I've known MD for some years now, but haven't been active enough to gather a single year of AD.
I can't be sure of how consistent this inactivity of the realm is, but it seems a lot more inactive than it was 5 years ago.
Right now, with the [topic='15951']legacy documentation[/topic] we are working on, along with the A25 project, as DD already mentioned, I believe we are setting the bases for a more both player friendly and developer friendly MD.
What I fear is the game becoming "too" friendly on the long run, but I guess that the essence of MD will remain untouched.
It seems the era of role playing is decaying, and we will start moving into a "game" playing era. I hope that this expansion of game mechanics re-ignite the role playing activity.
About the removal of story mode...
I must admit I find that idea a bit uncomfortable, I like how much it can change on each run, and the different insights it offers with each branch.
What's the main reasoning behind the idea of ripping it off, if I may ask?