A player content driven MMO would be very cool, but i'm not sure how much "original" content you'd actually see. I'm not sure how you'd integrate something like that into a persistent world without jacking up the lore etc. Been following some of the discussions on the topic on the official forums and some folks have actually put forth some interesting ideas to break out of the same-old quest design. One suggestions was to use a similar structure as Secret World where you have to actually use your knowledge of the game world/real world to solve certain puzzles - which I thought would be kind of cool in relation to getting to know the lore of Eorzea. Another suggestion was to actually make the quests a more lengthy chain of events that see you using skills of exploration, observation and memory in order to progress. Also, the ability to fail quests permanently. I'm not a fan of having to use a wiki for every obstacle, but if a game actually has me writing things down, I feel more invested in completion.
I guess what it boils down to is that players want to feel invested in the content they're participating in, be it self-created or not. I don't think we've really seen anything in the game thus far that would qualify as engrossing, but again the game is being built specifically to be FF fan service and being a part of that world. I think SE's main goal is to create something that fans of the series will enjoy because of that FF feel, which is basically what the main storyline missions are known for. In regards to player activities and content, I believe they're aiming for the industry standard which is what so many players were complaining about. There was a fundamental lack of functions and options in 1.0 that players expect that of course we were going to see them in 2.0, quests included. Personally, I'm somewhat indifferent to these kinds of quests - they are a means to an end. As long as the gameplay is great, they honestly don't bother me. Sure i'd love them to be more engaging, but that's what the Missions are for. As much as you guys really can't stand this aspect of the game, there's alot of people who love the idea of seeing FFXIV develop into something as accessible and functional as WoW.
P.S.A.
The next batch of alpha invites just went out (I got in), next batch is on Dec 10th.