Taken from elsewhere because somebody suggested posting it here:
Merge the trapdoor and hearth secret guy into the ladder. Have an interface with 2 + n buttons; The first is "Spawn in the Wilderness". The second is "Spawn at a Hearth Secret". The rest are "Spawn at the village of <villagename>". At the moment, you can click the ladder and never even realize the option to spawn at a village even exists. And I'm guessing most newbies would click the ladder before the trapdoor, after which they're thrust into the wilderness and forget that the trapdoor even existed. I know I did. God knows how many newbies also do. It's probably in the how-to. I'm willing to bet most people don't read the how-to.