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I'd suggest a different mindset. Rather than trying to create realistic features while avoiding making them inconvenient, try thinking up fun and interesting features and then try to design them in a realistic way.
Decide the benefits you want of such a system - what good points is it going to offer? What does it add to the game?
Then think up the bad points that such a system might have - what aspects of it would detract from the gameplay?
For example, perhaps the main advantage you seek from the permadeath system is the ability for PCs to permanently remove each other from the plots and stories - so the king can't just respawn after being assassinated, for example. You might then decide that the disadvantage of the typical permandeath system is that the player loses all the work they've put into the game.
Can you remove the character from the storyline without discarding all of the player's work? Yes - you could allow the player to carry over their efforts to a new character.
Of course some people consider the loss of work to be an advantage, adding to the danger factor. It really depends on your personal goals and objectives.
What's the advantage of global channels? They help foster a social atmosphere, are useful for players who get stuck or lost, allow people to ask for help and suggestions, etc.
What's the disadvantage? It's not realistic for the characters to be able to communicate in such a way?
Can you have global channels without giving the characters an unrealistic means of communication? Yes - you could tie the channels into the theme (mobile phones, telepathy stones, etc), or base them on account name rather than character name, etc.
The main advantage of having only one path of character progression is that it takes less time to implement and is much easier to balance - that means more time to spend developing other parts of the mud.
Of course the disadvantage is that players are forced to perform a specific action. The wizard can't become more powerful by studying ancient books, the healer can't improve his arts through complex medical procedures, and the thief can't master his methods through covert operations - they are instead all required to chop up monsters.
One of the more common methods used by RP muds to get around this problem is skill-based advancement, whereby skills improve through use. Your sword skill improves from using a sword, your medical skill from healing people, your steal skill from sneaking around, and so on.
Note: The off-topic posts have been moved to the Tavern.
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