I would like to let you all know that I have taken a look at the Alice server and I have possibly fixed it. The change is related to chunk loading on mod's demand so it may cause adverse affects for quarries, if you notice anything strange please report it on the bottom of this thread so the issues can be addressed. Right now I wanted to just get the server into a working state so that you guys can get back on it playing again. An additional alternate server is in the talks maybe a classic or cut down modded server with increased difficulty may become part of the community soon. Feel free to comment on the above using the thread!
I personally think a 1.7.10 hard-as-nails modpack that makes it very hard to progress would be best. Because Hard to progress --> Less massive bases --> less lag --> longer enjoyment. Why I think that 1.4.7 or 1.2.5 alice wont work properly I already outlined in my post in "Alice Classic".
And then there's GregTech. Hard to progress, hard to build machines, but once you do, you build as many as possible until the server crashes.