I agree with the OP's point about bad press, and I always have thought this since server merge was first brought up. SE doesn't need to give the press this sort of news. Officially announcing server merge would be very, very bad.

Allowing for server transfer is the only thing needed.

Quote Originally Posted by Kafeen View Post
And what for those that don't move? They end up being on an even sparser populated server, making the problem even worse to a point that the server merger is forced anyway because it doesn't hold a sufficient population.
That would be the choice of those who chose to stay. I chose my server because I wanted to be here. I'll stay here until someone or something forces me to move.