Lifespan of a TLP server

Because there are still players playing on these servers, and there are still guilds raiding on these servers and progressing through content. They all signed up to play on a server that will keep progressing to Live. I'm not sure why you think it's your place to tell them otherwise. In fact I'm not sure why you think the population of servers you don't play on and really know nothing about is any of your business.

I think maybe the idea that was suggested here:

https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq...ture-idea-delayed-character-transfers.282921/

Could help.
Allowing players to take a lapsed character (fell too far behind went inactive etc) from an older TLP (or even a live server) to a different later-launched TLP might be an interesting system to get former players back to EQ.

And the Truebox > Relaxed Truebox > switched of Truebox of Yelinak & VAniki should be how all TLP are in the future as it will help with retention right around the time a typical TLP starts losing players to the following year's TLP.

(I would love to see it added to the existing TLP but that has been resisted by the devs so far as they do not like changing some key parts of rulesets of TLP post-launch even if they have changed plenty of other key parts).

This should be pointed out:

PUGs die a quick and violent death in PoP due to the flagging system .

All high end raiding and grouping needs a guild tag. some can latch into Pug Raids when ppl flag their boxes, but standing at the zone in of SolRo or Water or whatever LFG isnt fruitful.

PoP was a raid-based expansion, and it kept raiders focused and on track.... but places like CoD and PoN arent enough to keep the PuG dream alive.

And dont bring up BoT, the key nerf just got box crews into BoT to lock down entire wings quicker lol. It didnt help the "62 Ranger 270AA Lfg!" at thee zone in.

I agree, its odd what the devs consider unchangeable and what is considered QoL and can be changed mid server. I feel like the recent examples of them listening to the community is a hopeful direction in the eventual relaxation of truebox on legacy TLP, even if its later than OoW and TBS.

However this is only for specific expansions.

PoP has it's own little flagging Nightmare.
In GoD KoD and Yxtta access only requires completing Tipt group instance. However Qvic require a number of raid prog flags.
After this point raid and group flagging for access are largely separated, and the group flagging generally isn't that complex until you get around SoF or SoD.

All the flagging is just bottlenecks designed to slow down the original launches of each expansion.

If they decide to do something like this it needs to be announced at the launch of that TLP, doing this on current TLPs would upset those already playing there and being as you cannot transfer a char to a server on an expansion behind where you currently are it wouldn't help if they only did some of them.

While there are the recylers who switch to a new TLP everytime one is launched, there are those who want to see all expansions and only switch to the next TLP every 3 - 5 years depending on the speed of unlocks. Would those players bother with a TLP they knew from the start wouldn't be around for the later expansions?

HoT IMHO is the best expansion with revamped zones, RoF and CotF are also good expansions I'd hate to find I'm on a TLP which stops prior to those expansions.