Before I get started…yeah, yeah I’m crying because my way of playing the game is being changed, blah, blah, blah 
Are we done with that bit now?
Yes, actually, I am pissed that my play-style is being curtailed. Ok, so some players dock up and potentially unsub while they are wardecced.
Has anyone bothered to look at the numbers of Goons towards the end of WWB/Casino War when they were camped into Lowsec? The answer, of course, is no. I bet there were a good few hundred players (conservatively) who docked up and didn’t return for a good few months until the dust had settled. Eve and its very nature forces people to dock up after something happens to temporarily ruin their play-style.
The biggest problem with what has happened here is that CCP have heard for years from arguments made by the same people on the forums that players don’t like wardecs. They’re also hearing this from the CSM, which is primarily comprised of nullsec players, with the argument that it drives away new players. Question - how would anyone, let alone NS players who never really see hisec newbies, know what drives away new players unless they’re surveyed? If they had been surveyed why hasn’t this data been presented?
Nullsec players proposed a solution on the forums. The CSM, again primarily NS players, put this to CCP (most likely, not 100% on this but it would make sense for it to be CSM) with the arguments listed. CCP implement the “temporary solution” (quotations because this is CCP we’re talking about) which is, lets face it, shockingly bad. It’s a system with the biggest exploitable loophole possible in it to allow any group to easily avoid a wardec should they want to, even the huge NS groups.
Wait a minute…the biggest benefactor from the change are NS groups? Aren’t these the main targets of wardec corps? And comprise the majority of the CSM? 
You can dress this up as much as you like with statistics etc. but the reason that any research was done by CCP in the first place was because the NS CSM members wanted wardecs gone in order to make life easier for their members. Player numbers overall aren’t changing other than the natural decline in all MMOs. In my experience, most wardec kills are against NS targets not newbies. CCP are either are genuinely concerned that wardecs affect player numbers (see statistics above from Whitehound) or they’re finding an excuse to pander to what is their biggest player base. Also, this is a very CCP solution I’m afraid - if it’s broken, destroy it completely before knowing what you’re actually going to do long term (see jump fatigue and any sort of ship balance).
The current wardec system is flawed and broken. No player should have those ridiculous k:d ratios, but it’s a problem of CCP’s making. Blanket wardec corps didn’t exist at the scale they are now 5 years ago. CCP nerfed specific target hunting into the ground when the watchlist was removed. It’s not impossible now, but incredibly onerous and not viable as a sustainable play-style. The only option for those wanting to preserve a hisec life was to blanket wardec. In a way we’ve become too successful - more juicy kills means more isk which means more accounts which means more effective at getting juicy kills and so on.
Personally I hope CCP are sure of their numbers with this. There are a lot of accounts that form the big wardec corps (mains, scouts, links, dedicated logi) that may well go inactive due to these changes. This has been the linchpin of a lot of peoples game for a long time. I’ve been inactive for some time, but I always come back eventually. This will make me think twice so that’s 4 accounts (that I’m willing to admit to anyway).
Maybe some will turn to other forms of hisec warfare such as ganking, which might then become a big enough problem that CCP destroy that as well. That would mean a hell of a lot of additional accounts ganking in the pipes. Gankers get as much hate as wardeccers after all, maybe more.
Actually, forget that that last bit - goons do it, it’s safe.
