Several concerns about neutrals have been raised, but not all of them are specific to neutral players. Even requiring everyone to tag up could lead to some of the exact same problems.
So, concerns about neutrals are:
1) Heal soaking
2) Target assisting
3) Observer reporting on the enemy from the midst of the enemy
The first point could be solved by limiting heal AoE to "friendly targets associated with your current state". That is, if you are tagged, heals would only bounce to other players who are tagged as friendly. If you are not tagged, heal AoE would bounce only to others who are not tagged.
I would further expand this to close another loop-hole: if you are attacking an enemy player with AoE attacks, those attacks only bounce to other players tagged as enemies, not to (neutral) creatures. Let's make the PvP battle about who can PvP better, not who can find the biggest pack of social herbies to stand beside. If you really have a burning need to drag aggro, go find a pack of hostile creatures. The point here is that you are in danger from the hostile creatures; there is no danger to you for standing next to neutral social herbies and waiting for them to be hit by AoE.
The second point could be solved by preventing neutral players from targeting tagged players (in the outpost PvP zone) AND preventing tagged players from /assist'ing neutral and tagged enemy players (anywhere). Why both? Nothing is ever perfect, and just the experience we've had with titles is enough to show that bugs have a way of crawling into the middle of things and refusing to die. Two ways to ensure this can't be abused are better than one. And really, it makes sense to have both checks in place anyway.
The third point can never be solved. One side could always send a new or low-level player alt into the midst of the enemy, tag up friendly to the enemy, and provide intelligence on the enemy. It wouldn't be much harder to get this low-level "spy" into a recognized guild, considering the way some guilds recruit fresh from Silan (or even right on Silan).
There will always be people trying to push the rules to find some way to win, regardless of ethical behaviour. Sometimes, such as the case of yelking packers and aggro-dragging, it becomes accepted. Other times, such as using a dead ally to provide target-assist, the method is prevented. We just have to keep chipping away at them until the day that people decide to stop trying to bend the rules.
So, concerns about neutrals are:
1) Heal soaking
2) Target assisting
3) Observer reporting on the enemy from the midst of the enemy
The first point could be solved by limiting heal AoE to "friendly targets associated with your current state". That is, if you are tagged, heals would only bounce to other players who are tagged as friendly. If you are not tagged, heal AoE would bounce only to others who are not tagged.
I would further expand this to close another loop-hole: if you are attacking an enemy player with AoE attacks, those attacks only bounce to other players tagged as enemies, not to (neutral) creatures. Let's make the PvP battle about who can PvP better, not who can find the biggest pack of social herbies to stand beside. If you really have a burning need to drag aggro, go find a pack of hostile creatures. The point here is that you are in danger from the hostile creatures; there is no danger to you for standing next to neutral social herbies and waiting for them to be hit by AoE.
The second point could be solved by preventing neutral players from targeting tagged players (in the outpost PvP zone) AND preventing tagged players from /assist'ing neutral and tagged enemy players (anywhere). Why both? Nothing is ever perfect, and just the experience we've had with titles is enough to show that bugs have a way of crawling into the middle of things and refusing to die. Two ways to ensure this can't be abused are better than one. And really, it makes sense to have both checks in place anyway.
The third point can never be solved. One side could always send a new or low-level player alt into the midst of the enemy, tag up friendly to the enemy, and provide intelligence on the enemy. It wouldn't be much harder to get this low-level "spy" into a recognized guild, considering the way some guilds recruit fresh from Silan (or even right on Silan).
There will always be people trying to push the rules to find some way to win, regardless of ethical behaviour. Sometimes, such as the case of yelking packers and aggro-dragging, it becomes accepted. Other times, such as using a dead ally to provide target-assist, the method is prevented. We just have to keep chipping away at them until the day that people decide to stop trying to bend the rules.