Aeoshattr

Not that extreme but... 

To be honest, I think MD's problem is more fundamental than just 'lack of players'. Currently we cannot even keep players who stuck around for a year, see some of our "rookies", such as Mago who say they lost interest.
We get the odd MP3 now and then, they play for a bit, then leave. I have not seen a new player to 'stay' like some of us veterans to since I returned to the game 2-3 years ago. Not a single one. I suppose you could count Mago and Aethon in here, though Aethon 'retired', I think, and Mago isn't active lately. 
The way I see it, it's a mixture of community issues, management issues and game issues.
Community:
Absolutely enormous difference in power and accessibility between a new player and an old player. It can be extremely discouraging to some. This is hugely aggravated by the fact that the vast majority of current MD players are veterans (and thus on the upper end of the power scale). Toxicity. Let's face it, a lot of us flame (guilty here), use people, insult, etc. If I were a new player, I'd want nothing to do with most of the MD community. Management:
Huge number of things that are started and never finished. Extremely disappointing, you get hyped because stuff is happening, then it dies out. For months or years, or never to be heard of again. Poor management of conflicts and rules, going back on statements, etc. See the issue with Nad and his grabban, which has implications beyond the fact that he annoyed darkraptor and NoOne. Tbh, I think there's a lot of stress on you and Mur, neither of you want to (or are particularly good) at dealing with people and in MD, dealing with people is probably 80% of the job. Interaction.  Game:
The game concept, in the first place, is not something that appeals to many people. We have a small target population. MD is very confusing at first. You lack direction. You lack people to attack and train with. "quirky" things. Sure, some quirk is nice, but for instance, having to get inside Necro  to get a sword shade, avoiding getting killed, spending time and effort to get it 1000 wins and wait 100 days for it to get to level 2... then you realise you need to be MP6 to level it to lvl 3, another 1000 wins and i-forgot-how-many-days. For what, a creature that isn't even that amazing in combat or other aspects. This can be extended to other aspects of MD that require a stupid amount of effort and the reward is minimal or fades within hours. Availability of game aspects through wishpoints and availability of wishpoints, but also inaccurate or misleading descriptions, inability to reset spent wishpoints and stuff like  "I spent a WP for graveyard access and now I can't get in NC". Ties in with the above, usually a lot of effort to get a WP and the reward is often diminished when you get it and see how it works. Overall? I'm not entirely sure we can fix a lot of these issues. We're constantly losing players: few if any join and veterans slowly leave or drift away, and I think it has to do with at least some of the above issues.

I don't know why, but since some time ago I had the feeling mindpowers should be able go both ways: rise and descend.
In the title I used Aeoshattr's term, who said he sees the current flow of mindpowers mp3->mp4->mp5 as correct.
So I decided to look it up on the forum and found an old topic where Mur talked about plans to make the MPs go down. The topic is from 2011, though
 
I thnk mindpowers' stability can be affected to reverse the 'normal' flow, the question is: what could affect it? Interested in hearing what you think, I also have an idea, but it might be too late for it (or too early lol).

To be honest, I think MD's problem is more fundamental than just 'lack of players'. Currently we cannot even keep players who stuck around for a year, see some of our "rookies", such as Mago who say they lost interest.
We get the odd MP3 now and then, they play for a bit, then leave. I have not seen a new player to 'stay' like some of us veterans to since I returned to the game 2-3 years ago. Not a single one. I suppose you could count Mago and Aethon in here, though Aethon 'retired', I think, and Mago isn't active lately. 
The way I see it, it's a mixture of community issues, management issues and game issues.
Community:
Absolutely enormous difference in power and accessibility between a new player and an old player. It can be extremely discouraging to some. This is hugely aggravated by the fact that the vast majority of current MD players are veterans (and thus on the upper end of the power scale). Toxicity. Let's face it, a lot of us flame (guilty here), use people, insult, etc. If I were a new player, I'd want nothing to do with most of the MD community. Management:
Huge number of things that are started and never finished. Extremely disappointing, you get hyped because stuff is happening, then it dies out. For months or years, or never to be heard of again. Poor management of conflicts and rules, going back on statements, etc. See the issue with Nad and his grabban, which has implications beyond the fact that he annoyed darkraptor and NoOne. Tbh, I think there's a lot of stress on you and Mur, neither of you want to (or are particularly good) at dealing with people and in MD, dealing with people is probably 80% of the job. Interaction.  Game:
The game concept, in the first place, is not something that appeals to many people. We have a small target population. MD is very confusing at first. You lack direction. You lack people to attack and train with. "quirky" things. Sure, some quirk is nice, but for instance, having to get inside Necro  to get a sword shade, avoiding getting killed, spending time and effort to get it 1000 wins and wait 100 days for it to get to level 2... then you realise you need to be MP6 to level it to lvl 3, another 1000 wins and i-forgot-how-many-days. For what, a creature that isn't even that amazing in combat or other aspects. This can be extended to other aspects of MD that require a stupid amount of effort and the reward is minimal or fades within hours. Availability of game aspects through wishpoints and availability of wishpoints, but also inaccurate or misleading descriptions, inability to reset spent wishpoints and stuff like  "I spent a WP for graveyard access and now I can't get in NC". Ties in with the above, usually a lot of effort to get a WP and the reward is often diminished when you get it and see how it works. Overall? I'm not entirely sure we can fix a lot of these issues. We're constantly losing players: few if any join and veterans slowly leave or drift away, and I think it has to do with at least some of the above issues.

To be honest, I think MD's problem is more fundamental than just 'lack of players'. Currently we cannot even keep players who stuck around for a year, see some of our "rookies", such as Mago who say they lost interest.
We get the odd MP3 now and then, they play for a bit, then leave. I have not seen a new player to 'stay' like some of us veterans to since I returned to the game 2-3 years ago. Not a single one. I suppose you could count Mago and Aethon in here, though Aethon 'retired', I think, and Mago isn't active lately. 
The way I see it, it's a mixture of community issues, management issues and game issues.
Community:
Absolutely enormous difference in power and accessibility between a new player and an old player. It can be extremely discouraging to some. This is hugely aggravated by the fact that the vast majority of current MD players are veterans (and thus on the upper end of the power scale). Toxicity. Let's face it, a lot of us flame (guilty here), use people, insult, etc. If I were a new player, I'd want nothing to do with most of the MD community. Management:
Huge number of things that are started and never finished. Extremely disappointing, you get hyped because stuff is happening, then it dies out. For months or years, or never to be heard of again. Poor management of conflicts and rules, going back on statements, etc. See the issue with Nad and his grabban, which has implications beyond the fact that he annoyed darkraptor and NoOne. Tbh, I think there's a lot of stress on you and Mur, neither of you want to (or are particularly good) at dealing with people and in MD, dealing with people is probably 80% of the job. Interaction.  Game:
The game concept, in the first place, is not something that appeals to many people. We have a small target population. MD is very confusing at first. You lack direction. You lack people to attack and train with. "quirky" things. Sure, some quirk is nice, but for instance, having to get inside Necro  to get a sword shade, avoiding getting killed, spending time and effort to get it 1000 wins and wait 100 days for it to get to level 2... then you realise you need to be MP6 to level it to lvl 3, another 1000 wins and i-forgot-how-many-days. For what, a creature that isn't even that amazing in combat or other aspects. This can be extended to other aspects of MD that require a stupid amount of effort and the reward is minimal or fades within hours. Availability of game aspects through wishpoints and availability of wishpoints, but also inaccurate or misleading descriptions, inability to reset spent wishpoints and stuff like  "I spent a WP for graveyard access and now I can't get in NC". Ties in with the above, usually a lot of effort to get a WP and the reward is often diminished when you get it and see how it works. Overall? I'm not entirely sure we can fix a lot of these issues. We're constantly losing players: few if any join and veterans slowly leave or drift away, and I think it has to do with at least some of the above issues.

No. There should not be a recaller for kill/revive tools. I haven't seen the need to one. When such tools are lent, there are agreements done for the return/usage/others. If the agreement is broken by either party, the "victim" can always report/sue/etc.
As for getting items from "inactive" players, that's a big "No no". Some items were custom made for that player. Some paid a lot to get the items. Why would you strip them from what is rightfully theirs?

I'm not sure what settings can and cannot be changed on devices that are on display in shops, but another idea would be to set the wallpaper of the device to something... magicduel-y. Something that also contains the website address. This would be more visible than the browser homepage.
Just tossing in ideas.

In a way, I like the concept. I wouldn't automate it too much,because that might restrict the tasks that can be given and I think there is much more of a "wow" factor to realising an old/powerful player can actually make stuff happen in-game, rather than viewing the progression through MD as purely mechanical.
Maybe a role would be best for this, with a few tools? Or a function, like LHO, that old players can apply for.
I think @Assira the Black was running a similar thing, with heat stones as rewards, among other things.

I drew a thing, again. I may decide to properly scan it and convert it to a MD avatar, if the artwork is deemed good enough or if there is interest.
http://storenow.net/download/343cad40a858488b77ab51fda279b5b0/flappy.jpg
 

I drew a thing, again. I may decide to properly scan it and convert it to a MD avatar, if the artwork is deemed good enough or if there is interest.
http://storenow.net/download/343cad40a858488b77ab51fda279b5b0/flappy.jpg
 

I drew a thing, again. I may decide to properly scan it and convert it to a MD avatar, if the artwork is deemed good enough or if there is interest.
http://storenow.net/download/343cad40a858488b77ab51fda279b5b0/flappy.jpg
 

I drew a thing, again. I may decide to properly scan it and convert it to a MD avatar, if the artwork is deemed good enough or if there is interest.
http://storenow.net/download/343cad40a858488b77ab51fda279b5b0/flappy.jpg
 

Not that extreme but... 

I was actually thinking about opening a topic about stuff that was started and not finished, at least recently. I hope it's related and that I'm not getting it wrong, so here's a short list:
Creatures: Aqua Creature Molima bugs (level 3, I think does not have any functional aspect) Horseman / Sword Shade issues (which I've e-mailed)  - will add more after I actually wake up properly -

MP6.

See, I wouldn't give a flying flabberflap if you weren't depleting yourself. That is the issue.
The argument about whether depletion is abuse or not is, in my opinion, beyond this topic. The real problem here is that you grabban Darkraptor while you yourself deplete. Why not grabban yourself? You're breaking your own rule based on simply the citizenship of the offender or a personal preference, which is fundamentally against what this role is meant to be. 
That is the problem. Not to mention the fact that MB has a single water tool that can be used by outsiders, and you still grabban its use. You have a monopoly and a single tool that you're preventing the use of. That sounds like tool abuse to me.

And yet... nadrolski himself depletes. That seems to be lacking some objectivity. I do realise the above screenshot is in Loreroot, yet it is not as if nadrolski doesn't deplete water in Marind Bell too.
For clarity: my issue is not with depletion itself (while I do dislike it), it's with the apparent double standard which is in my opinion unacceptable for such positions. It could be argued for or against, but I would honestly like to see nad say something on the topic.

I was actually thinking about opening a topic about stuff that was started and not finished, at least recently. I hope it's related and that I'm not getting it wrong, so here's a short list:
Creatures: Aqua Creature Molima bugs (level 3, I think does not have any functional aspect) Horseman / Sword Shade issues (which I've e-mailed)  - will add more after I actually wake up properly -

Next iteration: Friday, 12th of August.
Theme: Legacy.
Topics for activities (suggestions, don't take them as being compulsory): 
teaching research MD history I'll be hosting my own little activity around 21:00 ST. Meeting place to be announced via mood panel.

I might even be okay with rules that favor citizens over non-citizens, but they should be well defined and posted publicly. Other lands could respond by banding together to deplete resources in lands that do this, passing harvesting restrictions of their own, or even placing trade embargoes against foreign citizens.
Methinks kings these days really need ought read more Machiavelli or something.

if i'm not wrong then the point was to restrict tool hoarding and not prevention of depletion, thus there should be mentioned:
guardian of tools is not guardian of resources (i think i had a conversation with miq about that)
if it is considered the same then i request a name change to make things clear for anyone.
ALSO:
each land can have its own rules, BUT they have to be equal for all players, so if a MB player depletes and nad ignores it but then bans someone else for doing the exact same thing then i would consider it favouritism and thats sort of an abuse of power for the own or in that specific case for his land OR if our dear friend nad depletes himself with multiple buckets on him then he should grabban himself
 
that said, WATER is pretty much THE ONLY resource that can be REFILLED EASILY so seriously stop crying about its depletion
 
-Mag

For me it's simpler: nadrolski has banned darkraptor for "depleting" the water in MB. Let's say that the first time it was legit although I haven't seen ANY rules about depletion from any king/queen in MB hence nadrolski applied his own laws to it (laws which apply only for others and not for him when he depletes other lands).
Second ban was plain and simple abuse. It was nadrolski flexing his muscles because Mur made no rules for the tools and because he could. For this I would punish him especially since he's doing the same (deplete) to other lands.  If for Burns doesn't count, it does for me. Remember when he used to yell in the mood panel something like "practice what you preach"? This shows that he's a hypocrite, unfit for the role he has because he cannot be objective.
 
For the record: this is what nadrolski has on him at the moment:

 
 
 
 

Wizard's Atoll or
Wizard's Refuge
 
Ooooh....
The Forge!

Status: hibernating
hibernating
Observing game, no important changes in progress. during this stage please do not contact me for anything. This is usually happening when advertising is running very intensive.
 
Other Marind Bell citizens have taken shared items and darkraptor is the only one getting banned after taking a bucket. Since the reason given for the ban was "for depleting water inside Marind Bell" I would assume nadrolski might not ban darkraptor if he was to only take a bucket but not deplete within MB. If that is the case then the issue here seems to be if nadrolski should use his tool to prevent non-MB citizens from depleting water from MB sources.
Given that land leaders can specify how to perform the tool guardian role and that depletion is a natural effect of tool usage, it wouldn't be too far fetched to assume that a guardian might ban a player for depleting. But this line from the announcement seems to point against making a monopoly for your land: "They should guard the tools from abuse, not from people they personally dislike or from non citizens." It would seem like depletion should be countered no matter who is committing the act, and any actions should be unbiased.
Although for this situation specifically water from MB is a special case, since it gets refilled by rain, and this removes some of the argument for why darkraptor needs to be banned at all since it can hardly be counted as depleting. All in all I feel as if darkraptor should not be being banned, though I can see some of the reasons why he was.

See, I wouldn't give a flying flabberflap if you weren't depleting yourself. That is the issue.
The argument about whether depletion is abuse or not is, in my opinion, beyond this topic. The real problem here is that you grabban Darkraptor while you yourself deplete. Why not grabban yourself? You're breaking your own rule based on simply the citizenship of the offender or a personal preference, which is fundamentally against what this role is meant to be. 
That is the problem. Not to mention the fact that MB has a single water tool that can be used by outsiders, and you still grabban its use. You have a monopoly and a single tool that you're preventing the use of. That sounds like tool abuse to me.