Hmmmm... it's an interesting idea but I think the whole issue is moot as there are simply too many entrenched aspects of this game that would be rendered meaningless... Of course if it was simply an option that one could select at any point once they turn 50, I think everyone would at least try it once... I would anyway.
The end game of CoX is lame anyway you slice it and your suggestion wouldn't necessarily improve it. I fail to see how having "the option" to ship your character to a VIP server is a bad thing but making it mandatory would be stepping on too many toes and most people in the world are too sensitive for such toe stepping (see this entire thread).
The best way to ruin a character is to hit lev 50. Let players move their toons to an exclusive server or let them slum around with friends and go shopping... Neither is as fun as kicking the c-rap out of Frostfire for the billionth time with a new, interesting character.
I've met a lot of players recently that despise the AE missions and really enjoy teaming with people playing actual in-game content... I think the developers just found a way to further divide a player base that's too small to begin with. I really hope they bring things around in a new/creative way in the "Going Rogue" issue.
