/list 1.0 (as I like to call it) was an amazing innovation.
You have to understand, the only alternatives to it were letting the players handle extremely popular camps like Guise or Manastone on their own (imagine the clusterfuck that would be), or assigning a GM full-time to monitor those camps (which our 100% volunteer project doesn't have the staff to do).
But ... this was their first attempt at "automated GMing", and as you noted it had some rough edges. Personally, my favorite idea for "/list 2.0" is a simple one: make every list random. You get on the list, wait until the mob spawns, and then when the current "top of the list" gets their item, everyone on the list has a chance to randomly become the new "top".
No more AFK checks. No more trading accounts so you can keep a character logged in for a week. No more going days without sleep because you don't know anyone to trade with.
And (most importantly of all, in my opinion), it makes this place more classic. There was nothing on live where you were guaranteed loot in exchange for waiting: that's not how EverQuest is played! Instead, you'd have (essentially) the same thing as in the rest of the game: you show up at a camp, hope to be lucky, and if you aren't lucky ... you keep showing up.
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