I couldn't read the entire thread, but I did read the proposal on the Town section. And I have to say, I think the proposed rules are ridiculously a great idea.
This is exactly what I did when I joined this server. I joined a group of friends who wandered into the wilderness, and without ANY special donation powers, we formed an entire town, and didn't apply for township until the groundwork was laid.
ALL of our valuables were in unprotected chests. ALL of our work materials were in unprotected chests. It all was there for someone to raid if they ever found us, as were we for PVPing.
This makes things a LOT more fun in starting a town. not just realming off and building, or protecting chests in the wild.
I'll read the rest later.