I found a vanilla style SMP that uses Simple Voice Chat so people actually talk while they play.
It has a steady group on most days with around 5 to 10 players online. It is meant to feel close and not like a server full of random people who vanish fast.
The world has a 2000 by 2000 border to keep everyone near each other and it expands over time. The End stays locked until April 11 so progression feels fair.
The rules are simple and they are enforced. No griefing no stealing and no random killing. It is community driven so spawn builds interaction and real progression matter.
It is whitelist only and they are picky about who gets in. It runs on Java 1.21.1 and it is not cracked.
