Anaris,
I am curious if a middle of road solution has been considered. I am making the following assumptions:
1. EC will never be reset or closed.
2. We need to close at least one island
3. We need at least 1 testing island and 1 stable island for ease of development and testing new features.
Based upon the assumptions above, could you not close all islands except EC and Dwilight and then create a third island as an exact copy of EC. This would allow EC and it's history to remain, while allowing those who have lost an island to not feel forced into joining the existing current status quo.
I realize this is not a trivial action but none of the options are. I am mainly wondering if this has even been considered or would be considered. I think it offers a happy compromise.
