The one risk you run is losing critical mass on one or both servers, which could be bad news.

this was the point i was trying to get across before i was so rudely criticized

I think you're right that most people would migrate if you branched off development and left the old server up and unsupported.  I also think you're right that you would get a lot of players returning to play a new client.

The one risk you run is losing critical mass on one or both servers, which could be bad news.

Right.
Originally it was another layer of account security. In practice it is exactly that, an invitation to share an account.
I was wondering today if other MMOs allow up to 5 characters from an account to log one account. If I am not mistaken, we allow up to 2 or 3 different IPs logging an account as well.
So if we're going to have a no account sharing policy, maybe the "provisions" should reflect that policy.

During beta of this client, you could share an account across multiple IPs (I shared with 2 other people  ) but soon after it came out of beta it was restricted to one IP.  So unless it has changed... you can't do that.  But either way, you really shouldn't be able to share an account with someone (even asynchronously).  Its bad for the bottom line and it does nothing but create problems.  How many times have people had everything stolen from them because they thought they could trust someone?

Mumblee wrote:

1.  Complete server wipe and enforce no-sharing policy.
2.  ???
3.  Profit

lmfao 1. wipe would cause almost a total loss in profit.
2. ??? wtf does this mean?  sit behind ur computer for like an hour thinking of that brilliant idea?
3. stfu
should just give ppl who have access to current chars control of the accounts.

1. Um, no.  Some whiny bitches might quit because they lost their 3/4/5/6.. whatever level char, but eventually it would almost certainly lead to more people playing (and paying) for this game.  There was a time when this game had a lot more active players...
2.  Did you hear that?  That was the sound of his joke going right over your head.

As for the password issue.  I say remove them and give people the ability to change the account password and email in game and/or via the website.  I think all the provisions made for account sharing should just be gotten rid of.

1.  Complete server wipe and enforce no-sharing policy.
2.  ???
3.  Profit

lmfao 1. wipe would cause almost a total loss in profit.
2. ??? wtf does this mean?  sit behind ur computer for like an hour thinking of that brilliant idea?
3. stfu
should just give ppl who have access to current chars control of the accounts.

If we allowed someone with a broken e-mail to change their e-mail upon login, that might work, but what about shared accounts?

I don't believe there is an easy fix for this.  However, this is precisely why MMOs make sharing and selling accounts against their ToS.

The GMs have said time and time again that you shouldn't share your account but people continue to do so and wind up with problems with or without updating the account management system.  It all comes down to whether the collateral damage is worth fixing something that would potentially be helpful to many more players in the long run.

Zer wrote:

It's already possible to change account password via the Lost Password feature on the web.
Of course, one has to have a working account e-mail.

One problem with this is that I signed up for Faldon back when I was either using AOL or Compuserv dialup.  Both ISPs are defunct, rendering me unable to obtain a working email to the account. 

Hmm.

Pennywise, that's a real problem. I'm not clear on how we are going to fix all the many accounts with broken e-mails -- there are *lots* of them... If we allowed someone with a broken e-mail to change their e-mail upon login, that might work, but what about shared accounts?

It's already possible to change account password via the Lost Password feature on the web.
Of course, one has to have a working account e-mail.

One problem with this is that I signed up for Faldon back when I was either using AOL or Compuserv dialup.  Both ISPs are defunct, rendering me unable to obtain a working email to the account.