Yeah, shouldn't have been brought back, especially when a new one pops up every week as it is. Personally, I think it's been said enough... no multiplayer. Period. Not for this incarnation at least, and it was the same way with Mount&Blade. Anyone who paid for it's alpha/beta would know the same was said, suggested, asked for, etc. for Mount&Blade but thankfully the small team kept their idea on the track they wanted. They made an excellent, singleplayer experience with great modding capabilities. The game still proved to be a huge success for such a small indie team, and it was after Mount&Blade was released that a form of multiplayer was even worked on... it was easy then, because they had the successful financial backing from their original game, as well as it's contents to work from. There was less pressure because their singleplayer game was finished, so they could do that other work... as well as improving upon the singleplayer experience... which was M&B:Warband.
Also, cRPG is the popular 'progressing characters' mod for M&B by the way. It, and it's "campaign" Strategus additions have further increased its multiplayer experience for some players, but that's another game, another topic.
Basically, I think we all need to respect what Alex has stated many times and just accept that this current version will be a successful singleplayer experience. Once, Starfarer is finished, we all can then pester Alex to make Starfarer: Galactic Conflict or whatever you wish to call it and get a multiplayer version. For all we know it might be another 6-12 month wait after Starfarer, but I think it'd be worth it...