On Silent Heaven, I’m open about the fact that everything is logged, and only I have access to logs. This is primarily so that I can zip up someone’s logs and send them to the player once their character has finished their time in Silent Heaven. I don’t look at logs unless there’s cause for concern raised by a player and I’ve received permission from that player. It’s been an invaluable resource when dealing with problem players.
When you launch a new game, your playerbase has little to no trust in you. They’ve been burned countless times in the past, so why would they? It’s only through repeated acts of goodwill on a near-daily basis that players can gradually begin to trust. And one wrong step can erode that trust. All you can do is apologize, take the loss, and focus on doing better.
Overall, my recommendation is to build in whatever security features you feel most comfortable with. While full logging can help in some instances, the most important thing is to be responsive to your community. When they first come to you with a problem, they’re taking a huge leap of faith that you’ll respond to their issues in a positive manner. And that’s what matters most. Even the most robust security features are pointless if you’re not out there caring for your players.