Well, I'd say to each his/her own. There were plenty of people actually COMPLAINING that the server got busier and honestly? If someone wants to play on a ghost server - or small town server as they'd prefer to put it -, more power to them. I don't mind having such servers for those who do.

Personally, I quite like Balmung even during EU times. The activity is like Cerberus (An EU Server) during peak times and that's a level I feel quite comfortable with. What seals the deal for me, though, really is the market board - Prices on smaller servers are outrageous. I've scouted them with alts and... lol. Things are often 2-3 times as expensive as on Balmung. Monopolies and Oligopolies galore. I couldn't even afford my alt and glamour heavy playstyle on those servers without becoming an active crafter myself. That's just a no.