I am actually a fan of smaller population servers especially since it is now standard (and is included in FF14 2.0) cross-server queuing. Just because your server has a smaller population doesn't make the queue times go through the roof. I've always found servers that are crowded, even over-crowded to be a mess on many levels.
Questing turns into a messy "tag the mob first" kind of thing where you're rushing to get a fresh spawn mob because 10 other people are grinding that spot; Economies are often blown out of proportion and towns are super over-crowded. The only thing I see Gilgamesh has against it (in my book) is that right now based on polls it is basically going to be Full or near full right out of the gate + is bringing a pretty strong "hardcore" group with it that might spark elitism. On the flip side, Balmung might have a smaller than average population, and thus the server might sometimes feel a bit barren in spots... But here's the catch...
It doesn't matter who is going where. In the end we will all end up in a Free Company that matches out needs, and be a part of 1 or many linkshells which meet our needs. So even if 4chan and reddit bring mass trolls with them to gilgamesh just avoid their linkshell
I'm not sure how Linkshells worked in 1.0 or 2.0 (have not joined one yet) but perhaps there could be some kind of master linkshell that RP'ers on Gilgamesh and Balmung could use. In LoTRO my server had a special channel they advertised on the main forums for people to join and communicate. I'd disable general chat and use this channel instead and you end up in this really nice community of say 100-150 people you talk to on a daily basis. It would be nice to see a linkshell like that, all RP'ers can join it and from there you trickle down into your own linkshells and free companies.
Basically... we create our own General Chat.
As for which server to call home.... call them both home. Pros and Cons to both, but each server has one thing in common; People in which you can share stories and adventures with and hopefully make some in-game friendships with.
Questing turns into a messy "tag the mob first" kind of thing where you're rushing to get a fresh spawn mob because 10 other people are grinding that spot; Economies are often blown out of proportion and towns are super over-crowded. The only thing I see Gilgamesh has against it (in my book) is that right now based on polls it is basically going to be Full or near full right out of the gate + is bringing a pretty strong "hardcore" group with it that might spark elitism. On the flip side, Balmung might have a smaller than average population, and thus the server might sometimes feel a bit barren in spots... But here's the catch...
It doesn't matter who is going where. In the end we will all end up in a Free Company that matches out needs, and be a part of 1 or many linkshells which meet our needs. So even if 4chan and reddit bring mass trolls with them to gilgamesh just avoid their linkshell
I'm not sure how Linkshells worked in 1.0 or 2.0 (have not joined one yet) but perhaps there could be some kind of master linkshell that RP'ers on Gilgamesh and Balmung could use. In LoTRO my server had a special channel they advertised on the main forums for people to join and communicate. I'd disable general chat and use this channel instead and you end up in this really nice community of say 100-150 people you talk to on a daily basis. It would be nice to see a linkshell like that, all RP'ers can join it and from there you trickle down into your own linkshells and free companies.
Basically... we create our own General Chat.
As for which server to call home.... call them both home. Pros and Cons to both, but each server has one thing in common; People in which you can share stories and adventures with and hopefully make some in-game friendships with.
 Archer(Lv. 1)