Well, in my opinion the problem starts with the "Oh, l2crap had 5000people online, i will buy the same pack and launch a server, and of course, as he did, i will have 5k on".
And i am not referring to clean packs (aCis,l2jserver, etc). I am referring to these "everything is changed" preconfigured packs.
People will choose the easy way to open a server (buy a pack with all features in it), so their minds have nothing to think in order to be innovative. Simple because, when you copy the guy next to you, there is no innovation. Without innovation, you are just another dude who owns a casual server.
The solution: Start with a clean pack, add only the things you want in your server. It might a hard decision. but in the end, (again in my opinion) it will pay you out.