Spectre's post has alot of truth to it. I hope the message gets across to development and we see something come of it. Though I'd like to point out a phenomenon i think has contributed to the novelty aspect of the mod fading into the background. Something we are all responsible for.
For a long time players, devs and admins alike have been putting existing mod features and dynamics under a microscope. There's been an obsessive drive to perfectly balance everything down to the last detail. What's odd about this is that it's largely player driven.
Take a look at any mod discussion thread nowadays. They largely consist of replies about how an idea affects a specific article of the mod that holds the interest of the writer. People get insanely aversive when presented with a new idea that could disrupt the precious balance. Hell, take a look at this thread for example, we're already homing in on the omicrons and it's just the first page.
The disruptive potential of new ideas is exaggerated so much that most are shut down immediately by community members picking them apart for flaws.
People see a need for them integrate with existing systems and purposes to be worthwhile and are completely switched off to the possibility that this may not be necessary.
Literally any new idea is going to be a spanner in the works one way or another. Anybody who knows a thing or two about the economy dynamic will know that just about any mod changes will interfere with it somehow. But we either accept the disruptive consequences as worth it, or don't know/care.
It used to be that when a new idea was presented to the community, that people would look for ways to implement them without being being too disruptive. Often driving for them to be implemented anyway despite their flaws. It was a really positive energy.
We need that. It's the devs' job to weigh up the limitations and say what is and is not feasible, filter accordingly and say 'no' outright.