Anything works for me except the bottom option. Personally, this is a beautiful idea and if people are interested, I'd be so excited to see everyone again. Also, I'm voting for the late October option for a few reasons.
1. We should have a lot of new features by then that will attract people.
2. Halloween event!
3. My birthday, so I expect praise. (just kidding)
But seriously, this is a fantastic idea and I know we are all growing up and we have responsibilities like school, work, our lives, etc. But if you have a free moment, even starting now, please just pop in. There are a ton of you that are active on forums that haven't been on in a while. Just pop in and say hi, even if it's just a few minutes. Trust me, people will be excited to see you. Our community is regrowing. Our player count is rising. When I hopped back on in May, the average was around 4-5. In the recent weeks, it's been closer to 13-15.
Basically, it's starting. You don't need to have an extreme faith.
Just come in and say hi.