I’m going to use a disclaimer for my lead-in of my non-sequential thought dump.
I wasn’t here to play in the pre-season/ beta, and I just recently got into the forums (if you note my registered date and post count). So if I’m riding a horse that has already been beaten to death, please realize that I’m bringing a neophyte’s perspective to the topics I’m raising.

Smaller clans: I’m thinking 20~30 might be an ideal number. Arouette has mentioned to me how basically one clan in the beta was untouchable. I know things were changed for the restart, but I think clan size is still too large. The question is how small is too small; that there’s not enough cohesion between members and clans just evaporate away. I have to confess that there are members in SPOON that I have never interacted with and am completely surprised when they distract me.

Some advantages of smaller clans are:

Closer knit clans; you will know everyone in your clan
Players would need to be more active in their clans; clans might be more inclined to get rid of deadwood, because of limited slots and those slots need to be filled with contributors.
It will take even longer before a clan reaches max buff; some might see this as making for more grinding in the jungle, but for max buffed clans, jungle fights are just a tedious process of exchanging turns for req and cig.
Smaller clan size means more clans to compete for towns in the political mod. right now there are more towns than competitive clans, maybe with the situation flipped there will be some real competition for control. And maybe more than one alliance can spring up and make things lively.

My favorite topic: PVP
Make it an opt-in option instead of an opt-out. Make it a conscious decision and action to reap the benefits of PVP. To take it one step further, have a lower delimiter of 15 ranks, but no upper delimiter: if I want to throw myself against Demosthenes, let me; but if I don’t mess with him, don’t let him mess with me.

Gifting: I like the idea of gifting single-use items. And the complete shutdown of equipment gifting; but if its allowed, then make it recipient level dependent and allow ‘sheila’ items to be gifted to players that already have ‘sheila’ items. Otherwise a new grind would be set up. Gift a lvl 3 armor, go to workshop, trade for lvl 3 armor, advance 2 levels, gift lvl 5 armor, go to workshop, trade for lvl 5 armor, rinse, repeat. Or just allow 1 or 2 gifts per DK.

Vending: I like the present system too much, to be able to offer a legitimate nerf to it without knowingly or subconsciously offering a nerfed nerf. I understand and find the arguments for changing the system valid, but that doesn’t mean I won’t go kicking and screaming into that dark night.

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"tis better to be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt"

Entirely agree on the smaller clan idea. I'd been thinking similar, and for the same reasons.
By the way, thank you to everyone who's been saying nice things about my gifting improbable items idea. Reading these has been giving me a nice warm glow, and a spring in my step.

Yes, please. I'm not really a PVP kind of gal, but when the reset happened and I was given the option to turn it off, I decided not to - I figured if someone wanted to attack me in my sleep, I wouldn't really be too bothered. Maybe they'd win, maybe I'd win. Whatever. I finally got fed up and turned it off after waking up every day for something like a week to find Demosthenes had PVPed me, which I of course lost. The system is kind of frustrating; if someone has spent tons of cigs getting themselves more HP and I haven't, there is really no chance I'll win.

Totally feel your pain, Norah. PVP should always have some risk attached to it for the attacker. If they've immunized themselves to consequences through HP build-up, then there needs to be some attendant risk/consequence when THEY are asleep.
Which is why I proposed the idea of -- let's call it 'having a posse,' in which groups of NOT so great characters can track, find, and thrash the mega-PVPers.

Y'all gotta sleep SOMETIME, and when ya do, ain't gonna be no place to hide. Yep (spit.)
Lock and load.

~Crash