It's not really a matter of hate, it's simple a lack of collective interest and a lack of an established community of players.
Darkest Hour had the advantage of a decent number of hardcore clans who were almost always on and playing, thus ensuring there was always at least one or two populated servers to pick from.
Mare Nostrum never really had that advantage. It's a vicious cycle really, no one plays, so when someone looks at the server browser and sees everything empty they just give up.
You need players to have players. It's a catch 22.