This is my first time playing on a non-local server. My 5th or so day in.
I have anxiety in real life so I enjoy Wurm for it's relaxation properties. Everyone on Awakening has been welcoming ^_^, so that fills my primary looking for. The server feels open, id est -- it's mainly about being respectful of others, less about what you can't do.
Though this is my first public server, I have to say that it's quite refreshing to see people put in so much effort into their art. The kingdoms/towns have detail to them. Like someone wrote above there is a merchant system. Took a bit to figure how it worked but it adds something missing on my local server.
There's a great deal more to say, like today there was an auction that someone volunteered to run. It was held on a neutral island so people from all 4 kingdoms joined. It was rather fun reading other's remarks : ).