Unfortunately, there are always people on every server that seem to think smack talk is acceptable. It is a shame really that people feel the need to do this, but I guess they are losers in Real Life and this makes them feel better.

With regards to the server merges, I don't think it matters who gets merged with who as long as we get a merge. I've been through the situation where I was in the top alliance on one server and after the merge we were annihilated by bigger alliances from the servers we were merged with. You just have to adapt and regroup. Its not easy, but that's why diplomacy can be a big part of the game. Forget the smack talk, chat to people in a friendly manner and move on.