Time to merge the US servers... again. Primetime window getting smaller and smaller.

Move Satele Shan to the West Coast then rename Harbinger
Then rename Star Forge to Ebon Hawk

That way everyone knows what kind of server they are on.

Or they could try reverting the worst of the conquest changes

This. Drop the once per legacy restrictions on conquest and you'll see queue pops more frequently. This happens every time they make a bad change. Queue pops drop because of some poor design choice and the, ern shall we say, less than observant among us proclaim the sky, I mean, population is falling. It's not just the smaller population, it's participation and the lack of incentive.

Now I can't deny we're facing a slow death at some point, but in this case at least, its because of the counterproductive design of one of the game's biggest features.

That's very true, and it's a good point. We're in compete agreement that it's a bad situation that seems to be approaching critical mass faster and faster.

But in such a case, I, personally, would err on the side of not alienating the players who stand to lose something from a merger.

The stronghold issue, for instance. Yes, in the last merger, people kept all their strongholds. But those players are now barred from buying any new strongholds unless they deactivate enough SHs to get under the 10-SH cap. In some cases that means deleting 10 or 20 strongholds they spent money and time on, just to get ONE new one.

So that group of players is shut out of an activity they enjoy that profits the game, since many people buy the unlocks and decos with Cartel Coins. That would happen even more with another merge. If you are on Server A and you have all 8 strongholds, and you have the two basic apartments on Sever B (to give your characters of each faction a place to go to do their banking and cargo hold stuff), you've already reached the cap, and BW isn't going to refund your CC and millions of credits when you are forced to delete something to get a new SH.

Names. Names mean a lot to many players. They may have spent CCs changing their name to something they really love. Those CCs won't be refunded if there's a server merge and they lose that name.

So as much as I am sorry that the GF isn't hopping the way some players want, I don't think I should have to be inconvenienced and lose money to accommodate that, and I don't think it would be a positive thing for the player base.

Think past group-finder pops. Even with the population falling below the post-merger highs, there is still noticeable lag on the more popular planets (like Tatooine) and problems completing pve content because too many people are going for the same resources.

It's not a lack of players that makes the pops slow, it's the lack of any reason to do group content. The rewards are small, the content is old, and in some cases the community is unwelcoming to new players so of course new players won't become regular users of the queue's.

Merging will do nothing for the group finder pops, and will only inconvenience everyone else.

Don't ask for mergers - ask for more content

... and you want them to lease a brick-and-mortar building and then have them pay a moving company to move the server from Virginia to California and then pay people year-round who live in California to physically be able to put their hands on it when it's time to maintain it? ...

This has a lot to do with it. I never use group finder because I can't stand PUGs. Why? Because too many people are rude, want to rush the FP, or que as a tank/healer when they are DPS and then blame everyone else for the cluster that ensues... or all of the above. I can't remember the last time I qued up... if I ever did in this game... because I knew the drill from everyone else I knew who PUGed. Granted, I soured on PUGs long ago in another game - but this community is several times more toxic than that community that I left. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't hear a guildie or see someone in general chat complaining about some aspect of the PUG he/she was just in.

So quite a few people I know have no interest in doing ANYTHING with people they don't know. The community is toxic in many/most places... and not just to newer players... but to veterans who might want to go out and do group content -- and I'm talking about the ones, like me, who don't normally do group (PUG) content... or avoid it like the plague it is, there is absolutely no reason for me to elect to do the equivalent of going and shoving a screwdriver in my eye. I would need to group with folks who could explain and not rush... but that is not what most want to do. Though it IS awesome when you actually run across folks who are cool, welcoming, and want to help new players (including players who might be new to certain content). There is content in this game that I have avoided since launch that I might be willing to try if it was a friendlier, more welcoming, situation. Help people who are like me, as well as new players, learn (and enjoy) the content and you will have more regular group-mates. Call out and hold those who make the community toxic accountable. I'd like a place that those of us who value that game ethic could gather and meet.

This has a lot to do with it. I never use group finder because I can't stand PUGs. Why? Because too many people are rude, want to rush the FP, or que as a tank/healer when they are DPS and then blame everyone else for the cluster that ensues... or all of the above. I can't remember the last time I qued up... if I ever did in this game... because I knew the drill from everyone else I knew who PUGed. Granted, I soured on PUGs long ago in another game - but this community is several times more toxic than that community that I left. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't hear a guildie or see someone in general chat complaining about some aspect of the PUG he/she was just in.

So quite a few people I know have no interest in doing ANYTHING with people they don't know. The community is toxic in many/most places... and not just to newer players... but to veterans who might want to go out and do group content -- and I'm talking about the ones, like me, who don't normally do group (PUG) content... or avoid it like the plague it is, there is absolutely no reason for me to elect to do the equivalent of going and shoving a screwdriver in my eye. I would need to group with folks who could explain and not rush... but that is not what most want to do. Though it IS awesome when you actually run across folks who are cool, welcoming, and want to help new players (including players who might be new to certain content). There is content in this game that I have avoided since launch that I might be willing to try if it was a friendlier, more welcoming, situation. Help people who are like me, as well as new players, learn (and enjoy) the content and you will have more regular group-mates. Call out and hold those who make the community toxic accountable. I'd like a place that those of us who value that game ethic could gather and meet.