I can agree to all except this, because i know it was perfectly accomodating to casuals once. It was just this "oh, i can play an hour AoC or so" that kept me hooked to the game (amongst other thing, but even with complete pvp messed up, it is still a factor that lets me stick around signing minis or check open world).
Also the skill factor is completely overrated. The basics are easy to learn and you can improve really fast, you just have to play and communicate a few minutes. And before pvp10 was introduced, even as undergeared new player you could have a learning curve, could spot a skipper easily and have fun even while loosing. Fights were more likely exciting to watch and as spectator you could learn. All this has become less and less of a factor.
It might appeal to some now, but for me the idea of a game system promoting the "you have to grind where we say, before you can do this or that" is a bit alien. And as Delred said...if you filter out a lot of people with certain actions and then ask only the remaining "how do you like the feature?", of course you will get a positive feedback.