All we need is build protection from other players + rework how Wards work, and we can have a pretty stable public server scene. Wards should stop all forms of damage or interactions from other players (and enemies when the player is offline), and a few other things to stop griefing like wards pushing away physics objects such as Logs, Carts, and Boats. All these things could be simply optional in server settings from the host's end, we just need more settings. (inb4 there's a mod for that)

Sounds like a lot of work, I don't care what their solution will be, but I hope to never see a 100% passworded server list when the game releases.