I agree with the sentiments about going to a new server. After filling my slots on Union, I started playing on Defiant and in a day of play I sent more petitions for harrassment than I had in a year of playing on Union. Does this mean Defiant is worse?
The likely reason is that when I started playing on Union, I was a newcomer still finding my feet and simply not confident enough to be critical of other people (I would add also that I had not formed an opinion of what was acceptable behaviour). After a while I made friends and joined a couple of supergroups. To an extent, they shield you from the less savoury players and experiences.
Moving to Defiant, I was back to square one again. There were lots of unfamiliar names standing under Atlas globe and almost every team I joined would be composed of strangers. I also had a year of experience under my belt and less tolerance of annoying players.
While my head tells me that both servers are the same in this respect, I can not help feeling that Defiant has more beastly people.
