This is ... A novel concept but it might prove to be interesting.
Have the Mud up on a different port. Completely devoid of all NPCs and all the areas considered 'difficult to access' off grid.
Have people able to login into the mud with builder privileges. There, they can make items, build rooms, change stuff, etc. And then offer for review. If stuff looks good and actions inside the game were performed to make it happen IG, staff can make these things life.
Thoughts?