All right, so it's second blog time! And I realise that I said I'd post about what servers are great, but I realised that might be counted as advertisement, and that might get me in trouble, and nobody wants that. Except whoever would get in trouble, because they're bad at things that are good.

So, what I'm going to do is discuss what I enjoy about servers, and what features create a good server.

Numero Uno: Plugins. All good servers need plugins. My favourites are job plugins, faction or town plugins, anti grief plugins, and economy plugins.

Plugins basically are what change a server online from just playing survival mode with some randoms into a real, enjoyable online experience. An economy plugin can really contribute to a community by promoting trade between players, while an anti grief plugin creates a sense of safety. Obviously, job plugins add more realism to an economy plugin, after all, what's the point in an economy where there's no money? No idea. I'm Australian, I tried asking America, but they couldn't pay the phone bill, so they're disconnected. I'll write about that in my next blog, if I manage to get onto them.

I'm just playin', yo' Americans are a'ight.

Factions and town plugins. Man, where do I start on them. In the next section! Hoo-ah!

Number two: Community. I cannot stress this enough. A server that doesn't have a friendly, interactive, and supportive community isn't worth playing. It's a waste of your bandwidth. In my opinion, a town or faction server can both help, and hinder this. I enjoy faction servers, because of the player vs. player aspect, but it can damage a community, especially seeing as you can only usually be in one faction at a time. Whereas a town plugin, man does that boost community! I play on a town server, and it's the best thing since sliced spoons. You can join as many as you want, contribute to them all, and furthering the town gives the entire group something to strive for! The need for supplies and trade then boosts the economy and promotes interplayer trading, and bam, community!

Number three: Bunyips. I'm 'Strayan.

Number four: Player Vs. Player. The thing that I am most torn in Minecraft Online. Gosh damn, it is a touchy topic. Sure, it's fun to go and beat another player with your Carrots of Doom that you got from some Administrator with creative mode, but it can cause so many issues. People lose their items, and people damage friendships on the server.

On the other hand, one could argue that it adds more realism to the game. A game where everything is a quadrilateral, and all dogs are the same colour. See my point here? PvP bad guys. Seriously, no advantages, other than for violent sadists, and a million disadvantages. I hate it.

Number five: The most important thing. Server staff. I've been on so many servers where the staff is just entirely inadequate. The owner'll have chosen people who pay them money, or people that are close to them in real life, that just don't have the dedication of someone who has earned a staff position by playing on the server. It's almost a shame when someone creates a decent server and then has utterly terrible staff. That's the same as deciding you want a child, so you go and conceive at a bus stop. It's stupid! A good staff, where people earn their positions, and actually respect the general members, does wonders for a server's popularity.

I don't have a lot more to say on servers, other than if you find a good one, stay with it. And really research a server if you want to play on it.

Cliff Dive!