Just for the record, the final vote was 26 to 12 in favor of
removing the RP XP penalty (68.4% to 31.6%).
What I have suggested elsewhere to improve the situation would not remove it but tweak it:
The easiest tweak and most in line with Soren's original and expressed goal in implementing the current system is to give increased XP when the *opposite* condition is met. That is, Soren says the system is to increase player segregation between low levels and high levels....
To state it plainly, when the ticker goes off, it already checks the PC's level and then compares it to the average level recorded in the area. It would seem pretty simple, then, if the opposite is true--the PC is of sufficiently high level and has been RPing in an area appropriate to her level--she receives an XP boost.
The advantages of this:
1) It's simple and uses the system already in place. For these reasons, it would not require much time from developers to implement and unlikely to create new problems.
2) If the system in place works as the Team intends and they say is supported by data, then that effect will only be strengthened, not weakened, because the
cause will be strengthened.
3) The cause (incentive), however, will not be based purely on punishing undesired behavior but also on rewarding desired behavior (which should help address its current unpopularity).
4) The effect on game balance will be very minor and largely only compensatory for a negative the current system has created (high levels receive less overall XP for roleplaying than they used to).