I think I have pointed out the clearest hints saying that the game will not remain free to play. And, as Arcueid said, the reason they are not implementing new CONTENT (visible) is that they are working on the CORE (invisible but important part) of the game. The engine that runs it all.
The fact that the new Ryzom Team supports and integrates the open sourcing of the NeL only means that we will benefit from the stability upgrades and bug fixes.
The accounts that have been offered to the public are clearly labeled as FREE TRIAL : which means that players are free to decide that :
1) Either the game is what they are looking for and they are ready to pay for it.
2) The game is not and they are free to leave in search of a game that better fits their taste.
Even if they decide to not pay, their account will still exist in case they change their minds... in case they DON'T find a better game out there, no matter how "Next Gen" the other/newer games pretend to be. (Many of our veterans have been there, done that and came back running.)
Whether you like it or not, trying a new game is not a waste of time. PAYING for a game you don't like, however, IS a waste of BOTH time and money.
And I would like to point out the fact that no MMO is really a finished product... why would they keep releasing new patches, then ? MMOs are in constant evolution, always being tweaked and worked on, unlike Single Player RPGs : otherwise they become stagnant and lose customers. Some companies make you pay for the dowload/CD copy of their client, buy the expension packs AND charge you a monthly fee. Some even dare make you pay for customer service (server switch, name change, etc...) Ryzom only made you pay a subscription to their services. Everything else was free of charge. Not that bad, really.