New to Salem, Couple of Questions

[satorikn]

Hello!
I am new to Salem. I am very excited to play this game but i want to invest my (free) time in the best possible way since RL is taking quite a bit of it.
I Got a couple of questions:
1- I'm a little turned down but population numbers. Salem is struggling to keep 90 clients (spread over all 3 servers), while HnH has a steady 250-350+ clients most times. I am aware of bots (from what i've read, have very little experience from HnH) but i don't want to invest time on a dying game. Is there tendencies for this to improve? Is the community growing or shrinking?
2- I tried Salem First, after reading a lot, found out that people preferred HnH because of features and content, also some people even liked the isometric view better, however i'm with the new stuff, i'm no expert but i can foresee that if Salem gets continued development should get further than HnH, but i have no idea on the current development status of it. So, why should i chose Salem instead of HnH?
3- Which server should i pick? Im thinking Roanoke because it has the highest population, is there a reason to choose another one? (I know a little about the Tribe and the other factions controlling territories)
4- Is there any interested group of people wanting to take a newbie for instruction? if so, PM me!

Thanks for all your input!

[Potjeh]

1) Salem has a lot less features and there hasn't been updates in a while, since the devs are working on overhauling some of the core system. Thus the game has been struggling to retain players, but the trend may reverse when the overhaul is complete (or it may not, there's no telling until we see just how they change the game).
2) Both games should see continued development. There's aesthetic and fluff differences, and it's too early to talk about mechanical differences since Salem is rather incomplete. You should choose whichever appeals more to you.
3) Your reasoning for choosing Roanoke seems pretty sound to me.
4) Check the Planters & Pilgrims forum.

Moved from City upon a Hill to Help.