Quote Originally Posted by EvilDMMk3 View Post
Weighing in here, I take a more middle road. You are not the boss but you are, in many ways Primus inter pares. It is not your job to make sure everyone is having fun, its everyone's job to make sure everyone else is having fun. Its not your job to act as referee when two players are at each other's throats, its everyone's job to prevent that state of affairs. BUT, if these functions of the group are not working you are at least the figurehead best places to puzzle out why.
I agree that resolving interpersonal problems is a group responsibility. I forgot to specify that it's your job to make sure the *game* you're running is enjoyable for the group, not to manage the group itself. Which means listening to feedback, modifying rules, and watching what your players engage with vs. what they ignore.

I also consider making sure everyone's characters are able to function in the type of game you're running part of the DMs job. I usually help my group with character optimization- aiming for mid-op, of course. This links back to starting character creation by asking your players what they want their characters to do, rather than what class they want to play. For new DMs this might be impractical, but for the love of RNG let your players switch out abilities that don't work