I was going to say this very same thing.
I run my own server and have been fortunate with certain players stepping up to the plate as staff. They demonstrated through actions and dedication that they were willing to take the positions and handle them responsibly.
Trust random players is bad news bears. I'm sure I could come up with a convincing back story, with extensive prior experience and even some references (that would check out, I assure you). If it works in RL for a job, why wouldn't it work here?
The problem is, I could cause more damage than you could possibly repair without having to start a new map. Think of the "mayhem guy" from Allstate.
Another point to consider is the number of posts of the people applying,
along with their reputation on this forum.
If a veteran poster (very high level, strong reputation) offers to help you,
I would afford it different consideration than a player with 1-2 poorly formatted posts, with bad spelling and grammar.
Perception and first impressions aren't always a bad basis for consideration.
If you don't already have plugins for various protections, I recommend:
For PermissionsI'm using Privlidges.
Once it's setup, it's a good, very lightweight permissions manager.
It doesn't have chat prefixes/tags, because it's a permissions manager, not a chat plugin. If you use it in conjunction with ChatSuite (by the same dev), they work like a dream.
I recommend anything other than PermissionsEx.
Here's an article (not written by me) explaining why:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BIg ... kOp4s/editAnti-CheatA good all-purpose cheat/hacked client blocker. It stops most common hacks and exploits, and a good majority of the stuff players can do with clients (like Nodus).
WorldGuardDisable stuff like firespread, creeper block damage (while keeping creeper player damage enabled), enderman block damage, etc.
You can also use WorldGuard in conjunction with WorldEdit to create 'Regions' to protect sections of land or even your entire map.
Multiverse-CoreA multi-worlds plugin.
I force my new players to start in a Guest world, they apply on my forum for Residency, and once approved are allowed to take a portal to the Main (Towny) world.
Your average griefer/illegitimate player is lazy, they want to log in, cause trouble, and leave. Applications are their kryptonite.
LWCAll purpose chest/door protection.
It works very good out of the box, with no configuration.
Chest and doors are protected automatically, no worries about theft.
EssentialsIf you plan on installing many plugins, I don't recommend Essentials.
It doesn't jive with a quite a bit of plugins, causes issues and errors.
If you're just looking to install some basic plugins (like the ones listed above) for protection, and one some all-purpose tool for handling your server, Essentials may do you good in the long run.
ChatSuiteI just switched to ChatSuite.
I used to use HeroChat, but since LordKainzo has been losing his shit (with conspiracy theories and thinking everyone else is out to get him), the quality of his plugins and timeliness of updates has gone way down hill.
ChatSuite takes a minute to setup, and is completely incompatible with PermissionsEx.
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Lastly, once you get your permissions system setup:
Don't start people out as OP or Admin.
Set up different tiers of ranks for your support staff, like 'Mod', 'Sr Mod', 'Admin', 'Sr Admin' and dole out the permissions accordingly.
When you select plugins for your server, it's very important that you look at the past update history for the plugin. Try to select only plugins that have known developers, or developers that have a good track record for maintaining their plugins.
I generally only pick plugins that have been established for a while, and updated in a reasonable amount of time after minecraft updated.
Nothing is worse than getting your players used to plugins, only to have them break with the next update, and not being able to continue to use them because the flaky developer disappeared.
If you have any questions, feel free to throw me a PM.
