Servers come and go, and players will go to whatever one that they find works best for them. So how do you do that? In this blog ill take the years of experience, and give you real scenarios on how to manage, staff, and run a server in a way that can retain players, or at least give you positive feedback.

If you in hosting a server to make money. Stop.
I should not have to evaluate why this a bad idea, a pay to win environment is not what you want. You should host a server because it is a hobby of yours, not because of money lust. It is disgusting to see full grown adults design a server to suck as much cash out the kids that play on it, as much as possible.

Find the right hardware!
You need a server host. You cannot host a server from your home computer, not is it only dangerous, but your internet is not the hosting grade. Many ISPs may even cap your internet usage if your using all of your upload bandwidth. Also, your computer is not designed to run dedicated. I have used 2 hosts over the years because their service, and services were exceptional. VortexServers I currently my favorite. They gave me a faster machine for no charge, when my tekkit server from them lagged. I also bought a minecraft server from them aswell. If you want to use them ask for "Nick Philips". He will hook you up! EVL Gaming is a pretty good host too, they have a different selection of plans, and are probably best for their dedicated server offers on larger server of 50 or more players.
Whatever host you decide to go with, its always best to secure a non-numerical ip for you server.

Staff is everything
You need the right staff, this may be one of the most important aspects of your server. Your staff is going to run the server. You can't do it. I've tried. You NEED them, they will handle things while your away. It is important to give your staff the tools they need to fight cheating, griefing, and issues within the server. Plugins to help them would include, but are not limited too:

• Worldguard: You can custom edit the blacklist to alert a permissions group (your mod and admins) when ever a player break a certain block. My servers have it configured so the whole team sees if a player breaks a diamond, or emerald.
  
• LogBlock: Even if your server is a griefing hardcore pvp style, you will need this plugin to keep track of mining rates.
  
  
• XrayInformer: Works alongside logblock, and pulls data on ores for each player. Very good because of it's ability to do global checks, and check every player over a defined mine rate, in one command.
  

It is also VERY important to find the right staff. Do not, under any circumstance, post an application for for staff on your server on a community site. It is very easy to lie in text, not with actions. Your staff should be hand selected at all times. In order for staff to be effective, they need to have powerful tools to enforce the rules with. You need to make sure that the player behind those tools won't turn on you for their own personal gain. The best way to find moderators is to play with them in-game. If you don't know anybody to hire to the team right away, you should probably go join a server, and get to know some people. After some time, you can ask them if they want to make a server with you. That is what I did two years ago. I still have almost all of those same original staff members.

Get a website!

Most people overlook this, but it really ties your community together. Look into site hosting services like Enjin to create a site. Don't go cheap an use the free version, get the paid version. Include it in your monthly budget. Site like enjin allow your server to communicate to the site directly. You can have the server send stats to the site for players to see, and you can have automated donations. Your website will also serve as a hub for news and information, and give a place for players to check in when they are web surfing.

Be professional

You and your staff team are running a server, a service, you need to show yourselves as professionals! Follow your own rules to the dot. Do not spawn items for anyone ever, you need to prove that you are honest and true, and enforce your own rules. Don't give that player food because he is starving, instead, tell him how he can get it. If you have server shop, then you can refer him there to buy some. Like they say, if you give a man a fish, he can eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he can eat for life. Being professional also means taking the highroad too. It is very easy to insult players that mean harm to your server. The ones that join and just spew vulgarity are not too uncommon now. Do not insult these players back, or show any sign that you are annoyed with them. Just ask them why they are being so hostile. The patience you show will sometimes throw them off, and they may just leave. Most cases you will be banning these types though. Don't let them play on your server. Be sure your staff team has the patience to be professional as well!

Admitting Players

What good is a server, if nobody plays on it!? Advertising is making your server searchable. Without it, people will only find your server through word of mouth. This method brings in the best players, but you will have an empty server for most of the day. There are 3 popular ways to setup your server for new players. Each has its own strengths, and weaknesses.

The most common way for servers to gain players is to be 100% public. This type of setup allows players to connect to the ip address, and start playing right away. Advantages to this method include allowing anyone to play, increased player traffic, and ease of advertising. You can simply post your server listing, and let players join. However, some disadvantages include; Anyone may join. The players that do join, will mostly likely play for a day and never return. Traffic can spike on server listing updates, this can cause stress on the machine's hardware, and your staff team. Overall, this method is the most commonly used, and probably the worst for finding serious players. You should only use this method on servers where there are little to no rules.

Another way to gain players is to setup a whitelist. This method severely limits traffic to the server, as only players you specifically allow may play. Whitelisting has its benefits though, the players that do join will most likely be dedicated, and serious about following your rules. Having an application form to the whitelist would essentially filter out all the idiots and hackers who cant figure out/are unwilling to go through the process. Drawbacks include low traffic, restricted access, and difficulty to play. You can also be easily overwhelmed by applications if you have no framework built to handle them. For example: during the time our survival server was whitelist, we had players join our Enjin website or apply on an Mcforum post (Ill mention mcforums later). I had Enjin setup to have new registrations on the site, be automatically added to the whitelist on the server. This took a lot of load off of the team.

A newer, and uncommon way is a compromise between whitelist, and public. This method I have personally experienced twice to be the best. Normally referred to as "Greylisting" this enables players to join, but limits what they can do on the server. Some further knowledge of permissions are required for this to work. Here is how a greylist works:

1. Player sees a site listing, and joins the server.
   
2. Player spawns in, and sees that the server is a greylist. Smarter players will apply at this point.
   
3. Other players will notice they can't break anything. They will ask why
   
4. Current players, generally good hearted due to having to register will explain how to join.
   
5. New player will register appropriately to be able to play
   

When new players join, they are put into a permissions group that denies them the ability to break or place blocks. The spawnpoint will have much information regarding why they can't perform those actions. The smarter, serious players will go through the steps to join. Once successful, they will be promoted to the base group where they then have normal privileges. The hackers and dumber players will skip your server, for a one they can easily join. (A public type) The only drawback to this method is that some players are turned away by the extra work of getting in. This method I have personally used twice, with great success. A tekkit server I used to run had a similar method, after a month or so it would normally hit the player cap at around 25-30 players. Luckily I invested in good hardware, and maintained a tick rate of 90% or faster (Yay Vortex servers!) Currently my Survival server uses greylisting. This method is best used on servers where the gameplay is more relaxed. (No griefing or pvp)

In conclusion

The most important thing about running a server is that you enjoy it. If you don't like to manage a server, you need to stop, don't do it just for the [owner] title, and especially not to make money. Remember your staff runs your server while your gone, make sure they can set a good example. Treat people how you would like to be treated. Get a site to tie everything together, and put it on a machine that will run at 100% at your busiest times. Good luck!