We all understand that a healthy and active population is a vital component to games like this, and I'm sure SE also understands this. There are enough people playing even on my server (the low population Saronia) to make the world feel alive and allow the social components (grouping, markets, etc.) to exist, so why worry about specific numbers and what might happen in the future? That can make for a very unhappy life--on any front. So for me? I'm going to let SE worry about all that (cos that's their job, yeah?) and continue to enjoy the game now (cos that's my "job").