Server Hosting: the Megathread

[TheBlackParrot]

admin people who regularly come to your server and behave responsibly with what little power they have, even if you don't necessarily like them, because they're the kind of people who just want to play the game and want to make sure that others can play the game without hassle as well

ding ding ding ding
admin apps stink

if you host multiple servers as well, it doesn't hurt to use those same admins.
i use this on my servers to link certain things together, i'll probably add a command to refresh settings later

[Ad Bot]

[Bushido]

also on the whole try to avoid like out-and-out written rules because there is a general code of conduct you can expect people to follow and if they don't, but you're on the server, you can just warn them to knock something off

rules work better on like a community scale where you cant possibly police everyone and you have to have finite guidelines for people to follow but the flaw of rules is that forget ups will refer to them as much as a gospel as actual stand up players, but the difference is that they'll start bitching about their innocence when they start harassing people or breaking while technically within their 'legal rights' and that you, the admin, are in the wrong for not making it literally illegal to harass people or break things and that you cannot punish them

however that said you can feasibly just have a rules display and proceed with cowboy administration, as long as you make it perfectly clear for what reasons youre doling out punishment before and after you take action

[Blue Screen]

this needs to be pinned somewhere

[Tendon]

• Be present on your own server. People feel safer on a server when a host is activly participating in the server; while it can be bad for hosts to play on the server, as long as you don't make bans, mutes, or any punishment for others only beating you, you'll be fine.
  

Yessssssssss.

[log]

also on the whole try to avoid like out-and-out written rules because there is a general code of conduct you can expect people to follow and if they don't, but you're on the server, you can just warn them to knock something off

rules work better on like a community scale where you cant possibly police everyone and you have to have finite guidelines for people to follow but the flaw of rules is that forget ups will refer to them as much as a gospel as actual stand up players, but the difference is that they'll start bitching about their innocence when they start harassing people or breaking while technically within their 'legal rights' and that you, the admin, are in the wrong for not making it literally illegal to harass people or break things and that you cannot punish them

however that said you can feasibly just have a rules display and proceed with cowboy administration, as long as you make it perfectly clear for what reasons youre doling out punishment before and after you take action

changed it to this:

Make sure people know why you banned them. While it is smart sometimes to get trouble makers out of your server as soon as possible, it is a good practice to write bans that will keep you out of drama and that will tell other players on the server what kind of host you are and what you expect of them.

[Gytyyhgfffff]

for rules i generally find it good to have these ones:
rule #1: read the rules
rule #whatever: admins can ban you for whatever reason

basically if someone is acting like a douche and argues "it isn't against the rules" (aka pulling a setro) then you can still ban them legitimately because you can ban them for any reason
rule #1 is there because it is amusing but it is still a good idea to make sure that every single player knows the rules of the server

[The Resonte!]

and rule #2: don't be a jerk

[Kyuande]

Don't use silly add-ons that ruin the game.
Don't abuse add-ons that can ruin the game.
^ These have a difference.


Make sure players are aware of what rules are displayed on the server so they know what to do and what to not do.
^ Don't make stupid rules that people will most likely not follow ("No swearing", "No bullying", etc)

[log]

hey if anyone is looking for that one excuse they need to finally get a server running; pecon is in a tight financial situation and could use the business

If you don't feel like commissioning anything but want to help support me anyways, feel free to give directly to any of the services I provide.
BlockNet - My dedicated server hosting service does not need donations, as you can simply support it by buying a server there.

[MoltenKitten]

I disagree with "you don't need admins for non dedicated servers"

You might have to go afk or a group of trolls may decide to raid you

[jes00]

Great guide. Good job.
Also glad that Bushi's quote is in the OP now :P

[Element]

I disagree with "you don't need admins for non dedicated servers"

You might have to go afk or a group of trolls may decide to raid you

admins are always helpful when they actually do their job, dedicated or not

[jes00]

admins are always helpful when they actually do their job, dedicated or not

"if you're being present" AKA not AFK.

[Element]

"if you're being present" AKA not AFK.

whoops, didnt see that little bit

i still stand by my point, though

[log]

I'm going to be holding a sort-of giveaway of 1-month BlockNet server codes the next few days. I'm doing this to get more gamemode guides to add to the OP.

To enter, you need to make a quick write up of your gamemode using the OP's template:

Freebuild (written by log)
Freebuilds are easy servers to host because they do not require any setup; that being said, they still do require attention because it'll be hard to get players to join your server if you do not do something to make it special (such as downloading add-ons, or setting up a theme or different zones for building), and Freebuilds are also often targeted by malicious players, so you'll need to have moderation.
Add-Ons: Your own choice of weapons, vehicles, scripts, events, ext. from the add-on repositories.

This write-up will be added to the OP regardless of whether or not you win--though if you want me to ever take it down or edit it, just send me a PM.

I will be accepting write-ups all this weekend, but after this weekend I will move all of the write-ups to a poll that will run from Monday to Wednesday--the two highest-voted applicants at midnight on Wednesday will receive BlockNet gift codes via PM.

Anyone who very obviously rigs the poll will be removed from the contest.