As the number of children who want to start up a server increases, so do the forum posts with the terrible applications. Because I am an extremely impatient person (Sue me.) I will be giving you my tips on what to do for a server application.


1) Avoid any stupid questions.

You should be getting right to the find when writing up an application. Take out the trash and stick to the key bits so that you get all the information to make a decision. Here is some of the following that you should never use, and why you should never use them.

(Have you been banned before? If so, why?)

This is one of the dumbest questions to answer. It seems that people actually think that how many servers someone has been banned from determines an accurate reading of their maturity and abilities. Whilst it is fair to say that somebody who has been banned from 30 servers is probably not as reliable than someone who has been banned at all, it isn't fair to leave someone out because of it. The owners could have banned them for an unfair reason. They could have grown up and matured. There could have been a misunderstanding. Why is it any of your business how many times they've been banned. Also, how can you even check if the number is correct? Not every server runs MCBANS, and you can't go around to the server owners to confirm it.

(Skype name? Must have a mic.)

WHY IS IT MANDATORY? This may come as a suprise to some, but not everyone wants to talk to random strangers on the internet which they haven't met before in their entire life. I'm sure your mother has told you not to talk to strangers online before (whilst surfing for men on Match.com or talking to people across the world on Facebook or sending the Prince of Nigeria a five-figure sum to escape the country). If she has, then follow it. You won't miss out on much, except the owner screaming down the chat threatening to fire the admins whilst screaming at his mum to get him chocolate milk (because strawberry milk is for wimps).

(Have you had experience before?)

Because you wouldn't be able to tell when they come on the server. Anyone can make up some bullhonky IP and some fake owner name and say they've worked there since 2010 but it closed down.

(Why do you think you should be admin?)

Que the bullsh*t list of things which they are: Kind, Caring, Hard Working, Fun, Interesting - if they have to say it, they aren't any of those things. "Dedicated" - until the server begins to go downhill or you refuse to give them moderator of course. "Funny" - this is the biggest lie. Nobody is ever funny.

2) Actually put information about the position they're applying for.

Why would anyone bother to apply to your server when they don't even know anything about it. As well as putting a detailed paragraph about the server itself (if you haven't already), you should also put a paragraph or so about what they are required to be able to do if they manage to get the position. Hiring an admin and telling them that they are responsible for the website, social media presence, youtube channel and server art isn't exactly fair, and you will soon find the admins running away faster than a child from Bill Cosby.

Here is how you do it:

Welcome to DeluxeMC! Our server is a mix of vanilla survival with specially generated worlds and a PvP ranking system. We at the server have been playing for nearly a year now, and we would like to expand our community to new players who would like to join the ranks and have an active role. For this reason, we shall be recruiting staff members to help manage the server in stead of the owners, and to help out with plugins and such.

All staff on the server must be of a certain age and ability. It is preferred if you are not completely new to the game. You should have a somewhat good stance with core plugins such as WorldEdit, Voxel, Groupmanager and others. You should be able to guide new players around the server and maintain the rules as well. You must also be able to answer any questions regarding the server or forums should any player ask you, as well as deal with any issues.

Here is how you do not do it:

>>>>>PLAY.DELUXMC.NET:<<<<< COME PLAY WE NEED STAF WE HAVE DROP PARTYS AND TOTALLY UNIQUE PVP ARENA MY FRIEND RUNS IT LOOKING FOR STAFF.

NAME:
SKYPE (REQUIRED):
AGE:
WHY ARE YOU COOL?
WHY U WANNA BE STAFF?
ANY INFO?
WHATS 1+1 (LOL):

K THX BYE.

3) Actually answering the applications.

In my opinion, it's better to answer the applications on the actual thread than in PM, because if someone does a really good job, it shows potential future app posters how to do it right. Likewise, it can show them what not to do when someone fails at delivering a promising app.

This is where you come in. Rather than going "Accepted" or "Denied", you should be more precise. Instead of going "Denied sorry", you could say: "Sorry, but the answers you have posted do not meet the requirements for a senior position on our server. We wish you luck in the future." If they do actually pass (which, from what I've seen, many don't deserve to), then you can ACTUALLY GIVE THE REASONS for them passing. "We find your experience on other servers to be more than enough for you to join our servers. Your knowledge of plugins is very useful for what we need to do. We would love to have you as staff on our server. Please PM for more details if you would still like the rank."

On a side note, I should probably mention the importance of language and grammar. If the application looks like an UNSCRAMBLE THE WORLD puzzle sheet, don't post it. You don't need potential applicants thinking that you're an uneducated 12 year old. BUT WAFFLES, SOME PEOPLE MAY NOT HAVE ENGLISH AS THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE!? My response? Tough, sorry. I feel like you speak another language before English (such as Dutch, German, French,) then you should make the server in that language. You're the core foundation of the server that people will be playing on. People don't want the core foundation to be speaking foreign half of the time and unable to answer any of their questions.

So there you have it. If you have a question regarding this, post below. I'll respond to it, most likely. Likewise, post if I've missed anything. This has been Waffles, and you're welcome.