I just wanna say one thing, and off-topic, really... some replies missed something i mentioned as a preface to everything i said:
"maybe that is the intention to reduce #s, nothing wrong with that, either. this isn't a "how-to" or "you should" this is simply discussing real motivations and working up from there, instead of a top-down inductive approach which leads to all sorts of fallacious reasoning being manufactured."
ignore the "reduce #'s" portion.. that's not necessary, but it was copy/pasted. intention of the owner is their prerogative 100%.
the sole goal is not assumed to be population, but without some consistent level of pop. most won't leave their server open for long. end-users learn and change behavior because of that trend, too.
there are exceptions to that... i see some with 0 that have been running for years. i believe at least one of those a particular server owner also has 2-3+, and leaves the 0-one running for the occasional player. (which is exceptionally generous and comitted beyond any normal/reasonable standard)
what a nice guy, eh? and anyone else that doesn't take population personally and leaves their creation up as long as they do (any length) :p
i have fun dinking around on my local one (rarely, nothing playable if you need to fix encounters out-of-the-box install - no idea? lol), but i can see that being "enough" to keep one open on its own for someone more competent than i.
heh i may change my own conclusion.. a server owner's enjoyment is the strongest correlation to length a server will run :p
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