I just got back from a two year absence, though it wasn't by choice. Lots of RL crap going on.
It's incredible sometimes how much has changed in only two years, let alone ten. I was just thinking the other day about something I read on the official forums, about AO being originally intended as a heavily story-driven MMPORPG. It even said as much on the back of the box! Remembering people like Portman, Rederon, Ryll...
Yeah, that all went right out the window!
I came back because I got sick of WoW (didn't take long), and although we haven't heard much yet, I'm very optimistic about the Agent side of the upcoming rebalance. Hopefully they don't become a FotM Profession, and retain the complexity that's kept them a minority thus far.
I'm not kidding anybody, least of all myself. The game's in trouble. I'm really hoping the new engine and rebalance livens things up. We need more players, that's for sure.