Somebody said it
a few posts ago - they don't go joining every single surf server looking for the one with the feature rich timer. If there are 100 surf servers because running a surf server with ads and weapon skins is profitable, most people won't find that feature-rich surf server. If there are only 10 surf servers because the 90 servers that just exist for profit are no longer profitable, now people can see and appreciate that feature rich server, because they're actually getting into it.
People say "just run a server with good features and people will join it", but it completely ignores the fact that there are just too many servers right now for anybody to see the good ones. When you join 10 servers in 30 seconds and they all suck, you start to assume there are no good servers and just settle. The shitty servers that are run by a kid who just wants a quick buck are inundating the scene and drowning out good servers. You can't have a server with good features and suddenly it's magic and none of the forces of the community are playing on you and magically you're in a perfect sitaution. That's not how reality works.