I think it's more of a declining playerbase. I also enjoy nearly all the articles but I read them for the enjoyment of reading and don't usually want to discuss them
Im not sure if it's reasonable to get materials in that time frame unless you play tons prior. I'm considering construction to save time from woodcutting and converting to planks
There are a few interfaces with different events that cause constant input. Seeing that this had been used in the past for different bug abuse situations it's safe to say it's against the rules.
Unsure if I'm 100% sure but I think scrolls imbued in helmets can only be randomly autocast by your familiar so you don't have to. Otherwise you can manually cast the special with scrolls in your inventory.