Problems and solutions, or the lack thereof. . . .
Since everyone seems to be throwing their opinions out, might I join?
No matter what setting the CRT is put in, none of these problems will go away.
First, the appearance of whatever character type and concept the players want to create will remain the same (approximately). They will never dwindle. Period. There's nothing that can be done except to ignore them if you don't like them. I understand that that would be the adult thing to do, but I'm sorry. That's how I see it. Should they attempt to roleplay (such as they might try) with you, just be polite and respectful in requesting that they find someone else. It's as easy as that. Be polite, be respectful, and request, don't demand. We're all adults; I think we can all manage that.
Second, those characters that do not strictly adhere to the setting the CRT is in will never disappear, either. People want the freedom to play what they wish. And, since we are discussing a chat site, unless they violate the COC they should be able to. (And, as far as I can tell, as far as WotC is concerned, they
are.) It's one of the things that actually keeps them coming back.
Freedom.
Lastly, I don't think we should be disturbing the WizOs about "setting violations" or trying to get them to strictly enforce a setting. Why? Because if the WizOs actually harped on people for setting violations, it would "chase them away". (Which, by the way, is why the WizOs are bound to, as Fen said, "give the same warnings to players over and over again".) If WotC wants the WizOs to be careful about "chasing people away" when dealing with issues of COC violation, why would it allow/encourage/whatever the WizOs to be strict about
setting deviations (read: violations). Seriously, though. Why? They wouldn't.
There is an exception to the second issue. All characters not of the setting world have a distinct
lack of freedom. No matter what setting the CRT is set in, all characters that are not from that setting have to get there. Here are your options:
1. Accidentally stumble on a portal. In this case, you have no choice but to settle in the campaign setting while you search for another portal, hoping it'll get you home rather than take you somewhere else. That's assuming that you want to take that risk. . . .
2. Travel there willingly. In this case, you have to have both a means (substantial magic ability or an artifact) and the knowledge of a place you have never seen or actually heard of previously. Unless, of course, you accidentally traveled there before and made it back in one piece. Usually, unless things work in reverse in a gaming world, somewhere, this option requires a character with vast experience as well. This gives a valid reason for all of the "uber-characters" that keep showing up, not that they usually care that they have a valid reason to make such characters.
Anyway, those who create a character not of (currently) Oerth must create the character with the means to come and go as they please if they want to play a character that isn't a prisoner of Oerth. It's all about freedom. I know I wouldn't be so keen to play in the CRT if I thought that the only two storylines available to my off-world character was the search for a way home or learning to live in my new prison-home. Unless your character never had family or friends, these would be the only two logical storylines you could play with such a character. Unless you have a character that is powerful enough to be free.
So, you see, there is no fix as long as the CRT is in a particular setting where other-worlders can only visit accidentally or through great power.
And, again, about the silly notion of having the WizOs enforce a particular setting, why don't we try to get our priorities straight? Before we ask of them to concern themselves about something that we are (or should be) all adult enough that we can just ignore it if we don't like it, how about we try to get them to be more strict about COC violations so they won't have to "give the same warnings to players over and over again"? Just a thought.
By the way, to address the issue of Sigil (Planescape) being an ideal setting, it still doesn't solve these problems. While Sigil is already designed to encompass all D&D worlds, it would actually limit the freedom of characters even more greatly than any other setting. Should you have a character not born in Sigil (from what I understand of the setting), you will have an even harder time using powerful magic to travel between Sigil and home. From my limited exposure to Planescape, one only leaves through a doorway (portal) and those are not permanent nor stable. (A doorway may be in the same place as when your character arrived, but it might now lead to another location.) So, you see, either there would be a decrease in patrons to the CRT (ultimately resulting in the CRT's demise) or the setting deviations continue, only now they are even more severe, just by the nature of the new setting.
As always, I mean no offense with what I write. I just think that a good, blunt opinion is needed once in a while. And I'm always willing to offer one.
Eddie