OK first of all, it's time to take a step back, take a deep breath, and get some communication clear before anything more is said.
Vince, I think you are confusing the issue more than necessary. One moment you are fighting against the system, and in the next you are repeating what either Elrahc or Daeron say, but in totally different & confusing words. You are also being none too polite anymore (all this talk of us being heavy-handed, arbitrary and unfair?). I don't get where this is coming from at all. You should know that we are not heavy-handed. We have the final say in all things, but the very fact that we have these discussions, listen to other's input, and have repeatedly taken other's advice and made appropriate changes, proves that we're not dictators or unfair. I'm not going to argue the finer points of word definitions, but Elrahc and Daeron have posted several reasons for the 4 in a party system, so it can hardly be called arbitrary. Also, we are having a hard time understanding your posts. They seem to be more about your personal emotional attachment to an idea, rather than looking at the benefits for the server as a whole. Also, in [i]this[/i] thread you argue that our players are mature and will be discriminating the XP system, while in the RPotM thread you were saying that they would be petty and get jealous of other people's achievments. So... It's very important that we all communicate our ideas constructively, and without emotion here. We're talking about an XP system, not the plot of the world. The following is further clarification on the subject:
1) We can't get ahead of ourselves. Some assumptions are being made about things without asking for clarification. Don't assume. If you don't fully understand what is said, say so. Ask for clarification.
2) 4 is the party standard. Period. It's not negotiable. 4 *is* the "sweet spot". It's been the basis for everything D&D for as long as I can remember. The CR rating of creatures itself is based on parties of 4. With a party of 4 you can have a fair distribution of classes, you have an opportunity to use your brain (tactics), and you can actually make a hack-n-slash run something suitable for a role-play world. Add to that that it is easier for our scripter(s) to define a system with this as the foundation, and this is all I need to know that it's the right thing for Alventyr.
3) RP XP will be the same for everyone. It's totally separate from kills, and thus will not be altered by party size.
4) You can't think of party size XP in terms of getting an XP "bonus" either. When you are in a party of 4 you get [b]normal XP[/b]. When you are in a party of less or more, the XP will change.
5) We are definitely encouraging people to party. That is the kind of server we want to run. We do NOT want to encourage soloing, but we DO want to encourage partying. Granted, at first we may not have a ton of people online all the time, but I am willing to bet that when they get into the world, they won't care about what rate of XP they are getting because we are trying to make the world as immersive as we possibly can.
Vince, you should know this better than anyone. You are one of my most active content providers, and your excitement about bringing the world to life and how that will affect the players is what we are all about.
6) We are creating a "back-bone" system to encourage the rules in the server. We respect our player's maturity and their desire to be a part of a role-play server, but at times this breaks down, and we have to have a system in place. Besides, most people I know have played on servers with similar XP systems and thought they were fair, and even necessary.
Daeron is going to follow up with a post that will give you a mathematical example of what we are talking about. Please do not reply to this until you have read Daeron's post.
Miscommunication is the toughest thing to deal with on a forum, but more than that it is important that we don't let issues get out of control. The tone of your recent posts told me that this discussion was verging on the "personal" to you, and that is simply not necessary. Scripting issues can be difficult for artistic people (like you and me) to understand fully, and sometimes we have to bow to the greater wisdoms of those who are building it. As a World Plot DM & Content Provider, you have a right to post your opinion on this matter, but don't get upset if we don't go along. This isn't really your department to argue so strongly.