i haven't attended many events yet. however, ocleera is always full, sometimes people create a second raid for it so i think that says something.
chat is alright. though i feel like during european daytime, it is less populated than during american evening. so if you are american, you'll find a truly populated server. if you're european, it can get rough. i mostly have trouble selling high amounts of mats on the AH as not a lot of people play during my time