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In many senses I could be considered a newb at D&D

I have personaly created around 4 campains for my freinds who I had to teach every rule. Only one of the players in our community has made a campain... and it sucked.

Correct me If im wrong but these are what i considre the most important to a good campain and dming.

(1) Narrative whit, being able and constantly describing in a way that transports the PCS into a fantasic world. [excuse the cornyness] Making a world of slashing goblins heads off instead of "you do 1 damage, it dies"

(2) The pcs know how the rules and are involved. In most of my campains people will goof around and joke.

(3) And finaly have a good enviroment of light candles, gargoyle fountains, and those electric ball things. In other words i like a good playing enviroment.

Compleatly depends on your group. Refer to my post in your other topics. In the end it's about the fun of it. That's all. Ask your players what they want. Then give it to them, with your own touches added in. Also, don't take what they say word for word. Figure out what they want but AREN'T asking for. Need examples? Ask.

It might not be true for everyone, but I think that the most important thing is player-player interaction. If you manage to get this part good you can do without other fancy stuff.

The essentials for getting this kind of interaction is imo:

1. The players must like to play their characters, and they must find characters that fit into the setting. If somone wants to play a ruthless fighter he wont do good as a whimpy wizard even if you tell him how to play it. Also, If someone have the image of his character as the best fighter in the world, you must either let him be the best fighter, or convince him to make up another character that fits your campaign better.

2. Glue. The characters must have a motivation to stay in the party and must need each other in some way. Again its important that the players want this too, and is not just obeying your command. The glue must be stronger then any conflict that may arise, atlest until the final moments of the saga.

3. Conflicts. The characters must have things to argue about, and disagree about. There must be some type of relations atleast. Different motives, triangle dramas, and different ethics is all good. Remember though, that the conflicts must not be so great that the party breaks up prematurely.

Fun is #1. If people aren't having fun with a game, I see little point in playing it. Obviously you need tension, conflict and high drama, but fun should always prevail.

If your PC's do something stupid, let them. I've had sessions where players do all kinds of dumb things and it turns out to be hilarious. Sometimes disaster befalls, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Remember, as DM it's more about them having fun than it is about you deciding how everything should play out. You need to be flexible. Them doing stupid things on occasion should actually provide you no end of laughs anyway.

I agree, let them have fun. IMO, fun always comes with great RP'ing. If you can create an environment where your players can really 'become' their characters then you have a good environment for D&D.

And yeah, let them do stupid things:

DM: Your staring up at a 60 metre waterfall.

P: I climb it.

DM: You ARE wearing a full pack, and you'll have to carry your donkey.

P: Yep, I carry him. I have 19 stregth.

DM: Your climbing and you see what looks like a very unstable rock formation.

P: Yeah, I grab onto it.

DM: The rock breaks loose and you fall 45 metres.

P: Ouch...

DM: Yeah, 5d20 damage worth of ouch. +10 because you donkey fell on you.

P: Double-ouch

DeathLich, I think you and I have similar ideas as to being a DM.

I agree with 1), 2), and I love point 3). Using props such as a burnt scroll within a cylinder container (basically, print a message...burn the side and place it in) and handing it to the adventurers just simply adds flavor to the game.
Getting a mental image of things is very important for fantasy realism...and back when I used to play, we always had pictures of our characters (two of our players could draw really well, and the others just used a picture off the internet that looked like their character). I've also played with candles in a dark environment (of course, this was suited to the atmosphere), and I like to use different cd tracks to generate different moods. Alas, though, I had to stop using ambiental music altogether as one of the players kept complaining it distracted him.

Hah, I remember my elven necromancer/ranger Digger (when I was a player) used to carry the prop of this cheap marionette of a ghost I bought the other day, and he would cast spells through the marionette...and I'd like move the strings and wave the ghost's arms frantically when casting. Boy, did everyone laugh when Digger cast a spell.