I care more for playing CF how it is than having a ton of players. There are plenty of MUD options out there that have 100+ players still. Those MUDs are not suddenly fun just because they have a lot of people. I choose CF because it is CF. Dumbing it down even more than it has been over the past 5 years or so just to bring in/keep more players would be a tragedy. I'd rather play CF by myself than have that happen.

As far as trying to change things, CF changes all the time. Lot's of things have been added to be newbie friendly: fine leather from academy, newbie channel, improved outfit commands, anti-gank code, improved wikis, improved website info, constantly improving help files, and on the side of the playerbase: increased sportsmanship. To name a few. I could do without that last one, but I can't argue that it doesn't help retain players.

I don't think more players would necessarily be good for the game. One of the best parts of CF is when Gods exert their force upon the world and when game admins bring the game alive by controlling NPCs and such. With the lower playerbase people are much more likely to get caught up in actual events and not just toil away their years in capture the flag cabal wars. It's like asking 1 Dungeon Master to oversee a group of 25 players. I'm sure it can be done, but everyone would have more fun if there is 1 Dungeon Master per 5 players.

Finally, I don't think much of the problem getting and retaining new players comes from poor administration. I think most of it comes from grumpy old coots that make up the playerbase (to include 1 or 2 imms I'm sure). Imagine if everyone actively participated in making the game more like a jaunt through a fantasy world and less like an arcade game where you desperately try for the high score. Instead we have said grumpy old coots constantly worrying about conspiracies and favortism.