This isn't about contested or non-contested areas, and if you're looking for a bias free discussion, please don't make it about your wants Mr DDT.
I can appreciate where Jeru is coming from. Always a great idea to keep semi-casual / busy irl players in mind as they are often a great source of income for a game. They use less bandwidth and often require less database allocation for the same sub fees as everyone else. Definitely seems like a good thing for devs/business folks to keep in mind.
On the other hand, I don't see the value in 6 months just for people who left the game. That is basically going to bring back a few players who might still care in 5 months, 15 days. They may like it this time around and stay, or they might just stop paying again for another 5 months, 15 days... all the while hampering growth.
New player may ask: "what's with all the dead totems all over the place? Makes it hard to drop one, and makes it hard to find scavenging areas away from a totem!"
Your answer? : "oh, those are players that quit 6 months ago but *might* be back 6 months from now so they don't lose anything."
New player: "but... I'm here now! I'm paying now. I like the game now and want to keep playing now... what gives?"
Your answer? : "my friends that quit 6 months ago and *might* be back in 6 months were made a promise. That's more important than the needs of new players who might actually pay sub fees in the next 6 months."
If the folks in charge think that makes sense... cool, it's their call. See ya 6 months and one day from when decay starts. Wonder if any new players in the meantime will remember to try again at that time?
good to see you guys too