This is just my opinion, but from my experience with servers of my own and what not this is what I think you guys should do. Only put the most popular maps in the rotation. Maps that people generally already have so downloading is not a problem. Today I spend a few hours trying to play the server. I would finish download 1 map then soon as I joined the game not even 2 mins later the map would change...I personally say stick to some more common maps and over the weeks/months add a few maps here and there. This server will never get populated if you can't even join it.
Also people love a great forest map. If you do find one make sure its a good one. Some of them lag and are garbage. There are a few that are big and all it is forest with cliffs a river and swamp stuff.
You guys could also throw in some cool skins (not the lame ass fpsbanana ones either. Search for em. There are cool camo skins and what not that are very sexy. Even a Monkey skin...thats right you get to run around as a monkey!) I can help find good skins and links if you guys are interested in that.
Just food for thought.

Most server mods have an option in the cfg that if the server population is under a certain number, normally 5 players, that it will go to a specific map or 2... I usually have this set to dust2, then when it fills up the normal voting kicks back in.

Also some mods will allow you to have 2 maplists, one for the mapcycle if the map just changes from one to another due to no vote or empty, and one for all the maps you want available on votes. if you set the empty/no vote one to just a few popular ones, it will just go between those til a vote sends it elsewhere.

i agree with metal i would love to have monkey skins, it would be AWESOME!!!!!

idk about monkey skins. and the download should be fixed if the server opperator does it.

but yea

server population is directly affected by the maps it rotates and the regs that frequent it.

Aye, I've stated a few times that I need someone to come in and do this for meh. I am starting to pick the pieces of my old life back up and put them back together. Which is why you guys don't see me on much anymore. I am usually just too tired to troubleshoot one or two things for the server, and I just want to relax.

Did I really say that? I must have been stressed. I've been working on the servers, and we've got things set up now. Things seem to be going well, as long as certain people don't change the map to a custom map that no one has. *cough*Awptical*cough*