SWTOR going FTP
More than likely you've already herd this by now, but in case you haven't... SWTOR is going Free-to-Play later on this year.
I've played a lot of FtP MMO's in the past and I can say that sometimes the restrictions are pretty annoying. City of Heroes won't let you join a guild or send whispers or friend people unless they are already friend-ed to you, Age of Conan severely limits your bank and pack space as well as funds available to you, just to site some examples. So if your thinking about dropping down to the FtP model, I suggest really assessing what you want outta SWTOR and what sort of restrictions are involved.
As much as I enjoy SWTOR, I think I will stay on the paid plan. I’m already paid for until Decemeber, and if I need to add more, I’ll spend the money for a time card. It’s worked for me so far. ^_^
But yes, you are right. They will cut a lot of the things that you enjoy if you go to free to play. If they don’t do it right though, they are going to have a lot more people leaving, I fear.