I like this game with a passion and would love to see it succeed and continue for many years to come. I will tell you one thing though, guys - as a former subscriber of that other MMO from the company whose name also starts with a B... one of the reasons why I think they managed to keep me hooked and subscribed for years was that they always seemed to push the bounds of gameplay and their creativity, perhaps especially in quest design. Not necessarily in big dramatic ways all the time, but they seemed to always find some unique or interesting way to keep it fresh.
I get that you guys thought "story" was going to be the thing that your game brought to this field. You may have been wrong on this account, but I don't really care either way, as we all agree the story in this game is strong, and the other absolutely essential thing - combat - is also fine. Still, what I'm referring to is more elusive and difficult to describe... it has to do with quest design and combat mechanics, but if I could explain it in one way it would be thus: to always be willing to push the limits and create something truly original. Again, it does not be one big dramatic utterly-game changing (pun intended) thing, but if a few of these creep up into the game, the game will really start to stand out from its competition - especially with F2P coming.
Perhaps you guys discuss these things in your internal meetings and you already know all this, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it. Also, I didn't read this whole thread, sorry.
To give some small, not-altogether original examples, other new MMOs have incorporated "true action combat," "active dodge" abilities, and on select missions you are transformed into a creature or disguised as an enemy. I'm not saying TOR should let us dodge all over the place immediately, and none of these things make or break their respective games IMO — but these are examples of what I mean about "thinking outside the holocube"...
Congratulations on a great job so far, guys. Looking forward to next year's content.