The population has continued to increase since the loss of global OOC. I don't think that is going to change. As more and more people are made aware of this server it's population growth will continue as this growth is somewhat exponential. I.e. someone tells 5 of their friends they each tell 2 of their friends who tell two of their friends who tell two of their friends etc. Even if 5 out of the first batch of 6 quit here you are still left with 31 players instead of 6...
The real question of the effect would be how many established players are now playing significantly less? How many no longer log on? Of the new people who play, how many make it over level 30? Has the growth expanded into the off peak hours? Is the population large enough at these times to sustain a reasonable classic experience from level 1 to 50?
The areas I see hit the hardest by this are the folks who are brand new and the people who have well established characters. Some areas of this server are flat out dead. People know where the good areas are and those who know their shit GTFO out of places like everfrost, qeynos hills, west karana, etc as quickly as possible. New people will be stuck soloing and not get the community feel they might have otherwise experienced with the bustling global ooc.
For those who have one or more max level characters, or at least have been around long enough to be comfortable with their characters place may find themselves now annoyed with things being more tedious and time consuming at a point where their interest in the game is already waning. *shrug*
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