Guys, thanks for your replies.
I am a F2P player by conviction, which means that I will never (as a matter of principle) pay a subscription, but it does not mean that I do not want to support the developers of the games I play. Except for SC, I have not and will not pay more than EUR 35 for a game - either as pay-to-play or reasonable micro transactions.
A viable F2P option is like Planetside 2, where you have subscribers and you have F2P players that can do the exact same things, but since subscribers earn certs 3-4 times faster than a F2P player, the F2P player has to focus on playing, say, an infiltrator and a medic, instead of maxing out all types. And, the F2P player will not have enough certs to focus on more than a couple of types of vehicles/planes.
A non-viable F2P option is like Mortal Online, which is an unlimited very restricted trial. A F2P player has to be something of a masochist to play a game with full looting but only being able to reach 2/3 of the damage output and hitpoints of a subscriber. Like bringing a letter opener to a gun fight.
As I said, I tried the first Alpha experience and that was very close to Mortal Online-style F2P.
I do not expect anything to be handed to me, and, needless to say, I will spend the necessary time to find the strengths and weaknesses within the limitations of a F2P account. But, as a “professional” F2Per, I am very much aware of what I bring to the table, so if the game company does not offer me something in return (viable F2P) then I go elsewhere. There are plenty of gigs in town, so I can find other games where I can progress and accomplish goals without being a defenseless punching bag.
The reason why I brought up the question to begin with is, that I am intrigued with EVE, but given our mutual history, CCP now needs to show me that they are committed to offering viable F2P before I commit to spending my time and my money on them.
@Do Little
There are many types of F2P players. At one extreme you have what I call the Gimme Nomads, who will never pay a cent for anything and they will stay as long as they can get free stuff. When free stuff starts to dry out or the going gets tough, then the Gimme Nomads get going. At the other extreme you have Religious F2Pers, like me; the max amount the individuals are willing to pay may be higher or lower than my EUR 35 limit, but none of us feel that any game is worth a subscription (a principle, not necessarily a question of being able to afford it or not).
The only thing CCP demonstrated with the first Alpha experience was that they expected F2Pers to be sheeple with no ambitions for anything else than living on hand-outs. Religious F2P players did not start an Alpha account or left within the first few weeks, while the Gimme Nomads hung around for a few months more. It failed miserably. That is why they have now made extensive modifications to the Alpha experience.
This time around, CCP would like to appeal to F2P players who both contribute to the game economy and to the real economy of CCP even though it will not be as subscribers. Time will tell if they have found the right recipe this time.
I hope they have.