This might help

[Harthus]

With all the lag recently maybe its time for a little cleanup.  You can wander all over the world and see houses full of items that are owned by people that havnt played in so long. Most very likely will never return to this server. Why not clean some of them up and lower the item count on this server. North of minoc I have a house and all around it there are other houses owned by people ive never heard of and ive told the names to some other older players that dont even know them.

[Harthus]

Just to beat Foray to the negative feedback

These players may return some day and will want their things back.
How do we know they arent alts of some other active members. (yes i know staff can check)
This wont help the lag (just incase he doesnt realize the effect item count has on lag and save times.)

That everything?

[Tiea]

I do not recall if I read anywhere that there is an account deletion time period or not BUT...My opinion would be instead of nuking the houses, staff let the house fall and players rush in to try and claim. Kind of like looting in a disaster except staff are there to observe and watch how funny it is to see players scavenge around to get the goodies. Just my opinion.

[Harthus]

You know I agree with that. Let them decay or make events out of them. The downside to this is though that the point is to get rid of items and if they just go back into circulation the number is barely touched and the economy may suffer. But with that arguement out of the way Id love to hit some of these houses and see what they have hiding inside.

[Garrick]

As of current there is no implemented rules concerning account deletion and house removal.  The reason for this is that these players may still come back.  We have had a good number of old players come back and reclaim their houses and items.  The downside to the proposed idea of letting the houses decay and the items go up for grabs is the chance of high level and donation items going to players who may not have put in the effort or time for these items thus making their value not what it used to be. 

Now this is not to say that a plan won't be implemented at some point, but as of now Admins have chosen to allow the houses to remain as the accounts are still active.

[Harthus]

So the current plan is to just leave them incase somone shows back up no matter the negative impact it has on the sever? How old are some of these accts that people have left houses? months? years?

[Garrick]

You gotta remember the shard itself shut down for a time to move to a different server and start fresh. This shard was brought back again after that.  From the time I initially left to now the world save times have not changed, and the none of the lag issues we have dealt with are due to item counts for statics or mobiles, they are server side and have to deal with tech issues arising from internet connection and computer issues.  The programs that run UO and free shards are made to support tens and hundreds of millions of items and mobiles and not cause lag issues or save times beyond 10 seconds or so.  We have an admin that watches the host computer and keeps it running as best as possible.  The files also need to be backed up, which causes lag and connection issues when done during a heavy load.  If we do not back up these files and the shard goes through a severe crash, or the server dies, we have to start over from outdated saves.  In my opinion it is better to deal with some minor inconveniences in lag and connection from time to time than risk losing everything that has been worked for. 

The houses and items are a minor problem when it comes to world saves, and nearly a non issue when it comes to lag issues.

[Cypress]

*Agrees with Garrick*

[Bronwyn]

I agree with Garrick as well. I have not noticed any game save times more than 6 seconds. Item count is not always the issue. I like go to walk around and see the players houses still there. When I decided to return to Sylvan Heart I was fully prepared to start over and work my way back up.  Thinking everything I had would have been deleted when I quit playing 3 or so years ago.  I was delighted to find out that my account and all it's contents was still here.   To see old players coming back and new players starting just warms my heart.  I know more people will return once the word gets around that Sylvan is up, running and better than ever. So it might be selfish on my part but I for 1 want to thank whoever decided not to delete old accounts.  Also I don't think decaying a house and letting players loot the contents is a good idea.  Things in some of the houses are earned from quest and personal to the person that earned them.  I don't want what I didn't earn.  This is just my 2 cents.  
Loves that Sylvan is still here!  Thanks to all who make it special, players and gms alike!
~Bronwyn/Jazmyn~

[Crimson]

None shall have my shinies but me!! I am one of those who many have spoken about as being a veteran to this shard. Although I haven't logged in for ages now, I have asked our most generous shard keeper to make sure that my home and all of my beloved shinies within to remain intact until the day that I return to enjoy them once again. Our shard keeper has most graciously accepted to protect them for me of which I am most grateful for.

I know there are other veterans out there who would rather their hard work and accomplishments remain a shrine to what they have done on this shard and for this shard than to let it all slip away either to other players or into nothingness even if they had no plans on ever returning. So hopefully I serve as the voice of all the past players that may have long forgotten or maybe just lost their way in the world outside of Sylvan who feel the same way I do about our possessions here in this land.

One day, hopefully soon, I will return to Sylvan. Until then anyone is welcome to visit my home which is located just outside of Luna just where I expect it to be when I do return.