My thoughts:
As most people who still mud, I've played this game for 15-20 years. RISE members have always behaved the way they collectively behave now, as randomers and as bullies. The difference is that they are the best at it now. 15 years ago when I was newish to the game, I used to trash random, and employed all of the scummiest tactics. I understand the appeal. RISE' capabilities are beyond control, and this game is too small and limited to restrict it effectively. As Jorquin said, their goal is to systematically exterminate all who pose a threat. It won't suffice to kill those who have gear they want, but to kill those who have the capability to load the gear they want. There isn't a good solution.
How RISE was abusive:
Constant uptime on many characters. It is quite clear there was immense botting/character sharing going on to achieve what RISE has achieved.
Relocating to and targetting (at least categorizing) all untagged characters. Is this illegal? No. But it's clear to see how defenseless a neutral can be against this. If any gear of value was spotted, you better they were 'highlighted' and marked for death.
Suspicious fooming of the mud. Yes, it is possible to foom the mud there are many bugs. This can be used to reset zones for gear/spells, to reload eq after DT's, or to screw somebody completely over.
Had the tables been turned, would I or those affiliated with me done the same? I can't speak for others, but I had an opportunity to foom the mud (yes the bug's been reported, no it wasn't yet corrected) to cause some damage to RISE, which for all intents and purposes is my enemy. When I saw Kushner's corpse with all his gear I could have looted his 17ish damages. Call me a fool for not, but I don't still play this game to ruin people's experience. Certainly it happens, but not to the extent RISE takes advantage of their opportunities to be abusive and dishonest.
In short, steps needed to be taken and I commend the upper Arctic staff. It's a tricky balance. I don't have the answers, but I have one suggested solution to help prevent the utter decimation of others, and allow for playing the game in at least some minimal way:
Add no_pk flags to most high level zones to allow for some zoning even when the threat of an opposing clan is presently online. One of the biggest problems now, is that if 2 clans fight, they are flagged and cannot escape. If you lose a fight but get away, you are still almost gauranteed to die in the clean-up.