I just wanted to put my two cents in and say that I started on P2002 about a week ago, and so far it's been a blast. The community is friendly and helpful (already had someone deck my lowbie bard out in full bronze!), and while I was wary at first, I really haven't found the whole boxing thing to be a problem. I do it now and then for convenience mostly, but for the most part it seems that people generally prefer to group with other live humans given the chance.
One of the things I've especially enjoyed is making newbies and having the newbie armor quests available. (Whether you think they're worth it or not, I always found them fun.
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The population is certainly small right now but doesn't feel empty by any means. That being said, I think this server could be truly awesome if we could get some more people playing, which is the main thing that inspired me to come out and make a post. So ... yeah, give p2002 a try!