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The only reason SE is offering alternate and new means of gaining exp is due to other MMOs, not because they want more people at end-game. SE sees people leaving FFXI for games like WoW where earning exp doesn't mean sitting in a town seeking for 3 hours, get to a camp with a party and then disband after an hour. Of course SE doesn't want to make things too easy, so as you see we get exp options here and there, but they are still tightly limited in use in how long they are effective and how much you can earn. Most people I've spoken to who have left for other games agree that its still not enough to entice them back.
On the other hand, I've also seen several people returning after playing wow for a while cause they got bored of it.
Speaking for myself, I bought Guildwars a few weeks ago and I love it but I still think FFXI is the 'better' game when it comes to interacting with other people (not that I do interact alot, I'm kind of a loner).
As far as for FFXI shutting down I do agree with most people here, it will not happen very soon.