To all you asking for server merges: READ THIS

[Tenshi]

At this stage, I hope that SE is going to be single-minded about getting to 2.0 while doing everything possible to make the current player base happy in the meantime and make the transition to 2.0 easy on them. People like options so I hope that players on affected servers will be given a few choices over where they end up.

The original OP made some good points about potential problems, but ultimately, stranding people on dead servers for the next year is not really a valid option. Addressing that is going to cause some chaos socially but that's a necessary evil at this point, and as long as people end up somewhere that makes them happy (with more opportunities for groups, more LSs, a more vibrant economy, etc.), I think most people will adapt.