I think Jeff has it right - the balance is delicate and easily upended. You have to maintain the fear of death to keep the challenge. If everyone knows they can just pop a death's door, there is some loss of the challenge. On the other hand, if people feel like death is inevitable or even likely, you WILL lose players and some of those players may be budding big spenders. JimC is right too, and although the ghost idea is a good one, people disconnect to some degree when their character is dead, and that's not good either. I saw that in 2007, where 3 people died from the medusa and we had to decide which one to resurrect. The other two were cool about it but of course were disappointed. Rightfully so. I think the bottom line is that this balance may never be perfect, and the fear and possibility of death must be maintained, but players should also feel like they have a good chance of survival if they are smart, careful and just a little bit lucky. Maintaining this is easier said than done perhaps. It might also be worth noting that this issue will be accentuated in differences between beginners and experienced people by power creep.
Of all the traits of humanity, there is only one we do not share with other species, which sets us apart and makes us unique <br />-- the ability to imagine.