But it's not like lore/gameplay are mutually exclusive unless the coders are the ones supposed to be writing the lore. Looks like the FR team has a couple of site coders and it's not going to be changing any time soon.

I don't want to read a fantasy novel, I want to read something relevant to the website I am on, and I think a lot of players feel that way. I think the storyline is a relatively cheap and simple way to generate engagement in the site. I think it is also a little frustrating to see something promised for several years and none of it being implemented no matter how small.