i’ve been in parts of the world where the city was once within a protected wall, but now only small remnants remain, and they’re historic artifacts and tourist attractions.
when i was recently reading Must Test’s posts about his Enyekala/Must Test server, he does not and will not ever erase any of the “history” of the server, so, the wall can simply be left in place as a bit of history, and with no protection, eventually it WILL change, as it does IRL, where villagers reclaim materials to build their own houses, and walls, etc. griefers may have a go at it, and eventually it will resemble some real bonafide ruins.
maybe an admin or some concerned players might want to do a bit of occasional pruning to remove ugly floating blocks for instance, but otherwise let it age and change over time.
some may even build their base beside or just outside of this great wall, or once great wall, as it has been known to happen IRL. people may use part of the wall as a part of their own home, or build directly on it.
a server is a space for people to come together and do the things they love to do in these games, but where there are other real players also in the same world. sometimes you get idiots and griefers, and sometimes u get great builders, but it’s a place where people come to express themselves for others to maybe come across and admire their work, or find friends to collaborate with, etc. in time, this wall may take on a life of its own. or it might not. time will tell.
seeing an abandoned project on the server, just like an old wall which outgrew its initial intention is common throughout our history, and so be it on our virtual world.