Like many people I have several friends who have had to stop playing for one reason or another. Many were planning to come back in a few months. I say "were" because I am pretty sure that when I tell them they will be shipped off to some random server and we probably won't be able to play with each other again they will never come back. Likely, they will tell other people how much they were punished by SquareEnix for daring to take a break from the game. For an MMO with one of the worst reputations on the market this decision is baffling.

I know this post/thread will probably not be read by anyone at SE. But on the off chance that someone is listening it would be nice if they rethink this a bit. At least get a "pay to transfer" option up and running.