I'm going to be honest. Not gonna read all that… I skimmed it, however, and here's a point I'd make. In the example of Crey and Nami....Moloch has clearly stated that only DMs or the player of the character can decide that said character is permanently dead. It is a choice. Now, I'm not promoting just respawning and tracking down the people that killed you, and maybe that could have been handled better. I do not know. I was not there. But the fact remains that nobody has the right to force a player to retire a character aside from the DMs. Even then, I would hope it is not done lightly.
The vibe I'm getting from this thread is honestly not anything against PvP rules. The way I see it, many people feel that the Cult have been given favoritism. I can't speak on that ad....well, I haven't the faintest clue. But perhaps the solution here is simple. My guess...and it is only a guess...is that the guys playing the Cult took the time to find a DM willing to help and explained the situations to them. I'll be the first to admit that finding a DM that has time is -hard.- It's a pain in the ass and it's hard. But usually, they really are willing to help once you get one. This is not favoritism, people. If you do not seek out assistance, you will likely never receive it.
Now, since I've contributed to the derailing of the topic by adressing that, I'll just try to reel it back in. The complaint being issued is that PvP being OOCly adjusted by DMs has adversely affected the server? I don't disagree, that would be disruptive. If you read Moloch's more recent post, one of the adjustments, the response to community outcry is that these interventions are IC to avoid ruining immersion.
If a group of badguys sets up an escape plan with their allies before being captured, they deserve to do it. They at least deserve to try. If a group of goodguys wants to go murder the most recent baddies, maybe before the mob departs, the commoners demand them brought alive for proper trial so they can see for themselves they are dead. This guides the RP and the PvP towards a more reasonable end for everyone without bogging down immersion. And Moloch, if I've interperetted that wrong, please correct me.