I'm about to start a play-by-post SR4 game with a newbie Shadowrun GM, who's solicited help from his players about how to run Shadowrun well. What resources or tips can I give him to help ensure that he hits the ground running?

1) Never pull a Monti. ie.. give way too much in terms of or karma or new toys.

2) Dont kill off the PCs right away. Let them stick around for awhile.

3) Remember you are the GM... you are god.

the run matches the party's skills. You're not going to hire a hobo to fly a space shuttle, and Mr Johnson's not going to hire a group of shadowrunners for a task they aren't prepared to do. it's just a bad idea.

the answer to every problem should not be "shoot it." If it is, the party will end up being one guy with a big gun, 2 guys with fast reflexes, and 3 guys sitting around wondering why they don't get to sneak, talk, or hack their way into things anymore.

Make sure that the characters are all on the same page, in terms of concepts (James bond can work in a team with indiana jones, but not with a street ganger), and power (Hardcore powergamers in the same party as 'casual gamers' requires you the GM - or the players - to step in and boost the casual gamers).

If one guy creates 'James Bond' the next guy creates the anti-hero from Condemned I, and the third guy creates the dude with the beard from scooby doo, your game will be completely dysfunctional.

You need to head that stuff off at the pass - If you made the team James Bond, Jason Bourne or the guy from The Transporter and Indiana Jones, it would work much more effectively while still not trashing their orginial concepts (Hero, anti-hero, 'regular guy')