"It can co-exist peacefully with any number of other maps!"
webDiplomacy is a site for Classic and a few of the best variants. If you want any number of other maps, vDiplomacy's just round the corner - we'd be happy to have you!
"the fact that it is played on the entire world map drew me into diplomacy and made me stick around."
KW901 is fairly close to a full world map - it's missing Australia and the Americas, but in doing this it retains one of the massively important parts of Diplomacy, which is having the Sea surround one major continent. Almost every map with multiple continents (including WIX and WWIV) have big sea stalemate problems. 901 also has a transform rule, which is a great way of allowing you to change unit composition - something that is also a big problem on almost all large variants.
But if you do want to play World Maps - there are plenty on vDip! WWIV games are much more incredible to play in than WIX games, because of the number of players and the fact it's much better balanced, but if you're not looking for large player numbers, there are a fair number of smaller player World variants too, plus of course there will still be WIX.
"Why kill it? It isn't harming anyone being there. Dumb."
Adding in a new variant of similar size and player count splits the playerbase who want to play on large variants, making it harder to get games started. Thus, it's better to remove one when adding a new one, and it's better for webDiplomacy to have the better balanced and better designed variant.
But of course, it's not dead! You can always play it on vDip.
"Is this same discussion being taken for the American Empire map? Because that is the one map I refuse to play due to balancing issues."
I'd also suggest replacing FotAE, but if this is the response to removing the most unbalanced variant on the site, I imagine members would be even angrier about that happening.
"They all live in a shed together. They interact with people far too much."
Can confirm. Wasn't a fun time.
"World isn't horribly unbalanced, and I see no reason why it should be removed."
It's far less balanced and has much worse design that KW901, as mentioned above.
"Phase it out, get rid of it. It's a horrid variant. But if you for some reason still want to play it, you can always come over to vDip."
+1 Kaner
"There's been a live world game arranged before. "
I should point out that that game took a week to fill and half the players went into CD in the first year.