I should say that the devs/CSR's have had a hand in decimating the population on at least 2 occasions where its gone over 200-250 per night.
1. After one patch last year, the XP bonus was turned off fully (supposedly by accident etc)...so there was a blue server XP rate. The population nosedived (and cue people logging on, saying "XP bonus back on yet?" someone saying "no", and them logging out)
2. After the server recovered from that and saw 200ish per night again, the PvP teams server was announced (and has since been buried to "after Velious"). Nosedive again due to the thought of the box dying to PvP teams.
We've had a growing population before, maybe some of the things in Derubael's post would make a difference... I'd give them a try, but lets be careful about what's implemented and take on board what new players might want, rather than forcing a prescription on the box that'll see it stay under 100 per night.
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