raid activity.
The player front-end of the system is still online at: http://93.166.115.82/dkp/members.asp
Unfortunately I never found the time to clean-up the code and publish the system but maybe I will find the time in the future, although the current trend in MMORPG distribution system is not to use point systems at all.