Just logged back in now that the server is up and I'm back from work. My moth is dead and I've been robbed of every single (low-level and pretty much useless, but difficult to acquire for me as a new player) item I have. One of my boulders was carved into a sign saying "It would appear I've robbed you. My house is to the SE, stop by sometime." Oh, and it would appear the person who has robbed me has lured a bear over to my small corner of the world (bordered by a swamp, a river, and some brush, and there is no quality *anything* nearby, so there's no reason to be here except to annoy me) and is currently fighting it from a boat just off the shore, right next to my fence.
So maybe it's worth traveling to find and join a Bay12 village after all. I was attracted to this game when it was suggested that the world is mostly empty and as long as you're away from the big cities you might go days without seeing another person. I guess that's all different now with the server wipe - everyone must be trying to get in on the beginning of the new world and there's no peace anywhere. I'm wondering if I'd be happier just waiting a few weeks until most of the new players get bored or frustrated and quit, and maybe then I can find some peace.
I can't imagine the mindset of a person who thinks, "Hey, know what would be fun to do instead of going outside or making friends? To spend hours and hours on an imaginary world making my imaginary person strong enough to kill other imaginary people, and then just go around pissing off people who are enjoying the game!" Anyone looking for proof that human nature is malicious and evil need only look at an MMO: when permanent consequences are nonexistent, the default attitude for people to take is to make other people as miserable as possible.