Quote Originally Posted by maartena View Post
That all said: I know this was a thing with the 2015 server consolidation, but I cannot remember whether that would be permanent or not..... They had to re-code the transfer system when they changed database software, and I bet ya anything this feature was just not included. Maybe it turned out to be too consuming to re-program.....
Then how do you explain the phenomenon of the existing character appearing in the Friends list with my character's level, class, location, and last login date?

No, I think there is clearly a bug.