To be honest, I think games of PSO's age (or occupying PSO's place in people's consciousness) attract certain kinds of people, and foster certain kinds of cliques and divisions. Even as far back as the Sega PSOBB days, when PSO was already somewhat dated, I saw bits of this — and then saw it again on every private server out there. Why should Ephinea be any different? Having served as a writer/developer for a game whose heyday was about a decade ago, I've watched that kind of madness unfold first-hand. Hell, I'll be the first to say I gleefully took part in it.
I'm not saying that everyone who plays old games is naturally inclined toward nastiness and hostility, but I do think playing a game like this requires a certain kind of mindset that does lend itself well toward that nastiness and hostility. Gossip, cliques, bullying, etc. — it's hardly unique to PSO or Ephinea, but it is more common here than in most places. What to do about it? I'm not really sure. You can't radically alter the culture of a place overnight. Heavy-handed moderation generally just moves the problem elsewhere rather than eliminating it entirely. People have a hard time changing their habits as individuals, though that is generally where positive change starts.
I do have a small suggestion, though: holy shit, you guys, knock it the fuck off. Do you not realize that you are squabbling and being asshats to each other over an action role-playing game released sixteen years ago? So what if you don't like someone? There are people here I don't like, and people who don't like me. I'm not going to be assholes to them, though, and if they're assholes to me I'm not going to worry about it. Why? Life is too damn short for that. You *will* die some day. Seriously. It might even be very soon. And I don't think you're going to be on your deathbed telling yourself, "Gee golly whiz, I wish I had been more of an asshat to that dude on the internet."
I don't always succeed, but I generally try to live by the maxim of the noted late 20th century philosophers Bill & Ted: be excellent to each other. Really, who knows how long each of us has on this god-forsaken rock. That dude you're yelling at might be gone tomorrow. We're all broken people at our core (and if you think otherwise about yourself, you're not looking hard enough), and no one is a better person than anyone else. I am not better than you, and you are not better than me. We're all just people — people playing what is basically an old Dreamcast game. Best to have fun with it, and each other, rather than turn it all into a toxic mess.