The biggest issue here, I think, is that recruitment is hardly a "perk". It's necessary for a faction's survival. Being banned from forum recruitment is a punishment for not being official. It is, in psychological terms, "negative punishment". The ability to recruit on the forums is not being "added" to official factions - it's something anyone can do just by making a post, but you punish anyone who is not official for doing so.
In order to further clarify my point, let me define what I mean by "positive" versus "negative" and "reward" versus "punishment".
Reward: a positive consequence
Punishment: a negative consequence
So, for instance, giving a dog a treat is a positive reward - I'm giving him good things, which is a good thing. Removing a shock collar is a negative reward - I'm taking away bad things, which is a good thing. Shocking the dog with a shock collar is a positive punishment - it adds bad things, which is a bad thing. Finally, taking the dog's food away from it when it is hungry is a negative punishment, as it removes good things, which is a bad thing.
Thus, perhaps you see why I say banning unofficial recruitment is a negative punishment. You are removing something - specifically, the right to recruit on the forums - not because it's being misused (which would be a proper use of negative punishment, though I still wouldn't agree with it long-term for different reasons), but in order for it to somehow become a "perk" for those you didn't punish via exclusivity. This is not a positive reward - the adding of power - but a negative - the removing of an artificial burden.
The whole idea of unofficial factions being somehow "lower quality" is just silly. 90% of the time, the faction is unofficial because the leaders simply do not want the hassle of attaining officiality, but they still want to actually roleplay their group. In that case, it's just ridiculous not to allow them to recruit; they're not unofficial not because of their low quality, but because of their casual and relaxed nature. They have lives and don't want to dedicate hours a day to playing some game, but they still want to roleplay (and, thus, contribute to the roleplay of the server). And we're going to hamper their efforts to do... exactly what the server exists for people to do? Why, exactly?
This whole unofficial recruitment ban has never made sense to me. But then again, the distinction between "official" and "unofficial" factions never really has, either, so what do I know? I'm just some dude who plays a game on the internet.
