What features kept players on your long term SMP? Looking for advice before I launch.

[/u/Coloradokid69420]

I'm in the planning stage of creating a long term Java Vanilla+ SMP that I'll be hosting on my own server. I'm not here to advertise anything since the server doesn't exist yet. I want to learn from people who have already run successful servers before I spend time setting everything up.

I've already got the infrastructure side covered. I have a dedicated machine running Pterodactyl and some other stuff. Right now I'm trying to figure out what actually makes players stick around.

Some questions I have:

• What features kept your community active?
• What plugins or datapacks ended up being worth it while still keeping the vanilla feel?
• Were there any features you added that players loved but you didn't expect?
• What mistakes did you make when launching your first server?
• If you were starting over today, what would you do differently?
• Did you whitelist at first or open it to the public immediately? Which worked better?
• What made players leave your server?

My current idea is to keep it as close to vanilla as possible with only quality of life additions. Things I'm considering include Simple Voice Chat, Bluemap, Discord integration, anti grief tools.

I'd appreciate any advice from people who've managed to build an active community, even if it's something you wish someone had told you before you launched.

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