Summary: A new bonus system which rewards cooperation reinforces positive interactions between players .
Introduction: Ajaya Bliss is an special area in the mines that is filled with sparkly rocks. To enter Ajaya Bliss you need to find a hidden key and unlock a door or (I think) have someone teleport you inside. This area was often crowded in earlier tests because sparkly rocks are more desirable than the other sorts.
Competitive mining: Ore was originally extracted on a first-come, first-served basis. People would either mine by themselves or (reluctantly) share a rock, grabbing as much ore as they could. Later tests introduced bonuses for "helping", but these bonuses were low - perhaps only an extra piece of ore, giving up to a 15% increase in efficiency but sacrificing the chance to mine more ore over a longer time. Players cooperated because they had to - social norms were the only mechanism to encourage sharing.
Newly-increased bonuses: This test introduced changes to the mining bonus system. My observations indicate that it is partially random and partially based on the order in which players have begun to mine. The first player to select a rock can "mine" it as before, but the second and each subsequent player are given the opportunity to help mine instead. The first miner receives the largest bonus, followed by the others in order in which they have begun to mine, but the first miner will become a "helper" once he or she finishes a mining sequence and starts again.
Observations: The new bonus system strongly favors cooperation. I have experienced bonuses of around thirty-five pieces of ore on top of the basic six or seven that can be mined per attempt, and I have heard reports of ninety or more bonus pieces. This means that it is much, much more efficient to work cooperatively - it is not only faster, but mining the bonus pieces of ore does not damage your tool or consume your energy. A new cooperative style of mining has emerged as a consequence of this.
Emergent cooperation: Miners in Ajaya Bliss have learned that large groups earn more ore than smaller ones. They form a sort of conga line of players, leaping around the playing area to find new rocks as they spawn. When they do, one player will spontaneously start to mine and others will join him or her. Sometimes two rocks spawn simultaneously and this pattern is disrupted, but players tend to join whichever rock has the most players. The extra miners consume the rock quickly, typically within a single mining attempt, and then the conga line starts again.
Conclusions: This emergent pattern is beautiful to watch. The players swirl around the playing area like leaves. A lot of sharing goes on, more than can be explained by the selfish desire to increase the number of helpers. By rewarding cooperation the bonus system has reinforced a positive dynamic that extends to other player interactions.