A question I often see on these forums is "How do I make a server?". People then post a link to spigot and tell them how to install it, give them a good host, etc. What I rarely see answered those threads however is "How do I make a server successful". I am here to answer that question in just a few steps.
1. Ask yourself why you want to make a server.
This is one of the most crucial steps of making your server, even more important than spigot. If you are just out for donation money or power then your server -will- fail. Running a server is a selfless act. You are doing something for the community and more than likely you will rarely see any donations never mind any profit and if you start banning people at will then your community will die before the end of the week. Lets say though you don't want to be a rich dictator, but you just have an idea for a server you think is cool...
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2. Is your idea original?
If I go on the server listing right now I will guarantee you on the first page I will find at least three of the following:
-Minigame Hub Server
-Kit PvP server
-Faction server
Now there is no such thing as a truly original idea. Over one hundred billion people have ever lived, so odds are someone has thought of and attempted your idea before. What you have to do though is add a twist. Maybe a faction server where everyone must be in a penguin skin and fight each other with snowballs? Or if you have the coding skills, or know someone who does, create your own custom plugin. No one will join your generic hub server if they can join a generic hub server with a community already setup.
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3. Specialise.
First time restaurant owners often make a simple mistake: trying to please everyone. They start out with a simple premise, like Italian food. Then they want the business of the Mexican restaurant across the street so they add in tacos, then they decide to maybe add some Greek food because of the whole Greek yogurt buzz going around, then they add in hamburgers and chicken tenders to appeal to the kids and those with bland taste buds. Soon you get a menu six pages long with almost a hundred different foods.
I can tell you the quality of a restaurant within ten seconds of looking at their menu since there is no way the chef knows how to make a large variety of food from all over the world as well as a chef who specalises in Italian can make Italian food or a chef who specialises in french cuisine can cook some pot-au-feu. The chef can either be a jack of all trades or a master of one.
Now, you all are wondering why I am rambling about food and the culinary business. It is because the same thing applies to a server. When I see a hub server with a dozen minigames, and two dozen worlds I am going to treat that server like I would the diner by my place that has food from eight different regions. It is the age old debate about quality vs quanity.
The more stuff you have on the server, the less time I know you have to refine it. If I am a guy looking for a hunger games server, why would I play on your server that has that and a dozen other minigames when I can go on a specalised hunger game server.
The specalised server will have:
-More people on the minigame. If you have 30 people on and you have 10 minigames, that is 3 people per minigame on average. If the specalised server has 10 people on, then that minigame has 7 more people than you.
-More uniqueness. If the server is focusing on one thing, then odds are they put more time into it then the person who divides out his/her time.
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4. Get your buddies to sign up.
This is the next crucial step of running a server, having a community in place for launch day. The worst thing a new player can see when entering your server is no one there. So before you launch your server go talk to some buddies from; school, a server you use to play on, Starbucks, doesn't matter. Just get about seven people who are willing to commit about three-four hours a day minimum on the server for the next month or so until you get your community established. Few people will play on your server if few people are on day in and day out, even less so if your server idea requires a lot of people (roleplay servers, faction servers, minigame hubs, pvp servers... anything but basic vanilla). Ironically, since no one goes on servers with few people on it they never build up a community. This leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy I call the Minecraft paradox: You need players to start a community and you need a community to have players.
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5. Do not give ranks away like candy.
It is important that those seven or so people you recruited in step #3 be the normal rank. If seeing an empty server is the worst thing for a new player, then seeing a server filled solely with admins/mods/builders is the second worst. I get two impressions from a server when I see more ranked players on that normal players:
1. This server sucks so much that the only way the server owner can get people to stay is by bribing them with powers.
2. The server owner has no idea how to setup a chain of command.
When you are just starting out you do not need "head admins" or three mods. You need players. If 90% of your staff is command rank then who are they suppose to be managing, each-other? Below is a list of ranks, what they are used for, and the Player Count Per Each Rank that you should stick by so you do not overcrowd your server with ranks (so if the PCPER is set at 10, then for each 10 unranked players, you can (but don't have to) add in another of the rank)
Co Owner: Only have this rank if he or she is willing to put in the same amount of time, and even money, as you. (PCPER: N/A)
Administrator: Too many people use this as an upgraded moderator rank. It is not. Administrators handle the behind the scenes work: Rules, recruitment, what plugins to use, who should be what rank, what server events should be held. (PCPER: 25)
Head Administrator: Leads your administrators, and is your second in command. Only really needed if you have a giant server and/or no co-owner. More than likely you will end up with just one or two administrators unless you become the next mineplex so you don't need someone else to manage them when you can do so fine on your own.
Moderator: These are your community managers. They keep the peace, run community events like drop parties, and some recruitment. (PCPER: 10)
Head Moderator: Leads your moderators. When you have about five moderators you can pick out a head moderator.
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6. Make sure your staff is qualified.
Mod Akynth went into great detail on this thread already about this subject. I recommend the read.
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7. Have enough money to run the server for three months.
It will take about three months for your community to grow the beard. During that time it is unlikely you will get any donations, so you must be ready to pay for the server out of your own pocket. I would really recommend being able to pay out of your own pocket for the rest of the server's existence, but it is likely that someone will give you at least a dollar during your server's lifespan.
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8. Be EULA compliant
The absolute most important step. If you do not follow the EULA then you cannot advertise your server on these forums (which cuts down your potential player base severely) and you open yourself up to Microsoft's legal arm. It is not worth it. If you are to take anything from this thread, follow the EULA.
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9. Make an interesting thread.
This is advertisement 1101. You need to catch people's attention. Add a banner, some coloured text (nothing too eye straining), some images. Doesn't have to be too fancy, look at the thread for the server I hang out on currently. Your goal is to grab someone's attention long enough for them to read what you are all about and hopefully sign up. Do not make a thread that looks boring (like this one) and expect people to join.
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10. Get the word out there.
Besides making a thread, you need to take the offensive. Go to the Looking For Section of the forums, start replying to threads there (Author note: This section has currently be archived). If you know a Minecraft club at your school or university, invite them. If you have the money, get an advertisement banner or hire a famous youtuber to name drop your server. The possibilites are endless, but if just take a passive approach to recruiting you hamper your possibility of success.
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11. Be active yourself.
Self-evident and explanatory. If the owner doesn't care about the server enough to be on everyday, why should I? As the owner you want to clock the most online time out of all your members.
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Now I can not guarantee you success. You are at a disadvantage as a server owner since there are more servers than there are people who are looking for servers. Unlike what the communists who use to hang out here would tell you, the world runs on supply and demand. Right now, supply is higher than the demand so the players can be as picky as they want to be when it comes to choosing a server. I can say though, if you follow these steps then you will have a fighting chance of becoming successful.
Be sure to post in the thread if you like what I wrote, posting keeps the thread on the first page where others can read it too.
Bonus step(s)
How to implement an age limit
Age limits are controversial to say the least. Adults like them so they can play with people their own age. Kids hate them because it stops them from accessing a handful of servers, and now two sentences in you can already deduce my view on them. Age limits though are only as successful as the server staff's willingness to take time out of their day to implement it. The more time you can put into checking, the less chance someone underage will slip through. Age limits are risk v reward scenario however, you are limiting your potential applicants (risk) which I hope I made clear through out the thread is a very risk proposition. You however are carving out a niche (reward) and can appeal to certain group of people.
To enforce an age limit, I recommend the following:
Skype
I recommend Skype since it is a ubiquitous video chat software that is easy to setup. By mandating Skype interviews to all potential applicants, you lessen the risk of an obviously under aged person slipping through. Skype is also perfect as it works on Smartphone. While most people may not have a webcam, you are hard pressed to find someone without a smart phone.
Post history checks
You will find most people who lie about their age do not keep their story straight. One day they will be 16, the next they will be 18, and so on. Going to their profile and clicking "Posts" on the left side, will allow you to see every post they made. I also recommend running an advance search if they have a lot of posts (like myself) filtering posts to the keyword "age" and limiting the posts to only the person you are vetting. So instead of searching through 309 pages of my posts, you would only have to search through five. Now some kids are smart, or they read this thread, and will edit their posts once they realise what they have done. That is why it is smart to check the thread itself to see if anyone quoted a pre-edit version of their age. It will take a few minutes extra, but that is the cost of enforcing an age limit.
Do not be too strict
The most secure server would be one that has you show: ID, Birth Certificate, and type in a Credit Card. That is also the server that would be most tedious to join. There is a fine balance between secure and annoying, and unsecure and quick. It is best to do an Eyes and Ears check on Skype along with post vetting.
Eyes
Does the person look underage?
What room is the person in?
Kiddy Room, Dorm Room, etc
Ears
Does the person sound underage?
Do you hear other people?
Who are they?
Parents (sign the person may be underage, but not definite), Roommates
From what I've seen servers often fail just because the owner is not around enough. If you're working like 80 hours a week, and aren't going to be able to log in every day, just please don't bother starting a server. Unless you're some famous youtuber or can afford to hire some help, you will have to invest a lot of time in advertising for and maintaining your server. Vanilla servers are just the worst though, because the community just wants to live in a hole and never build or do anything. Then if someone does decide to build a town or kingdom, they all throw a big hissy fit because it's not "vanilla" enough for them. I honestly like playing Vanilla Minecraft, but can't stand it anymore because of the other people that do... They're a bunch of unimaginative vagrants and peasants who won't work to build themselves up but will do their best to tear someone else down out of envy.
From what I've seen servers often fail just because the owner is not around enough. If you're working like 80 hours a week, and aren't going to be able to log in every day, just please don't bother starting a server. Unless you're some famous youtuber or can afford to hire some help, you will have to invest a lot of time in advertising for and maintaining your server. Vanilla servers are just the worst though, because the community just wants to live in a hole and never build or do anything. Then if someone does decide to build a town or kingdom, they all throw a big hissy fit because it's not "vanilla" enough for them. I honestly like playing Vanilla Minecraft, but can't stand it anymore because of the other people that do... They're a bunch of unimaginative vagrants and peasants who won't work to build themselves up but will do their best to tear someone else down out of envy.
I added the owner staying on to the list (though I thought it was self-evident that was a good thing, I might as well add it in because there has to be someone who thinks just renting the server is all they need to do).
I added the owner staying on to the list (though I thought it was self-evident that was a good thing, I might as well add it in because there has to be someone who thinks just renting the server is all they need to do).
Yeah I know a server or two that are dead now for this reason..
Yeah, I definitely agree about being original. There are thousands of hub servers with mini-games, factions, etc. There are thousands of outdated servers with 100+ mods on them. There are thousands of plain vanilla survival servers. So if you make one of those kinds of servers, why should you expect anyone to log in to your server and not another one that is bigger and better with more players? I don't see why people haven't made more original types of servers. I've had quite a few ideas myself. A whole world made out of stained clay, for example. Custom world maps with various kingdoms, towns, dungeons, etc. A space age server where you can colonize different planets. There are just so many possibilities. But nope, we got to play the exact same freaking mods we've been playing for the past two years, or live in a hole in the ground on some vanilla server.
The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything.
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Another suggestion for this list, know your limits. Don't make 5 multiverse worlds and a hundred plugins on 2 gigabytes of RAM. Once you feel that your server is decently big and people are asking for more, consider getting more RAM, be it installing more on your PC, or buying an upgrade from your provider.
Another suggestion for this list, know your limits. Don't make 5 multiverse worlds and a hundred plugins on 2 gigabytes of RAM. Once you feel that your server is decently big and people are asking for more, consider getting more RAM, be it installing more on your PC, or buying an upgrade from your provider.
You can run a server without a premium account, legally too I believe. Only thing is you won't be able to go on the server (violating rule 11) legally.
All good rules to follow, I highly recommend people that start servers read here. I will say that some people want vanilla servers, just don't be expecting yours to take off because plenty of people make em. The rule about being active yourself was especially good.
All good rules to follow, I highly recommend people that start servers read here. I will say that some people want vanilla servers, just don't be expecting yours to take off because plenty of people make em. The rule about being active yourself was especially good.
This thread is fantastic! If I hear someone is going to set up a server, I'll direct them to this.
One point that I must emphasise greatly is the second one about being original. After being eula complient, I recommend you follow this! Why? Because too many servers I see are hub servers with loads of minigames. This means that all their time and resources are spread thinly over these games making them not very memorable. If I've played Spleef on "1337craft" (a name I've made up) why should I bother playing it on "Furypickaxe Network" (again made up)? Chances are it will have the EXACT same plugin.
Come up with a different game, and make your server run that game only. Advertise that server on the forums, and if I see it I will be intrigued by this new game and type in the ip. I'm sure this will attract long, well-established players looking for something new. This will give the server a rich community.
Cannot believe I missed this post, I added in your section for originality.
The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything.
Join Date:
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Posts:
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Member Details
Custom coded plugins. Especially for minigames. Who's going to play your server if you both used the same bukkitdev spleef plugin? Nobody. It's not too hard to find a developer for your server, and if you've got all-original plugins, you're different from all those other hub servers.
Custom coded plugins. Especially for minigames. Who's going to play your server if you both used the same bukkitdev spleef plugin? Nobody. It's not too hard to find a developer for your server, and if you've got all-original plugins, you're different from all those other hub servers.
Added.
I also added in how to conduct age checks on servers, if anyone is interested it is in the spoiler under "Bonus Steps".
A question I often see on these forums is "How do I make a server?". People then post a link to spigot and tell them how to install it, give them a good host, etc. What I rarely see answered those threads however is "How do I make a server successful". I am here to answer that question in just a few steps.
1. Ask yourself why you want to make a server.
This is one of the most crucial steps of making your server, even more important than spigot. If you are just out for donation money or power then your server -will- fail. Running a server is a selfless act. You are doing something for the community and more than likely you will rarely see any donations never mind any profit and if you start banning people at will then your community will die before the end of the week. Lets say though you don't want to be a rich dictator, but you just have an idea for a server you think is cool...
======
2. Is your idea original?
If I go on the server listing right now I will guarantee you on the first page I will find at least three of the following:
-Minigame Hub Server
-Kit PvP server
-Faction server
Now there is no such thing as a truly original idea. Over one hundred billion people have ever lived, so odds are someone has thought of and attempted your idea before. What you have to do though is add a twist. Maybe a faction server where everyone must be in a penguin skin and fight each other with snowballs? Or if you have the coding skills, or know someone who does, create your own custom plugin. No one will join your generic hub server if they can join a generic hub server with a community already setup.
======
3. Specialise.
First time restaurant owners often make a simple mistake: trying to please everyone. They start out with a simple premise, like Italian food. Then they want the business of the Mexican restaurant across the street so they add in tacos, then they decide to maybe add some Greek food because of the whole Greek yogurt buzz going around, then they add in hamburgers and chicken tenders to appeal to the kids and those with bland taste buds. Soon you get a menu six pages long with almost a hundred different foods.
I can tell you the quality of a restaurant within ten seconds of looking at their menu since there is no way the chef knows how to make a large variety of food from all over the world as well as a chef who specalises in Italian can make Italian food or a chef who specialises in french cuisine can cook some pot-au-feu. The chef can either be a jack of all trades or a master of one.
Now, you all are wondering why I am rambling about food and the culinary business. It is because the same thing applies to a server. When I see a hub server with a dozen minigames, and two dozen worlds I am going to treat that server like I would the diner by my place that has food from eight different regions. It is the age old debate about quality vs quanity.
The more stuff you have on the server, the less time I know you have to refine it. If I am a guy looking for a hunger games server, why would I play on your server that has that and a dozen other minigames when I can go on a specalised hunger game server.
The specalised server will have:
-More people on the minigame. If you have 30 people on and you have 10 minigames, that is 3 people per minigame on average. If the specalised server has 10 people on, then that minigame has 7 more people than you.
-More uniqueness. If the server is focusing on one thing, then odds are they put more time into it then the person who divides out his/her time.
======
4. Get your buddies to sign up.
This is the next crucial step of running a server, having a community in place for launch day. The worst thing a new player can see when entering your server is no one there. So before you launch your server go talk to some buddies from; school, a server you use to play on, Starbucks, doesn't matter. Just get about seven people who are willing to commit about three-four hours a day minimum on the server for the next month or so until you get your community established. Few people will play on your server if few people are on day in and day out, even less so if your server idea requires a lot of people (roleplay servers, faction servers, minigame hubs, pvp servers... anything but basic vanilla). Ironically, since no one goes on servers with few people on it they never build up a community. This leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy I call the Minecraft paradox: You need players to start a community and you need a community to have players.
======
5. Do not give ranks away like candy.
It is important that those seven or so people you recruited in step #3 be the normal rank. If seeing an empty server is the worst thing for a new player, then seeing a server filled solely with admins/mods/builders is the second worst. I get two impressions from a server when I see more ranked players on that normal players:
Go to the Looking For Section of the forums, start replying to threads there(Author note: This section has currently be archived). If you know a Minecraft club at your school or university, invite them. If you have the money, get an advertisement banner or hire a famous youtuber to name drop your server. The possibilites are endless, but if just take a passive approach to recruiting you hamper your possibility of success.- C.C.
I can add that to the thread, well not bribing but a section on advertisements would be useful.
Note. This account is deprecated due to past bigotry in posts that cannot be deleted.
Thank you for the support!
I added the owner staying on to the list (though I thought it was self-evident that was a good thing, I might as well add it in because there has to be someone who thinks just renting the server is all they need to do).
Yeah I know a server or two that are dead now for this reason..
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Bᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀsᴇʟғ
That's a given.
Nice to see you guys again.
Nice to see you guys again.
Added
You can run a server without a premium account, legally too I believe. Only thing is you won't be able to go on the server (violating rule 11) legally.
All good rules to follow, I highly recommend people that start servers read here. I will say that some people want vanilla servers, just don't be expecting yours to take off because plenty of people make em. The rule about being active yourself was especially good.
Thank you very much for the review.
Cannot believe I missed this post, I added in your section for originality.
Custom coded plugins. Especially for minigames. Who's going to play your server if you both used the same bukkitdev spleef plugin? Nobody. It's not too hard to find a developer for your server, and if you've got all-original plugins, you're different from all those other hub servers.
Nice to see you guys again.
Added.
I also added in how to conduct age checks on servers, if anyone is interested it is in the spoiler under "Bonus Steps".