If you don't like my blabbering skip down to the suggestions.

I'd like to address a key component of LIF:MMO and that is warfare between large factions.

Normal LIF progression would follow a couple basic phases:
1.Colonization:the players find a place to build their keep/castle/town and set up basic comodities like farms/coops/shaks and start developing their skills and infrastructure.This phase would be mostly devoid of combat as the players would lack both the skill to make and weild weapons and considering defenses take time to erect it is a safe bet that they would actively avoid combat.An expected duration of such a phase will vary depending on the number of players and dedication but we can presume it would last between 2 to 5 days.(for groups between 4-10 concurent players)
2.Development:At this stage we can presume either palisades or stone walls have been built and the clan can focus on building tier2 buildings(barns,stables,warehouses,houses) as well as specialized production workshops.Predicted time 2-5 days
3.Production and training:With the adequate skills, materials and tools the production phase will take place.Primitive tools will be replaced,weapons will be made,armor created, pretty much anything to do with 3rd and 4th tier skills(forging,armorsmithing,tailoring,alchemy,etc).Combat skills that are not tier1 would also be trained at this point by the people in the group that would have been focusing on labour.
(Disclaimer:I am basing my time predictions on the curent skill progression,resource avalability, and mechanichs that may change in the future.Some guilds may progress faster and others slower)

All of that would not take that long and knowing how hardcore some guilds are i wouldn't be suprised to see people finish all of that in the blink of an eye so players need something else to focus on, to build towards and that is what this post is all about.People will be primarily be focusing on:

-War
-Trade
-Diplomacy
-Expansion

LIF needs to flesh out these components more because after the initial setup people will need things to work towards and the 4 above tend to be the main ones.

Suggestions:
-War and Diplomacy:Have it so that you can have factions wage war and fight outside of JH(JH i find a bit random, maybe have it happen if the world falls too much into chaos and too many wars are started).There are a lot of things that can be integrated here like an entire diplomacy system,with alliances,wars,non agression pacts,vassals,protectorates and much more.
-Trade:Many people play games like LIF just for trading(ex in eve online entire corporations would be dedicated entirely to trading and manufacturing goods)and as such a map wide trading system would be crucial.Have it so that after building a trading post you can link it with other trading posts and create a global market where everyone can buy and sell goods if they are inside the trading market(limit trading posts to 1 per claim and maybe implement a delivery system for the goods that will take longer depending on how far they are from you.PS maybe make the caravans raidable by bandits )
-Expansion:In the late game as the map grows in age and resources grow in scarcity maybe add new lands that are you can travel to by boat?It would make trading and resource transport necessary as well as give a reason for migration and buidling anew without wiping the map.

If LIF:MMO is to stand the test of time it needs to focus on these late game aspects and integrate them.Give the community things to do and reasons to not leave the game.Give them the tools to get invested in the game.