First - Sorry it took so long to respond to you. Here goes:
"What exactly do you consider a timesink and are those things necessary to cut out for "your" enjoyment or "someone's" enjoyment. "
Levelling and skill practice. Particularly skill practice, as that tends to be a solo activity. I don't want to remove them, just to cut the time needed for those activites to get folks "back in the mix" faster. I want people killing one another, joining cabals, interacting at the inn. I don't want them killing their 400th troll in an hour without speaking to their groupmates other than "legs".
1) Lower the time cost to bring a newbie up to adequate/midbie status.
2) Make alterations to take into account an aging playerbase with different external priorities so as to keep CF functioning as long as possible (read: cut down the timesinks) You are already seeing this somewhat in the experience bonuses based on current playercount.
3) Accept that CF has an expiration date
4) Sell it to Blizzard, and watch as bored people dressed in Panda suits rampage through Hell.
5) ?
"#3 is your best option, but I like the style of your post so I want to hear more about #1 and #2."
Not sure that I agree with your stipulation of #3 being best. I've always thought CF's death will involve the levels being sold to someone else to turn into a video game. Now whether or not that turns out well depends obviousy on who buys it.
For number 2, you are already seeing experience bonuses based on logged in usercount. I'd put in skill learning percentage boosts as well. Perhaps increase the skill learning percentage when grouped, to encourage fighting classes to bring those lowbie mages along for low level ranking and vice versa at higher ranks.
For item 1, that's where QHCF, the carrionfields.net wiki, and yes even FSV come along. You have to get enough information to new players to be able to survive the midbie ranks. If someone powerranks you to 20 and you don't have any gear or area knowledge your char will get eaten alive. If you find a newbie under your wing, take some time to show them a regear set. Where they can find a decent weapon/instrument/set of armor. If you find a ghosted person wandering Galadon, ask what killed them and offer a survival tip or two. Point them to a forum, and warn them to take everything they didn't learn by themselves with a proverbial grain of salt. Item 1 is almost 100% on us, the players. We have to take the newbies and make them competitive so they have fun before they run off, because from that pool of competitive midbies might just come our next elite vet!
/steps off soapbox
-Falstaf