Really, when we said we were willing to be a smaller game to have positive community, and that we would be charging a subscription, there were people who wrote us off simple because of our economic model. Now battling toxicity in gaming is all the rage. I guess our plan is normal now, although I do not actually hear too much talk from other games about accepting to be a smaller game in order to combat toxicity. Instead I hear a lot of talk about improved algorithms, suppressing bad chat and behavior. I have doubts about the effectiveness of this approach.
But really, positive community, suppressing toxicity, live chat moderation, subscription economic model, design for repeatable content, customization of appearance powers and role, enabling alts, support for teaming, reputation systems,...these things are all mutually reinforcing. It isn't just the subscription issue as a stand-alone. Lots of things go along for the ride. these are all elements of a different gaming culture. And you can see it developing right here on these forums.

We have a nice community right now.