I want to open a discussion about all the mistakes an admin of a game has to avoid at all cost.
The one mistake that can single handedly destroy a game is if the admin isn't trustworthy. I've seen this in one game happen and I know some other games that I stopped playing because of that.
Usually it starts out really harmless. Like when friends of the admin behave like total morons but don't get punished for doing so. This can include spamming, trolling and more. If this happens, I usually quit a game, simply because I know that if something like this happens, who knows what else is going on.
Soon the suspicion arises that the admins firends are getting boni(or other preffered services) from the admin (resources, privileges like moderators despite the above mentioned occurances). This will drive players away. I know I don't want to play a game where someone else is getting an unfair advantage simply by knowing who the admin is.
So, all you game-admins out there: Only promote friends if you know they deserve it! Actually: only promote players that deserve it.
It doesn't help if no one knows the connection between you and the admin, yet the player is acting like a complete tool but still is in the favour of the admin.
Another mistake that can cause a game severe harm is if the admin is not available to the players. If players have suggestions or comments, the admin should at least act like he is listening. As an admin one has to present themselves in the community once in a while. Respond to forum posts, answer pms, write news, etc.
If an admin isn't around for his players, why should they keep on playing if they know that when they want to change something, no one would be listening anyways.
those were my 2c, and now discuss! Come on! Try to give the forum a bit of live back!
