I advocate taking it away because I feel it would add more than it would take away, even if it's a minor thing. I've seen what it does on other servers and when you have nothing to go off of but a character's previous in-game exploits, you think of that person based on their actual actions as opposed to "Oh well, he's level four... So maybe I can take him on." as opposed to "Wow, this guy is really dangerous" when in reality he's a level 4 civilian.
Granted, I like what I've seen of the community and I doubt that's a problem but I personally take the stance of less OOC data meddling in role-play, the better even for the most straight-laced person roleplaying out there.
But I made this thread to see the general perception because I doubt I was alone and a discussion might have been worth it.
Vogelens wrote:The player list visible has both advantages and disadvantages when it comes to RP. It is not neccesarily a bad thing, and can even aid RP.
I am curious though how you think it aids in role-play? I think you're considering something I haven't.