Code has nothing to do with their removal, the ‘old code excuse’ is a myth. Make BPO’s / BPC’s defunct / production 0, and they will die out naturally. Put NPC buy orders up for them and they will die out even quicker. Dont know how many of you were around for when they got rid of SBU’s, but thats exactly how they did it
They are here as CCP has either decided to keep them, despite what they said when citadels came out, or they are being lazy… take your pick
they were supposed to be removed once citadels took over, but they kept them for some reason, useless to even have unless you’re producing street drugs now though
Citadels are a VASTLY less secure than Towers for small corps or individuals who can’t afford to man guns 24x7. The larger Towers also hit much harder, requiring a LOT more offensive planning to take one down. They still make a good alternative super-cap safe harbor in NPC null-sec where you can’t dock at stations and perhaps can’t afford to put up a large citadel.
They look cool.
They don’t hurt the game by leaving them alone.
CCP loves something they don’t have to work on, because they are down to 2 developers and 10% support staff.