It's late, and my little two day vacation because of the typhoon passing through is over
so will only mention for now:
In-game, it is obvious to me that the players in my realm read my concerns and are doing some changes/being a little more active and open with their chars, and with a little new blood we just got it looks like Madina is shaping up to be a very fun place to play. So, a big thank you for that, and I'll try to hold up my end as well.
Interesting discussion from a more general perspective, but might be better in a different thread (and for me, a different time). Maybe I'll start a new thread on game mechs vs. role play sometime - I can see that going on for a few pages :-p