I played in a game once that lasted 6-8 months long, if not longer.
After 2 months there were only 2 corps left. It didnt help that we had 5 days truce and planets that got 10mill ore with 11-20 deep bubbles. needless to say, the 2 corps actually fought it out and took turns capturing 1 or 2 planets at a time for about 8 months and finally it ended.
this game SUCKED... I was busy in there everyday because i hate to loose and i hope i never see another one like it (but at least i won )

and so what if the sysop wants to leave it open for that long. theres tons of other servers and games out there... just play the games you like and dont play the ones you dont like...