[Mr. Man]

Back in the day when I ran multiple TF2 servers I never accepted cash donations; only item donations. And I made a lot of cool features free for everyone to use (taunts, !tp, !resize, !color, etc.), think there were like at least 40 or 50+ features for just a regular guest. The server was filled to the brim with players all the time.

They want gratification. With TF2/CSGO now built around item hoarding in PUGs then this is the top in their list of things to look for in a server. Sad, but true. That's one of the reasons I dropped the game and hosting them.

I've taken the mantra of making everything free for everyone to just enjoy and have fun in the game to L4D2 and now have 2 servers that are almost always full after only having kicked off 2 weeks ago in going live. Take it to heart - hosting isn't a job; it should be treated as a side hobby. The cash/donation incentive is just a perk.