If you've ever tried to run a server or you're currently running one, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. When you first decide to host a server you'll get to the moment you figure that there is a wide choice of admin modifications for Garry's Mod. In this post I'm going to compare the most important ones at the moment. Remember however, that I can only give you advice and in the end you will have to choose the mod that fits your server best.
ULX
Let's start with the best known one. ULX is the oldest and best known admin mod for Garry's Mod. It has been around for a long time now and has created a pretty big fanbase. Let me begin with a fact that is bothering me and maybe you too; Although ULX is used on a lot of servers, it actually lacks a lot of and isn't all that well thought out. Have a look at my comparison:
+ Large fanbase
+ A lot of features
+ Based on succesfull HL1 admin mod
- Ugly user interface as in console with buttons
(See figure 1)
- Not really easy to use
- Annoying MOTD
- Not easy to write plugins for (ULib)
Figure 1
Altough ULX lacks a decent user interface, it does have a lot of features and is supported on a lot of servers. Then again, this wide userbase may actually cause you to not use it to be unique - who knows?
Video -
Thread -
Download
ASSMod
The first popular admin mod to make use of the Derma library! Altough ASSMod is still pretty new in the admin race, it has managed to make itself appear on a lot of servers already. Only problem with ASSMod is that the menus tend to get a little confusing and it doesn't have a lot of servers. People tend to call this a mod for
noobs, but it's perfectly acceptable on listen servers. One other thing I don't like is the idea of spamming the SteamID behind every name in the chat when an action gets executed.
+ Using derma quite well
+ Easy to use
+ Only owner assigning with a console command
- Not many features
- Menus tend to get confusing
(See figure 2)
Figure 2
Thread -
Download
Final thoughts
Surprisingly even though there is such a great need for admin mods - 1000+ servers are online at all times - there is actually a pretty small range of admin mods available. Recently in the Lua forum we had a spike of admin mods, but most were just wannabe stuff. Mentioning my own admin mod I'm currently working on is pretty cheeky, but I will anyway. I present you
NewAdmin 
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Well, I hope you learned something today and are now able to make a good choice of which admin mod to use.[...]