[Damilis]

Longer answer: :P

I have done some pretty serious research into MMO development (currently in startup on a project of my own + a few friends) and I can honestly say that what the Devs have done over the past 4+ years is nothing short of amazing. Engineering an MMO is astronomically difficult, but Reverse Engineering an Existing MMO.....nearly impossible! But through perseverance and TONS of hours poured into the project, they were able to make EQEmu. But Sony hasn't been sitting still, every time they release a patch, they change the 'crypto' around. Since EQEmu has to be able to decipher this 'crypto' in order to work, anyone who patches their clients to the new 'crypto' obviously cannot interface with a running EQEmu server.
It takes the devs a pretty hefty investment in time to decode the new crypto and adapt EQEmu. They have been doing this for years now, unpaid, all volunteer work, and frankly, I think they are getting tired of it. All work and no play... can't blame them at all for wanting a break.
Hell, if I had hit that 340 mil powerball then I would hire the devs to make me a crappy solitaire game but pay them $80k a year for it *Wink Wink*
Your question gets asked at least 3 times a week and people who have been here a while get REALLY tired of people posting with out searching and reading first. Think of it as those annoying people who open their mouths before they turn their brain on
Well, I hope that adds some philosophy to the reason why 9.13 is the most recent drop dead date.