Lots of things going on in this thread.. so this post will probably be long.
First off, GMs. Only really active one I've seen is 0806. Occasionally logging in, although appreciated, doesn't cut it. Time to hire more.
since I don't actually have the necessary commands, I can't do it without the help of a high GM, so that makes timing a bit difficult.
GMs that actually have the necessary commands. Just modify the internal levels or create a new type of gm that has only event commands. You don't need @item to give an event, prizes can be spawned beforehand and given to the GM to give out. Hell, if they can't trade, just have them make a prize novice for the stuff. That way higher GMs don't need to be on, and events can be when they want to do them.
Active staff has so many benefits.. but I'm not going to spend time on that now. The problem is it's hard to find good help. I completely understand this, I sat as the only GM on my past servers half the time because I was the only competent GM. Those we did get in I trained until they went MIA.
I'd recommend something like this:
http://www.animusro.com/forums/index.php/topic,110107.0.html Makes it impossible for corruption to be an issue. Only possible corruption is the GMs rigging events, but that's easy to tell. I would really, really consider this.
Next, main chat. Main chat can make it or break it. I've seen it used for many good things and it has so much potential, but man it can get ugly fast. The problem is when people start having whole conversations on it rather than taking it to PMs. Nothing wrong with short conversations.. but pure spam for an hour...
Then it gives way for drama. At one point I wanted to quit with all the mainchat drama. It was ridiculous.
We need more moderation, but not for the little "im selling X thing" and all those little violations that aren't really hurting anything. We need it for when things get out of hand. We need someone who can mute everyone involved for 10 minutes which forces everyone to cool down. It's amazing how much a 1 minute mute can do.
Harsher punishments? Do you guys really wanna get banned for a "looking for leech, pm me" in main chat? Oh well, if that's what you want, no problem. I thought 24h mutes were quite harsh, since I remember people kept crying about the ridiculously small 2-6h mutes for street vends and chats...
Oh god no. That's just going to make the problem worse. I know things are stressful and everyone is going to complain. That's what running a server is. Just ignore the fools.
Lastly, RO in itself is slowly dying. Not just this server, but everywhere. We do need upgrades, custom events, etc.. but this IS a slow dying game. We need to stick out from all the other servers. If we could find a way to reach out to the new generation of kids and bring them in, get them hooked, and get them to stay, we'd be set.
The server in general needs to be less bitter. Everyone here just seems angry. Maybe we need to start handing out some of those groin enlargement pills, maybe that would help...
Can that happen? I don't know. There should be more punishment for those players who troll new players. It should be harsher than the older players harassing fellow vets.
