I will certainly agree and I am also for a less "toxic" community, a community as a whole, because it has to also include "them", the staff, the "game and company guys" and not only "us", the players.
I also sympathise with Helium, I really do. I will agree that he probably has been the "middle man", as you describe him, and even now he probably gets his orders still, from the "upper management".
However...
We all know this "upper management" is just dreadful, it has always been, since day one. What good and promising they had in their hands with this little game, they managed, or even that was the plan (?), to destroy, by making all the wrong decisions, also heavily lying, misleading, and plainly betraying their playerbase. They betrayed, repeatedly, everyone, from the most casual "free" player, to the most "hardcore" ultra-spending mallwh*re. And, very sadly, to this very day, little has changed.
I will accept, that Helium (because his is the guy now) had and has the "best intentions". But you know... the road to Hell is full with "best intentions". And I am sorry to say... The last couple of years, or even months, absolutely HORRIBLE game decisions have ruined it even more. We all know the many problems the game had, for years, and were never truly addressed.
So, what would be logical? To hold on a sec, and perhaps try to look into those problems first. Try to start somewhere, with the existing material, before adding tons and tons more. Now they have created a maze, a vicious circle, and I am sorry but Helium has been part of this. If not the sole responsible, but certainly part of it.
This isn't any "hate" or "toxic" or crap. It is just a fact, and accepting the truth and what has been done.
I posted again before, and shall write it here again. Instead of working on a dozen new awesome projects (even if this could be real), there are very real, very present and very pressing maters, that need attention now. No, actually they needed attention yesterday, or months ago. But, OK, even NOW.
So, you think that anyone with a half functioning brain and who actually has a clue (I am sorry, but some players just don't have a clue, because they haven't been there YET - no offense) will agree hands down (assuming they are being honest and not just sporting the current "god mode" or FTOM class) that the class / skills situation and "balance" is completely ridiculous.
The gear situation is ridiculous. The dungeon and "raid" (trololol) situation is well... trololol. Battlegrounds are ridiculous. Is there anything I forgot to mention? Apart from all the other every day "small things".
So, please tell me how someone in their right mind would come to Requiem TODAY and spend hours, spend precious time, spend precious funds, and mental energy, and for.. what? To show off "e-peen"? To whom? The few dozen players, at very best, that might be probably still around?
So, again, I will agree with all you say. But then again. This game is in DIRE need of DRASTIC action. It needs a RESTART, a real one. If anyone or Helium truly believe that they can fix little bits by bits this one huge mess, I am very sorry, but you are living on la-la-land or fooling yourselves. I rather use these words than just say you are plainly lying and playing along the old story of "milking the cows" (fat or thin) for as long it is viable.
Requiem in its current state is DEAD, amen. What is needed is "Requiem 2". Even if it isn't really a "new Requiem". Even if it is some kind of "roll back" to some point when it was (semi) acceptable and had a (semi) healthy population, because obviously at that point a lot more people found it attractive to play.
Get it to that point, set that point as zero point. But before you do that have a plan, a good plan, of what to do next. Little by little. Start FIXING crap. Then maybe, just maybe, there will be some results, and people will start to believe again, and people will start coming back, and people will start having a good time again, without feeling being TOTALLY fooled, betrayed and "skinned" and will maybe invest their time and effort again.
It is the only way, you know it, we all know it, Helium knows it. Everything else is "philosophy" and fairy tales.