Since this thread is not locked and still receiving replies, then I'll add a clarification reply.
The intention of this thread is not to say that the barges are bad for 5kers' existence as @Haste mentioned
This is not posted to end up by the developers removing the barge
I posted that clearly and said that removing or nerfing the barge cargo capacity is not going to be a good decision at all
Put into consideration that the barge has many negative sides and it is not easy to be managed by its owners
- It is extremely slow
- It is bugged because it gets spun by a light fighter (A nightmare bug)
- Recovering the position of the barge takes a long time (tho enhanced lately by the thruster effect)
- It's an easy target for piracy (and not all pirates are RP-ing, but actually most of them start their talks with an ending phrase (pay me xxxx amount of money or die)
I was just talking about the current situation we have here
We have a low population as @St.Denis said, and we have fewer mining operations as others said
Enhance those, as @BobMacaroni said and I second what he said too, but I am NOT talking here about nerfing the barge capacity or removing it at all as @Couden said for example!
Don't use this discussion to terminate the barge - The nerfing after granting is very very bad for the server population