Any budding server owner with big dreams will have had the problem of nitwipes. You know, those trolls that come onto your server demanding op, or claiming to be from Planet Minecraft. Sometimes they even pretend to be nice and useful before BAM- your spawn is made out of end portal (yep, that happened to me).

Reccommended for this tutorial is PermissionsEx, GroupManager or some similar permission system, and basic knowledge of your permission plugin's use.

When your server starts up you will not need many, if any staff members other than you. Only if the work becomes too much for one person to handle should you recruit a moderator. There are two good ways to get a good staff member:

Method One: The Tournament

Decide (with senior staff if there are any) on two to five people who could make good moderators. Watch them carefully for a week, and then choose one or two to proceed. Set them as a trial moderator for a week, and if they do a good job promote them (of course, if they abuse their power, demote or even ban them if it's a major rule breach).

Method Two: Staff Form


Minecraft Name:: You need to know who they are!
Age:: Keep in mind that some kids are mature and some 20 year olds are trolls, but it generally goes the other way.
Time as a server member:: You don't want a server newb getting dangerous permissions. I reccommend a member who's been there at least a month!
Time I can spend on the server in a week:: Being staff is an important committment!
Why I should have this position:: This is a good opportunity to assess their writing skills and personality.
What would you do if someone griefed?:: Check to see if they've read your staff rules!
What whould you do if someone was being rude?:: If someone's badmouthing another member, you want some retribution but a moderate amount!


I hope this tutorial helps your cause!
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~Zuni