and do they have a sense of ownership in EC? nope
Yes.
what do you want XE to do in it's current state?
...
'sense of ownership' ideas in it (which you should elaborate on because i have no clue what do you mean, if the server would have playercount on a daily basis then it's obvious we would ask players before implementing a change if that's what you mean lol)
I've already written at length about this, in this thread. XE ought to have been recreated as: democratic, open, adaptable and values-led. I won't elaborate on how this should have been done, because as I said, I've already written about it.
I just want to note that what I've said isn't intended to be an attack on you and the other managers personally, Krys. I think you're good people, just not good managers.
I just leave this discussion.
My saying that was supposed to be indicative of the clear interest in an open, community-led revival of XE among a decent number of players, in contradiction to your 'niche' analysis, and to point out the lack of community support for the elitist model that the current XE management have chosen to perpetuate.