[Throttle]

Well, I have had the opposite experience. The mud where I play, which has what I consider true permadeath (one death = the end, no exceptions or chance of avoidance), the issue you describe where buddies just get together again after a death has never been a noticeable problem. Of course it's not unheard of that a player ends up playing with the same gang as they did with a previous character, but if it's done in a manner that makes it obvious that they did it for OOC reasons, and without the proper in-character approach, the staff will typically take note and reprimend the player for it. Most players, upon losing a character, choose to play a completely different character in another area specifically to avoid ending up with the same associates, in the same plotlines, or in the same clan. There's a gigantic difference between permadeath and no permadeath, I find your statement to be in complete conflict with what I've experienced through years of mudding. I'll venture to claim that permadeath is usually the biggest differentiating factor between any two given muds; no other single property will set two games more apart than whether or not death means the loss of your character.