*~Forthwind~* Mods & Builders needed! Dedicated, WorldEdit & WorldGuard, Essentials, & other things! Check us out and fill out a
Poll: We're debating on the use of a Supernaturals plugin. Further det
Ended May 15, 2014
Poll: We're making a new survival world. Should global PvP be disabled
Ended May 15, 2014
Poll: Should Factions be enabled, even if global PvP is disabled, and
Ended May 15, 2014
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First, I have spent some time looking at our rank structure, and have come up with a new system that should work more precisely. The old system is as follows: Guest, Member, Senior Member, Builder, Senior Builder, Junior Moderator, Senior Moderator, Junior Admin, Management. The newer, more precise system is as follows: Guest, Basic Member, Junior Member, Senior Member, Basic Builder, Junior Builder, Senior Builder, Basic Mod, Junior Mod, Senior Mod, Admin, Manager.
These ranks have not yet been implemented. I have received full support from the other two Managers to prepare them for implementation. The process is a tedious one.
Our current permissions setup for our plugins was done by someone who- to put it bluntly- isn't very good at paying attention to detail and doing things thoroughly. It works, but there is an immense amount of features and special commands that have been left out. Also, there's a good amount of unnecessary things enabled
that should be removed. For example, we have about three different private messaging systems, not including /mail. Do you need anything more than /msg and /mail?
I'm starting from scratch. Working with an assistant, my process is as follows: We choose a plugin, then look up a list of every single permission node for the plugin. My assistant copies the list and pastes it into Word, where he then deletes the unnecessarily copied things, such as the node description. Once he has his pure list of every node for the plugin, we go through the original website list, looking at the descriptions, debating whether or not the node will be used for the server at all. If not, it gets deleted from the Word list. Then, once we have our list of nodes we'll use, we go through the list again and decide which nodes we want every rank to have. These nodes then get added to our second Word list- where we have every rank typed out in all capitals with a couple lines of space inbetween each- under the default rank: Guest. Every other rank will be set to inherit the permissions of this rank, effectively giving the entire server access to any permissions placed here. As these nodes are added, they're deleted from our first Word list. Once this process is done, we go through the list a third time and debate on where the remaining nodes should go. Most of the decisions are made quickly, as they're fairly obvious. You don't want Basic Members having access to WorldEdit, for example. Once all of the nodes have been sorted, we move on to the next plugin. Once the entire Word list of ranks and permissions is filled out- with additional inherit settings finished- it'll be given to another Manager via Pastebin. He will then open the permissions file of the server and set everything up, with the proper spacing. The server will be restarted, and there you are. The entire process is pretty simple. The issue is how long it takes.
Most people would be unwilling to sacrifice smuch time for a simple rank change. But with me as the project leader, I'm doing this properly.
McMMO is sorted, and Essentials is awaiting its second sorting process. That plugin has something like 369 nodes... this is the third day of going through it.
Still to come is WorldEdit, Lockette, Precious Stones, iConomy, ChestShop, and PermissionsEx. We're also looking to get LogBlock and Factions installed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of LogBlock, it's giving us a pretty hard time. Every time it gets installed, it floods the console with error messages. Lag and latency issues arise. If any of you out there are plugin managers that have gone through this before, feel free to PM me your solution. One of the Managers is going to contact our hosting for plugin assistance- one of the features our hosting provides. Hopefully we'll get it working before long, so we'll be able to catch those griefers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of griefing, it's currently allowed. The reasoning behind this decision was that this is a PvP-enabled server, as well as a pure (but not hardcore) Survival server. We wanted PvPers to be able to bust through the walls of unprotected homes. Upon thinking this over more yesterday, I proposed the idea of limited griefing restrictions. Under this, PvPers are still able to bust through walls and such, but they can only do so much. Certain actions will be considered actual griefing. An example would be someone dismantling much of someone's house while they're offline. "But Dragoner, it's Survival! What if they did it because they needed the materials!?" (Of the house, not chest items. In this case, we're assuming the victim protected their chests with Lockette.) My response to that is this: Dude, we have a huge forest right next to Spawn for wood. Need stone? Dig down. Need clay for bricks? Sell some of your surplus materials and buy some- we have iConomy.
Anyway, this idea still needs to be discussed and refined, but upon me bringing up the idea when I thought of it, the general response was approval. If passed, I plan to set up a billboard near Spawn called "The Fine Line Between PvP and Griefing". It will describe the limits of PvPers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another upcoming change us having a website. One of the Managers obtained it from a friend whose server went down, and he set up the majorly technical parts. The overall layout and function of the website, however, is pretty much being left to me. It is up and running and I've already changed a few things, so I'll go ahead and release the address: forthwindsurvival.tk It is hosted by Enjin.
I'm going to do my best to transform the website into the core of the server's operations and management. So far, the server's Managers have pretty much communicated purely by Skype. The participants of the conversations were pretty much whoever was online at the time, who was a member of the staff. There were no planned meetings. This obviously has restrictions. With a well-organized, functional Forums on the website, it can be used to hold debates between members of the staff. Better than a Skype call, this allows all members of staff to contribute to the debate, regardless of their play times. Though this process might take slightly longer, it should be better overall, due to full contribution.
Another benefit will be the extremely functional Recruitment section of the website. It has an amazing application-building "module". Those familiar with Weebly would call this a "widget". You set it up, people see it when they're on the Recruitment page, they fill out the information, hit send, and it'll cause a little symbol to appear, similar to the one you get on the Minecraft Forums when you receive a new private message. Applications will be much easier to manage and respond to now. Not to mention, it'll be easier to keep track the server community.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of which. With this new rank system and the development of the website, I've made the choice to make it a requirement for people to register on the site and fill out an application. Don't worry- it's much easier than you're probably used to. We have linked the login information to the site with the login information of your Minecraft. So, effectively, that pretty much means you're already registered. When you first join the site, one of the first things you'll notice on the left is a Login box. Then you may notice a "Join Instantly" button if you're logged in to the Minecraft forums at the time. Upon clicking that button, you'll quite literally be instantly a member of the site. You'll be logged in and everything. As for the application, the first one people will fill out is the Basic Member application. It'll be pretty simple, as the intent for this rank is not to have a challenging application. The fact that people have gone out of their way enough to go to the website, join, and fill out the application is more than enough for someone to achieve Basic Membership.
There'll be a different application for each rank. Each "Junior" application will be more difficult than "Basic" applications, and "Senior" applications will in turn be more difficult than "Junior" applications. Refer to the new rank structure, you'll see what I'm talking about if you're confused.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since people will be making applications to the website, that obviously means that applications won't be made on this forum anymore. Once the system is fully-functional, I'll update the original post accordingly. In order to keep the thread from dying, I'm putting in a system that I saw another thread effectively use: Whenever you submit an application, you'll come back to this thread and post a generic message, something like "My IGN is KingDragoner, and I applied to this server for Basic Membership on 3-1-12."
My only concern is that I don't want this thread to get in trouble for breaking the rules of this forum. Namely, being a Server Thread. I know this thread has already been reported once for being just that- though nothing has seemingly resulted from that. I would bet money, however, that this forum's Moderators are watching this thread closely. I remember making a mistake on one of my posts on the first page- one that I didn't know how to fix at the time. I edited it to say that I had messed up on the post, and that if a Moderator was reading it, I'd appreciate it if they'd delete the post. Within mere hours, the post was removed. And that was before this thread was as fancy-looking and popular as it is now. Given the fact that this is now the most looked at and most replied thread on the entire forum, I guarantee they've got an eye out for the thread to become something it's not. Hear me Mods: I'm just as worried about it as you are. If the thread ever veers toward being something it's not supposed to be, I welcome receiving a PM with details as to what I'm doing wrong, and what I can do alternatively.
I know that the thread may appear to be a server thread, and I know that this forum is basically intended for smaller servers that need help getting started. While we're not the smallest and we do have a decent number of Builder and Moderator applications, as well as a decent number of Basic Builders and Basic Moderators who've been approved, we still need quite a bit more. A good amount of people who've been accepted either never show up, aren't that active, aren't that good at their role, get removed for some reason, leave for some reason, etc etc, the list goes on. Not only this, but almost every Builder or Moderator that is active has the Basic version of their rank. We have one or two Senior Moderators that aren't nearly as active as we'd like them to be, and one or two Senior Builders that are the same way. We have like one Junior Mod, and one maybe two Junior Builders. All of this has been said to emphasize this point: Yes, we do still need plenty of Builders and Moderators. Most never move up the ladder. My entire recruitment effort- this thread- is the way it is because I'm searching for those special few who will excel at their role, and become a very valuable member of the community.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To emphasize a little more on the lack of good Builders, this server isn't really growing in regards to the colonization of the landscape, unless you count all the little, simple houses made by the Guests and Basic Members. Our spawn town came from one of our Senior Builder's Singleplayer map. Since that copy, our town has gained the following: A wall surrounding the town, a blacksmith, a store, a regular house, and a bank.
There's actually a bit of good news, here. A town has begun to spring up in the nearby desert: Sandport. It has a wall which surrounds various player houses inside. I do believe I saw a store in there somewhere. Surprisingly, this wasn't made by the Builders. It was started by a couple Members, and quickly drew in others. I remember looking at the town from the air a couple days ago and seeing quite a few empty spots. Yesterday, almost the entire space inside the walls is in use. I'm curious as to what will become of Sandport- the first Member's Town.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anyway, yes, we do need more. A quick note: An idea is coming to life in my head. I think I might start only accepting Mod applications from Junior Members or higher. Maybe Senior Members. To be a Junior Member, you have to have been a member of the community for a week. For Senior, a month. I might do something inbetween, who knows.
Which leads me to this: If I'm so intently looking for more Builders and Moderators, then why am I advertising for Members? My answer: Why not? We have a healthy population of Guests on the server- people who don't fill out an application, they just join. Members aren't the problem. Our traffic count is steadily rising. Currently, we typically have about 10-15 people on in the afternoon. (Typically excludes today and probably the next few days, as everyone adjusts to the 1.2 update.) I just make it known that we're also accepting members because there are people out there who will think they can't join as one if they don't see anything about being able to. Also, there's the case of denied Builders and Moderators. I make a point to let them know they can still join the server as a Guest even though they've been denied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This post is still a work-in-progress and is being updated. I just wanted to post what I had typed up so far. I do realize that the post is already lengthy. This is what happens when I don't make it a priority for my post to be short and to the point, as I did with my original post. I wanted this one to more or less be a free-thought post, where I kinda just go with the flow and type as I think. I feel that at least a few people will enjoy reading the in-depth coverage of the actions of the server. I know those who weigh their options very carefully and like to know as much as possible before making decisions will no doubt enjoy the coverage. Could this entire post be an effort to step up recruitment? Maybe, possibly? Hmm, wait... I feel a quote coming on...
I'll be blunt and to the point. Your answers to the questions were quite... lacking. However, due to your age and the pictures you provided, you're accepted as a Basic Builder. Welcome to the server, IP's in my signature.
Also, a note for everyone: At the moment, the server's still in 1.1, while we debate on whether or not we should update the server now, or wait a little for our most important plugins to update. Any PMs with reccomendations and the reasoning would be appreciated.
Also: Scroll up a bit from this post if you skipped to the end. I've made a rather lengthy post which covers current actions on the server. For those who like to read.
IGN:Lukee77
Age:17
Reason for wanting this position (requires paragraph): I really want to get to know you guys! This server seems to be my best choice and I also hope to be a moderator and form a friendship with you all!
Experience (details):Much! I've been playing since 1.4 So I know minecraft well.
Contact info (Skype?): I've got Skype, My mic's broke though... I'm gonna get a new one soon!
Dedicated time:5 hours
What you can bring: Building Masterpieces, works of art... Friendship!
Screenshots: Don't know how to paste screen shots...
Age:21
Reason for wanting this position (requires paragraph):
I have been an admin on other servers. This server looks like a professional server, and I would like to be at least a moderator or maybe admin. I am a very social person and would love to join this server. I can make anyone feel happy about a server, at this is what I am going to bring to this server. I would also be a great builder for this server.
Experience (details): I have been a server admin for 5 months then left the server due to low player base. I was also Moderator on another server, but the server had problems and hasent been up since.
Contact info (Skype?):Giants745
Dedicated time:5-6 hours per day
What you can bring: I can bring fun and happiness the the server
Proof of experience: You can talk to a server owner about me being Moderator.
You have been accepted a builder, we could definitely use you. The moderator application is pending however, we will contact you via skype or in-game if needed.
Accepted. Welcome to the server. Let's see how good you are.
Accepted as a Basic Moderator. Welcome to the server.
Age: 17
Reason for wanting this position (requires paragraph): Not really a paragraph worth of words to put here, I'm mainly tired as being disregarded as a guest, but wouldn't mind a chance at making some epic stuff, like most crafters, im good with redstone, i have an ok understanding of how to place blocks, and i have red hair. So it speaks for itself.
Experience (details): Experience in what exactly? In being a builder? If its that, then i have built before, often in minecraft, and i'd like to think the aformentioned structures were at least adequate in allowing me to survive and continue to build
Contact info (Skype?): GrainyChicken, And yes. Skype.
Dedicated time:4-10 weekdays, Whenever on the weekends
What you can bring: I have an able body, being 2 blocks high and 1 block wide. Able to place blocks and build complex structures out of what can be found around me.
Proof of work (Screenshots?): I'd rather show them myself, mainly cus i'm not known for my expertise in uploading photos (I have a bad and grooling history with such activities)
Accepted as a Basic Member.
IGN: wolfinmyhead
Age: 16
Reason for wanting this position (requires paragraph):
I have been searching for a server that I can moderate or build for that is both mature and worth creating for, but my search has always brought out the worst in servers, such as immaturity. I'm getting kind-of bored with single player play, and want to find a server that I can enjoy but also be in a leadership or building position in, not just a person that runs around playing because I've done that enough in single player.
Experience (details):
- Builder in SP creative and certain servers with bukkit plugins and by hand.
- Can build in vanilla single player survival
- Owned and operated multiple server, and currently am putting up another one.
-
Contact info (Skype?): j-brooks-lord (skype)
Dedicated time: I'm on EST time and can be online mostly whenever, just not when I'm asleep or eating. I go back to school March 26, however, and time will be more restricted then but not totally lost. 1-4 hours a day compared to all day; I then go home for summer break on June 1 and will be back to my March schedule.
What you can bring: Building talents, moderation skills, and a general community.
Proof of work (Screenshots?): [I will PM you the links to the video I made, it will be online tomorrow]
(Sorry that most of these works are incomplete, they are recent and in Vanilla Creative, which is time consuming due to school.)
Proof of experience: I currently own my own server, have OP-ed, admin-ed, and moderated plenty in the past, and some of my proof of work is from said servers that I was the builder and operator for. I am mature and can handle issues such as griefing, immaturity, and trolling.
Accepted as a Basic Moderator. Welcome to the server.
In Game Name: cooooolin
Age: 17
Reason For Applying: I want to help a server gain new players and clean the community from griefers.
Experience: I used to own a 64 slot Roleplay server so i have a lot of knowledge on the most recent plugins.
Skype: xcooooolin
Dedicated Time: 2-5 hours a day
Proof of Experience: I currently don't have any screenshot of some of my work but I could show you directly on the server
Another reason I think the job would be right for me is because i'm a nice, fair person. I try to give everyone warnings/second chance before I ban/kick. I also try not to abuse the moderator powers over other players.
-Colin
Accepted as a Basic Moderator. Welcome to the server. Remind me to promote you, it's not automatic.
That goes for anyone else who's accepted. Remind me to promote you, or you'll be forgotten and left as a Guest! We currently don't really have any good way to keep track of our members, and who's who.
I love to build in Minecraft it is practically a way of life. I think I could help with whatever needed. I absolutley love being able to work with everyone on the server and would enjoy it very much. Let me know if there is anything to add.
Please look at earlier posts and copy the format of our old Builder application. Then fill it out.