As a long time ex-player of wurm, the rules are harsh on new and free players. This is because it takes absolutely no effort to make a new account and you haven't paid for anything yet. There are actually people who make and re-make characters with the sole purpose to troll the GMs and hurl abuse their way, so you really don't get much of leeway. Don't run around feeling entitled and "above" the GMs, especially not as a free player. You're not entitled to anything.
As mentioned, your character will also be deleted if you spend a lot of time inactive. This happens because it is a free account.
The joy in wurm is starting out with a few friends and trying to make do with limited resources, eventually getting to the point where you can genuinely influence the land around you and make a proper settlement. I remember the early days of me playing, and it was great fun. Yeah, there's a lot of grinding involved if you want to be competative with everyone else on the server, but there's nothing forcing you to. You can experience the best of wurm on the free server if you want, as long as you have a good amount of friends helping out.
The downside of wurm is once you get past that stage of initially setting up with friends. Then what? All you can do after that is either force yourself to be competative with the highest skilled people on the server (which you will not succeed in) or immerse yourself in the forums and politics of the game. Which is a much worse iteration of your name.
I quit after having played and grinded for about 3 years straight. I achieved a lot of really awesome things, in my book, but eventually there really was no point to playing anymore. The time I had pooled into wurm in order to get to the point I was had been much better spen t elsewhere, so I've stayed far away ever since.