Not to sound unappreciated of the efforts, because I absolutely do respect all the hard work everyone has put in, but the outcome, as I understand how it currently stands, seems unappealing to me. The last thing I ever wanted to see is City in maintenance mode. Doubly so with all data wiped. The returning community will be a shell of what it once was, the game itself a walking corpse that will never see improvement, never grow, never change, for however long they can keep the server(s?) going, which may not be long. While I had no issues paying a subscription back in the day, ditto for buying stuff on the market, I did so knowing I was supporting a team that was constantly growing the game, which everyone thought would be around for many many more years.
I simply have no desire to pay for, or have faith in, a game that has no real future. so I probably wont return if pay to play is on the table, or anything in the market costs anything, which it most certainly will be the case since I know even running a game in maintenance mode isn't free.
YMMV, however, and I do not besmirch anyone who just wants the game back. So do I, but just not at all costs.
To quote Stephen King's Pet Sematary: "Sometimes dead is better."
Never say never though, and call me if ever 'City of Heroes 2' is entering closed beta.