I do think that one of the problems with this community is that such a high degree of staff oversight is currently required. This results in a lot of potential places where conflict could arise, and it also seems like it is stressful for staff. These are some ideas for reducing both the workload and potential points of conflict.
1. Automate receiving Karma based on playtime. I think that there was a point in time when Armageddon's Karma system made sense. This game was created in 1991. Even into the early 2000s, there were not a lot of good options for playing free MMORPGS. While many Armageddon players were jumping on to roleplay, other players really just wanted to be playing WOW. That is no longer the case. There are a huge number of well-made, free, multiplayer, hack-and-slash RPGs out there. Anyone trying to play Armageddon in the 2020s wants to roleplay. Because of this, I think that more can be expected from players and less oversight is needed.
2. Make players responsible for enforcing roleplay. Karma reductions should be player driven, and this should be an expected part of participating in the community. If someone is using OOC inappropriately, players should submit a complaint to Staff. Then per Staff guidelines, action should be taken. The first time a warning should be given. The second time, Karma should be temporarily be reduced. Very clear standards and guidelines would be needed for this to work (ex: not submitting a complaint because someone killed your character).
3. Make players responsible for accepting new character applications. Urban Dictionary has a system where users must review multiple submissions before making their own submission. Player descriptions and background could be separated. When creating a character, players could be required to review descriptions and backgrounds for grammar, typos, and for being in theme with the game world. It would take a lot of work to implement this, but I think this would take a lot of pressure off staff.