@ Cossack: the reason is simple: Not one single thing in the world is ever free.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to suggest that since obscure factions attract older members that have rent to pay, ect & can't devote the same amount of time to the game as a jobless teen, that those factions should be cut some slack?
Screw that! Each of the factions on the list has already had slack cut to them by not being put on the chopping block before now anyway.
No matter what the faction is, no matter how many members it has, if it can't meet the minimum requirements set by the staff, then the faction deserves to rot & die.
& to be clear: I say this as a member/leader of one of the factions on the list.
If you pay attention during the next 4 weeks, you may come to notice that (for the factions that survive) being put on the chopping block was the best thing that could have happened to them.
