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    Soul_Blazer
    06/19/2014 8:12 pm
    Level 1 : New Crafter
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    If you need any help going through the EULA clarifications just ask and I can point you to what might need to be changed.

    Simply put though, you can't monetize any Vanilla content of Minecraft provided by Mojang. This includes blocks, items and armor. You can monetize purely cosmetic pets and clothing though.
    1
    Soul_Blazer
    06/19/2014 5:32 pm
    Level 1 : New Crafter
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    For specific detailed referencing, I'd recommend reading this article posted by Mojang.

    https://mojang.com/2014/06/lets-talk-se ... etisation/

    Honestly, if I were you I'd temporarily remove all perks from the server for being a donor until you fully understand the EULA and what can and cannot be monetized.

    Beware, this is a huge post and it might a bit messy.. But there's a lot of detail to it..

    Click to reveal
    So let's start with your ranks..

    You are allowed to sell in-game items so long as they don’t affect gameplay
    We don’t mind you selling items in game, but they must be purely cosmetic. Pets, hats, and particle effects are OK, but swords, invincibility potions, and man-eating pigs are not. We want all players to be presented with the same gameplay features, whether they decide to pay or not.

    There is one exception to this rule – capes! We have a lot of fun making cool capes for extra-special members of our community and Minecon attendees. We’d like to keep them as exclusive as possible. So, yeah, no capes please, even if you’re giving them away for free.


    Also another quote from Mojang at https://account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula

    give copies of our Game to anyone else;
    make commercial use of anything we‘ve made;
    try to make money from anything we‘ve made; or
    let other people get access to anything we‘ve made in a way that is unfair or unreasonable.


    So they've stated you're not allowed to make commercial use of anything Mojang has made (this would mean items of all kinds), except they have specified that you can only monetize PURELY cosmetic enhancements. Stuff like blocks, diamonds (resources) may not be considered cosmetic because they have practical and functional uses (to be made into armor or blocks for building).

    Providing a convenience (your bonus perk commands like /workbench) might not be considered against the EULA because it isn't a 'product' of Mojang. You'd need to make sure that the plugin developer who made the plugin is fine with you monetizing the use of their plugin though.

    let other people get access to anything we‘ve made in a way that is unfair or unreasonable.


    So let's use /workbench as an example here. I'm assuming it's used to access the crafting table without the need of placing down the block and using it. Providing a convenience for being a donor may not be considered unfair or unreasonable. However, limiting a player to ONLY being able to use a crafting bench if they were a donor would be considered unfair.

    Since I went a bit nuts of with this post and it's now a full-scale essay, I'll keep the rest short. You should now understand the EULA better and know what is considered acceptable.

    Basically DON'T sell blocks or armor. So long as it has functional and practical use it could be considered to be against the EULA to monetize it.

    /fly and /god may be considered to be unacceptable as these are already features in Vanilla Minecraft (creative mode) provided by Mojang turning it into a command and making people pay for it doesn't change it, it only makes it a convenience. I'd consider this against the EULA as you're limiting creative mode features to exclusively people who pay.

    I'd also like to note that you have listed access to a donor exclusive area, I'd recommend adding this to all of your donor ranks. Read the following for more information why.

    You are allowed to charge players to access your server
    So long as the fee is the same for all players, you are allowed to charge for access to your server. You are not allowed to split your playerbase into paying, and non-paying users, nor can you restrict gameplay elements to different tiers of player.

    Basically, if you’re charging for access to your server, you are selling a “ticket” and there can only be one type of ticket, regardless of how much people are willing to spend.


    So long as the fee is the same for all players, - Yes you're charging a flat fee to everyone for access to a specific area, however..

    You are not allowed to split your playerbase into paying, and non-paying users.

    This being said, you are charging the player to access a specific area for a set amount of time. A player should donate and have ALL the available conveniences for a fixed cost. Having a ticket to access the donor area and calling it a 'perk' doesn't make it any different from say selling a week-long pass to Disney Land.

    As you can see, Mojang is fine with monetizing premium access to the server itself, but maybe just not to specific locations.


    THINGS YOU SHOULDN'T MONETIZE! -
    • Blocks (including mob spawners)
    • Armor/Weapons (God kits)
    • Fly and God commands
    • In-game currency
    1
    Soul_Blazer
    06/19/2014 7:37 am
    Level 1 : New Crafter
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    There's quite a few things your server still needs to work out before you move ahead too far with it.

    Your donation perks are overly generous, providing commands that allow players to basically cheat their way through survival which effectively eliminates the whole premise of your server.

    Monetizing in-game content produced by Mojang is no longer a great idea now that the EULA changes have made it more clear that this is an issue.

    Having a tutorial isn't really necessary for a survival server unless you're directly trying to teach the player a unique aspect of the game that is uncommon in most survival servers.

    I can't stress enough how important it is to keep things simple when running a survival server. Don't go too crazy with plugins. While plugins can be fun to use, you need to understand how they alienate players from one another. GUI shops and ChestShop means players don't need to be as social with each other to trade or do things together to build a common goal.

    I'm going to stop myself here before I go off on a tangent. Your server seems to be heading in a poor direction that a lot of servers move to. The biggest tip I could give you is to keep things simple and don't over-complicate your server with plugins or perks.

    If that's how you intend to go with the server then continue as you'd like, but your server will look like one of the thousands out there that are the same if you don't do something unique.
    1
    Soul_Blazer
    06/11/2014 1:58 pm
    Level 1 : New Crafter
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    Personally I find it better when people apply using a more formal approach. If it looks copy/pasted it just seems like the person is only interested in being staff rather than catering to your needs as your staff.

    As an administrator on a small-scale server I'm extremely picky about who we choose to make staff. The process is long and usually requires more than just joining from a simple application and instantly being staff as soon as they get on.

    I'd only consider reading an application if it were handled similar to how a resume or cover letter would work. If you're serious about finding good people it's worth waiting for the occasional applicant who puts time and effort into making their application for you. I wouldn't recommend saying which position you want either, unless you really have some experience to back it up.

    If you want to help the server let the person reviewing your application decide for you based on the skills you tell them you have and show examples from. This way they can find the position best fit for you based off of their needs and you still get a good position with opportunities to move on up if you work hard.

    All that being said.. I see a lot of common themes used by applicants such as saying they're "better than anyone else" or how long they've been playing Minecraft for. I'd consider an experienced person who's been staff on different games and gets to know what it's like being in all kinds of situations rather than one who's been staff on like 20-30 servers and never learns anything from it.

    tl;dr - Lots of applications suck and shouldn't be taken seriously if you want to find good staff, OP's example shows this well.
    1
    Soul_Blazer
    05/06/2014 9:03 am
    Level 1 : New Crafter
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    Here's a few things I've learned over the last few years of working up the chain.

    - Be open to suggestions and offers of help from players/visitors.

    - Pick your staff wisely and try to stay close with them. The more of a friend you are with the people you work with the easier working together gets.

    - Be quick to respond to player requests/needs.

    - Focus your efforts on making the player's experience on the server more enjoyable/challenging.

    - Create content that you would like to see and take suggestions from others to make it universally accepted.

    - Attend to applications swiftly.

    - A short temper or minor argument can lead to major consequences for the server.

    - Being an iron fist makes for a long lonely journey.

    - Plan and make events ahead of time. Short ones are fine, but long events with lots of content brings people in and keeps them around.

    - Advertising your server is important. Just don't invade other people's work to promote your own.

    - Use the skills of your staff and friends to your server's advantage.

    - Community-made content shouldn't be overlooked or underestimated.

    - Be a person of staff first and a player second. It's always good to spend time with your players, but remember your responsibilities are key to making a server enjoyable.

    - Staff have their responsibilities and those should not be taken lightly. A weak group of staff can make a server less enjoyable.

    - Never underestimate your talents, always go above and beyond what you feel your limits are. Your creativity will draw people in.

    - Be humble and grateful for your players. Value their time on your server.

    - Give players the sense of freedom while maintaining control.

    - Leave a good first impression.

    - Having ways for players to communicate with staff directly through multiple means can make a player feel like they've always got someone watching out for them. Be that person who reaches out to players.
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