I've enjoyed being able to learn skills while sleeping or at work, but there's been this voice in the back of my head saying, "this is not challenge, this is actually taking away from playing the game."
I kind of like Janitch's suggestion, too, as a way of tweaking it for balance.
How to make casual players totally helpless within the game.
This idea would create a huge skills gap between players who could devote multiple hours every day to playing Glitch and those who could only play on weekends or when work/family/obligations could be set aside for a while.
Only people with few responsibilities IRL would be able to learn skills and use them in the game.
Leave it the way it is. Players who have more time can come in-world and spend the hours. For example, if you have a 25 day learning time, you can do it in 25 days if you don't come in and work on lowering the time. But if you can make it in, you can lower that 25 days to about 13. So, there is a benefit already built in for players who have the time. I think that's good enough.
Actually, TS has already implemented this idea. While skills can be learned outside game time, the iMG needed to buy upgrade cards is a reflection of how much time you spend in-game earning those points.
What Crash said. Let's NOT make it more difficult. I have all the skills but OH MY GOD I would have HATED it if I had had to have been on-line / in-world the entire time I was learning in order to learn the skills. YUCK.
Let's leave it like it is please for those who don't play 24/7.
If anything, being logged out should accelerate the learning process (much like earning rested experience in other MMOs while logged out). Spending all that time in-game would just tax our little glitchy brains, and slow down learning (just a little).