See this is what I hate about factions. Back when I actually played seriously I had quite a few good members for guilds slip through my fingers because they wanted to join one side or another. Gameplay wise, there is no reason for it. It just gets in the way. You should be able to float back and forth with no penalties. Some asshats decided it would be fun to grief during alliance battles and kill themselves using necromancer skills. This is why we can't have nice things.
Competition is fine, but this actively splits the playerbase, and the fastest way to get points has never been, and never will be, playing the pvp. It's stupid. I can farm up to 20,000 points an hour if I 600 smite things. That's easily 30,00 40,000 points on the title per hour I grind.
um i was joking
My guild back when I started the game had 30-so members. I joined Kurzicks, and 20 of those members left. That's why I always blame Kurzicks