Well the problem is that the mod is more than that, added with making it work for a server makes it a real project. And from what I understand it has been decided that it's not very much desired. We may wind up with one at some point perchance. From what I understand the minecraft creator didn't want an aether until the Nether was made better. While I very much want to see the Aether in action in an online setting I would like to see it actually working, and not causing problems.
Everyone saying that Max doesn't like floating objects, well your right in a way and wrong in another. He doesn't, but the Aether is a whole another world! Its not in the main world or anything, and it is just like the main world but floating and the materials are different. Overall I think its pretty cool. I think it would make a nice addition to Shade Crest.
The Aether mod is very fun! I am playing it in single player while the server is down. It would never work for multiplayer though. In a matter of weeks all the islands would be mined away and all the dungeons would be defeated. Also, there are tons of game breaking items, like a lance that lets you break blocks more than twice as far away from you as you usually can, daggers that call down lightning from the sky and the "Hammer of Notch". Very amusing to play in singleplayer though -Wkdclwncar