I'm not even sure if this is possible or not, but the idea just came to me.  Since people were duping PS stones and selling them back to the market, we've lost the ability to sell our old PS stones to the market.  In addition, a lot of people not using the small PS argue that the reason is they're saving up for larger ones.  All of that's fine with me, however, what if we could...

Trade in a bunch of small PS for larger PS?

That would make some sense, wouldn't it?  So new players start out with coal PS, buy more coal PS to cover more areas, then when they're ready to move up they can trade in those coal PS (say 8 maybe?) for a Lapis PS.  No cash involved, just a small stack of one PS turning into a larger PS.  Then they continue to grow their "empire" until they have enough Lapis PS, and can trade them in for a Diamond one.

To me, this would make a lot of sense.  But like I said, I dunno if it's even possible.

WTF?  I'm such a forum whore, how the heck did I miss doing an introduction?  Ok, everyone has to pretend they don't know me.  Deal?  Alright... Here we go...


Hi everyone!  I'm Jay, but I go by the in-game name ViperZeroOne.  I just registered, but my goal is to one day be a Moderator or Admin.  (I know I'm already a mod, shhh!!!)  I currently live on my own with a couple of cats keeping me company.  Before you ask, no I'm not some crazy cat dude.  I only have 2, which is quite acceptable.  3 is where you officially get the title, and I'm not there yet.  Haha!

I'm quite the mixture.  A lot of my friends like to call me a human Yin-Yang.  Not so much in that I have balance.  More like, at one point in time I could be very serious and professional, and then a second later I could be laughing and having a good time clowning around.  I try to get along with pretty much everyone, which can be a challenge and sometimes doesn't work out.  The one thing I hate the most is drama, and I do my best to stay out of any kind of "click" for that very reason.

Professionally I'm a pretty mixed bag there too.  I'm a registered class AZ driver, which means I can drive everything from the family car to a full-sized 18 wheeler.  Right now I'm a professional in the cellular phone industry, and hopefully I'll be able to move up to I.T. or a management position soon.  In addition, I spend a few hours of the week also doing live broadcasting on a fully licensed internet radio station.  So yea, my days are pretty busy.

I'm a huge fan of music.  Actually when I'm playing Opticraft odds are I've got a good playlist also running.  I used to be on Mumble a lot of the time, but I've kinda backed away from that because the conversations interrupt my music.  That said, I can type like crazy so if you do end up talking to me in-game, try to keep up.   

I dunno what else to put here, so I'll just end it for now.  Good meeting you all, hope to see you in-game and get to know you all better.

First, yes this is a suggestion so it belongs here.    It's a suggestion to those who are applying for the position of Moderator.  A suggestion to truly consider what it means to be a Moderator before you apply.

Having not been a mod, and having been a mod, I've got some perspective on both sides.  Yes, as a Trusted you see mods flying about and building amazing things with water and fire but as they say "The grass is always greener on the other side".  I feel before you put in an application you should get a bit of a wake-up call to the life of a mod.  I suggest you read through this carefully before you make your application.

First and foremost, you have to be there for the players.  It doesn't matter if you're working on the best minecraft build of your entire life.  If someone yells "Grief" or "Water" you need to go to their aid.  You have to be willing to drop whatever you're doing, and occasionally not even get a chance to do what you want to be doing.  There have been times when it's taken me weeks to do a project I could have had done in an evening.

Mods do NOT get unlimited building materials.  I don't know where this rumor started, so I'm gonna put an end to it right now.  Mods have to gather, and sell, and buy, and do everything else that regular players have to do.  Sure, we have fly, and that does help with building, but the materials (which is what counts) are still all gathered by solid hard work.  If you can't gather enough materials/money as a Trusted, you're gonna have HEAVY issues doing it as a Mod just due to the added workload of being a Mod.

Being a Mod isn't a free ticket to do what you want when you want.  If anything, you have to pay even more attention to the rules and ensure you're following them.  How can you ban or warn someone if you're doing the exact same thing they're doing?  You have to keep your language in check, your manners professional, and know how to diffuse an angry player.  Mods don't have the right to abuse the powers they're given, so consider that carefully.  Yes you have the ability to look inside other's chests for security purposes, but that doesn't give you the right to take/put anything in them.  Yes you have the right to teleport players, but that doesn't give you the right to teleport innocent players around without their permission.  Yes you have the ability to place lava, but that doesn't mean you can go build endless waterfalls of lava or grief abandoned buildings with that lava.  With great power comes great responsibility, and you should be able to handle that responsibility.

Expect at times to get more flack than praise.  Players will complain if you're taking too long to respond to them, they'll lie (occasionally) to you about griefing, they'll get upset with you for banning their friend/relative, they'll yell at you for "spying" on them, they'll mistake you for a griefer and tell you to get out of their house (even if they called you there).  It's not all fame and glory.  Sometimes you'll even get flack from other mods/admins over something you've done.  You have to be able to handle that and either accept the criticism or defend your actions.

You need to put in the hours it takes to be a mod.  If you can only be online once or twice a week, maybe being a mod isn't a good idea for you.  I, personally, try to get on every single day for at least a few hours.  That might not be a reality for others.  Everyone's life is different, but you can loose the mod rank for inactivity, so truly consider how much time you can devote to the server.

Personally, I love being a mod.  Sure, it means my projects take longer and there are days when nothing gets done on them at all, but in helping others I get to see what they're doing and basically get a good look at what's going on server-wide.  Yea, I have a few more enemies than I did before I became a mod, but I've gained a few more friends too so it kinda balances out.






EDIT:  Due to recent mod abuse, took SalasCraft's suggestion and added a section (paragraph 5) about that.

All I have to say is, EPIC!   

I didn't see this issue listed, and you probably already know about it, but just in case you don't...  It appears that the live map has gone into a static mode.  It's not properly updated, and actually appears to be over 12 hours behind.  I say that, because one of my completed builds from last night still shows as framework on the map.  Just lettin ya know.   

I found a couple topics on Nether Portals, but due to overhearing a few people talking in-game I'm thinking maybe rules on them have changed?  So what's the deal with nether portals?  Can people own them?  Is there a central portal for everyone to use?  If you build one can you get a mod/admin to light it for you?