I disagree, those changes should have been implemented over a year ago, along with many others (like previous content nerf). Suggestions were given by multiple sources from end-game raiding guilds, all of them were ignored for the sake of "blizzlike raiding experience" and, this is my speculation, for the sake of shop.
TBC expansion is very grindy, every player starting is aware of it and is ready to invest time into it as long as the server is relatively new. You expect pugs, instant BG pops, arena pops, etc. Older the server, the less likely it is to attract new players. But when you do attract new players, you better give them some real shortcuts. Why do you think WOTLK is so popular?
For Outland, real problems started once full SWP was released. It was expected that once Kil'Jaeden was dead big chunk of players from end game guilds would straight up quit. Players weren't hiding it, at least in my guild. I knew the moment we kill KJ, I will lose half of the core. Other guilds on Ally side had the same issue. At the end of 2018. Ally lost 2 out of 5 serious end game guilds, losing the rest within 6 months. Players straight up quit, there were very few that stayed. We were desperate for fresh blood, desperate for players geared enough to play the buffed content, players ready to jump into action. And this is where we hit the wall, this is where you can see the core problem of TBC. There were very few catch up mechanics, which weren't even enough in buffed content.
To get the whole picture, you need to understand that SWP and BT were perfectly tuned for a well structured and organized guild. It is probably one of the, if not the best, case of tuning in TBC. And even though it was pleasure to progress, it was a pain to boost new players or even randoms through it. Even if I managed to get 15 guildies to start a BT PUG, 10 randoms were too much load to carry on bosses like Mother or Council. Out of 10 new players that you recruit, 7 quits within a month, only 1 keeps playing for over 3 months. Long run, it was not worth it.
There were no PUG's on Ally side, except occasional Gruul. There were plenty of fresh players, eager to play, but no way to reach gear level for any serious raiding guild unless they unloaded a bunch of cash. How many players would invest 200+ coins into character just to apply for a guild, what do you think?
In my opinion, this was the crucial point where the faith of the server was decided. A decision not to remove buffs or nerf lower content, decision not to touch rates, the decision to stick to "blizzlike experience" is what made the server into what it is today.
Your attempts to "fix" the server are both admirable and amusing. I say amusing because this battle is long lost, my friends. I wish you the best of luck!
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