I feel like I'm one of the few people who played MMO's like Runescape and others where pvp and money making/resource gathering went hand in hand, with some of the better money making/resource gathering methods/necessitating the danger of pvp combat. Because pretty much everyone here acts like this is some new, otherworldly and alien concept.

Yes, other people have the power to waste hours of your life; that's not imbalanced. You chose to put those hours in knowing that was a possible outcome, and the onus is on you to prepare for it. But even being prepared as best you can guarantees nothing, and that's something you also have to accept when you take advantage of the best money making/resource gathering methods.

You can call that griefing but then the term is now so broad and so incorporated into the game itself that you rob it of any real emotional appeal. Also, I run I/E, I run bunker, I've even done the smuggling runs; I can easily defend myself, and if I do happen to lose, I can quit out with minimal, if any, losses. And anyone can do that.