You say "it is difficult for us factions when indies can do it all already, take away their ability to do so", when you should really say "indies can do it all, but we do it better and have more fun - come join us".
I mean really, what the hell happened to faction players?
Things might have changed but I remember IMG was always hugely popular, and they used to go "sure you'll get rich as an indie, but we will make you even richer". Any other faction can do the same if they put an effort into that rather than into complaining about random things.
I think you should find some other way to measure RP and get rid of the activity tracker, it seems to be getting in the way of both roleplay and fun.