First off, I do not hate factions,in fact, I love factions so incredibly much. However, I have recently found that factions servers have been using factions the wrong way.

Recently, a friend and I felt like finding a good faction server, to test out our skills ( we had somehow just mined 6 stacks of iron in less than a hour, and decided to see how we would fare on a faction server if we could mine that amount up on there as well), however a few hours later, we were both sat horrified at the complete lack of what we were looking for.

We found countless faction servers had completely no idea how to make a faction server. This immediately became apparent when you spawned with not just a few iron tools, but a whole stack of diamond blocks, and a complete set of enchanted diamond armour. Despite our horror at the servers we found that did this, we played on to see if that was just one negative thing among a sea of positives. However, when we checked the list of plug-ins we found a whole bunch of protective add-ons, such as lockette, and lwc.
This was not just one server, this was pretty much every one we found. We didn't find a single server that we were satisfied with enough to stay on.

Perhaps my time owning a server is making me say this, but a faction server should never give players a single iron ingot, never mind a full set of glowing blue gear and a sword that could kill a zombie in a single kit. The idea of letting players protect the chests and making them unable for other people to open on a faction server is simply ridiculous.
These excuses of faction servers are a complete and utter abomination to what a faction server, in my friend's and my opinion, should be, and what we are used to playing.
A "Good Ol' Faction Server", should start off with a player receiving nothing more than, at the most, a leather kit of armour, a set of stone tools, and a few apples. The player should then flee from the spawn point, escaping the watchful eyes of experienced factioners roaming around spawn in iron gear with their diamond swords, looking for an easy kill. They should travel to a location far from any other possible raiders, and attempt to seclude themselves within the thousands of millions of surrounding blocks. Spending the first night in, most likely, a make-shift camp, when at at any second a powerful faction could walk over a hill and end your short life, is one of the most thrilling and exciting experiences a player can witness in minecraft. They should then spend their time gathering resources for themselves, and attempting to hide their precious valuables within the caves or hills they call home.
Soon, it shall get to a point, after various betrayals and various raids of enemies' bases, that the player originally darting away from diamond swords soon shall carry his/her own, and be chasing those who are just starting off, just like they did, back at the start of their factioning career.
This is factions at it's best, but what I see around me these days, is simply a disgrace to what once was. Perhaps these servers intend for the players to get straight to fighting, or perhaps they think that by giving people everything, they cannot whine for anything more. This should not be the way it is. If a player needs to whine for items and resources, they do not belong on a faction server. If your are a server owner and want players to be able to go straight to PvP, you do not need the factions plug-in.

Please, do not mis-use the factions plug-in. It is meant for people to be able to earn their own protection, that anyone could bypass if they were not skilful enough, not for players to be able to kill people around spawn repeatedly, take their stuff, and stuff into a chest that nobody but them can get their hands on.

Overall, a few tips for server owners:
1. Give a kit consisting of nothing more, if even, a leather kit of armour, stone tools, and a few apples.
2. Disable ender chests, as they are unfair for raiders. Think about it, a chest can contain 27 stacks of diamond block,that's 1,728 diamond blocks, or 15,552 diamonds.
3. Enable fire-spread, and explosions. They play a great part in faction raiding.
4. Enable chests raiding, if someone can get into a base without belonging to the faction, the base isn't good enough.
5. Don't go overboard with the shops. The prices should be harsh, so that players have to earn resources themselves, instead of trading a stack of wood for a diamond chest-plate.
6. If you don't want these things on your server, ask yourself, why are you making it a faction/pvp in the first place? If you can't find an answer, it's time to stop the drop parties, or change your server's type.

Thank you for reading my view on what is wrong with factions these days. Post a comment if you agree, or post a thought-through argument if you don't. A diamond or a favourite is always appreciated. :)