Why the would I be wanting to play multiplayer with anybody but my friends though? The community is full of undesirables to the point where I would never want to join a public server.
I typically find small, quaint communities with their own minecraft server, like here. The problem is drama seems to generate a lot, or people can't host anymore. Your problem will be half fulfilled when they add that singleplayer thing. Fortunately it seems they aren't focusing on multiplayer alone right now, tripwires are actually pretty useful for mob grinders and the like. As is trading, written books, etc. I plan on using them to push mobs clogged at the top, something I couldn't do with pressure plates due to a water current before.
