Posts by Panther

Quote from wild1145

Quote from DrPeePee

but set up so that users are free to play on the server without rules

And this is where the suggestion has and always does fall apart.

We don't launch a game-mode on the network that doesn't conform to the community guidelines, "No Rules" will simply not fly.

I mentioned this above, but there are a few reasons why a server with no rules shouldn't be a problem with TotalFreedom/Atlas:

• The server could be disconnected from the Bungee network and work just as well.
• Anarchy means the responsibility for any bad behavior as a result of "no rules" doesn't fall on TF/Atlas.
• TF is, and always has been associated with some extremely toxic behavior anyway, but often, TF staff are responsible. In Anarchy, this behavior is more expected and doesn't really "damage" the reputation of the server itself.

I get there are community guidelines here, but that doesn't mean they have to apply to Anarchy. Either way, the reputational risk level would be the same as it is now, as long as Freedom is running.

Common concerns

"Anarchy would isolate the current TF playerbase"

I believe anarchy would actually serve the current playerbase very well. For one, an anarchy server doesn't mean that the Freedom server would just be terminated; players would still have the option to stick with the Freedom gamemode. For two, a big reason much of the current playerbase is still here is to be with the community. Anarchy could bring back some of the old TF community, and this would breathe life back into TF's current community. While many newer players might be more interested in the "creative" aspects offered by the Freedom gamemode than the "freedom" aspects offered by anarchy, the playerbase would still be able to choose between the two. Some have also expressed concerns about potential spillover from the anarchy server to the freedom server - but I believe this is easily preventable with the staff team we have that is already capable of dealing with that issue, as well as having the anarchy server be disconnected from the freedom server network/bungee-wise if needed.

"The anarchy server wouldn't be good for the reputation of TF or Atlas Media"

I don't think this would be true. While implementing anarchy could bring in the "wild west," or a community of people with potential to do any number of damages to TF/Atlas, that community and its reputation have already been on TotalFreedom for years. A very large amount of behavior that'd be considered "foul" or "harmful" used to exist on TotalFreedom as commonplace years ago, and as a result of that, the remaining community from that era continues to demonstrate that behavior today. I would argue that Anarchy actually improves TF's reputation, as it places the responsibility of this behavior on the players that did it rather than TotalFreedom itself. TotalFreedom would actually be able to avoid a lot of the drama and attention that goes to this type of "foul" behavior if it were simply the responsibility of the players that did it, and the affected players expected that type of behavior anyway.

"Anarchy isn't plausible with our current development team"

I don't think this is true. Setting up an anarchy server simply means setting up vanilla survival, but with the intent to have no concrete rules. It can be done with some brief permission setup (which doesn't really require developer level knowledge) and possibly some anti-cheat plugins and patches. While it is true that the anarchy community is excellent at finding harmful bugs and exploits, TF has been dealing with the same issues for years and features an admin and dev team that actually specializes in resolving these bugs.

"The anarchy community expects old builds and chunks to be present"

I don't think it really matters much that the actual anarchy world would be a fresh start at first. TotalFreedom still has a rich history and a community to back it up, and the community that is attracted from marketing TotalFreedom as well as the current community would easily be able to make the anarchy world interesting. As the community grows, home-grown events and community building would naturally occur, making our world interesting on its own.

"TotalFreedom would not be unique as an anarchy server"

If TF decides to set up an anarchy server, it has the potential to be unique in the anarchy scene in many ways. First of all, TF is the original. We were an anarchy server before anyone else was, and I believe that fact alone is able to attract an enormous amount of attention. Second, we are able to run the latest version of Minecraft with no problems. This is something that many other servers in the anarchy scene have been struggling with. Thirdly, we have the flexibility to be able to set up server software that could allow TF to support more players online than any other anarchy server. Projects like MultiPaper could be implemented on the TF anarchy server to accommodate a large number of players. Another possibility I have discussed with upper management on TotalFreedom is implementing a semi-cracked system. In this system, premium players would retain their username, but cracked players would have randomized usernames so that cracked mode would still be an option, but not something that ruins the experience.

"We already tried anarchy and it didn't work"

Other than when the server originally ran an anarchy mode, TF has made no real attempt to try out an anarchy server. The somewhat recent "anarchy" event that we had was temporary, delayed by a significant amount of time, and wasn't even true anarchy in the first place. There were oddly still rules present in the "anarchy" event, and the entire thing also wasn't in the typical anarchy format, as it discouraged server growth by kicking players off permanently when they died. Those factors make it obvious why the event flopped.

Closing thoughts

An important thing to remember when considering an anarchy gamemode is the potential risk, and the return on investment. At worst, we try to set up an anarchy server and it fails. This isn't a good outcome, but we wouldn't actually "lose" anything except for the honestly not very significant amount of time we'd need to put into setup. Frankly, the freedom gamemode is failing already as is, and in my eyes, the playerbase desperately needs something more interesting. However, if we are able to see success through an anarchy server, the potential return on investment is huge. With TotalFreedom's history and marketing potential, it is possible that it could become a popular and interesting server.

Preamble

I know I have proposed we have an anarchy gamemode on TotalFreedom many times before. I ask that people hear this out - I want to explain why it's a good idea in full, making sure to describe the problems anarchy would solve on TotalFreedom, and explaining a reasonable setup process with the resources we have. I also would like to address common concerns I have heard surrounding the idea of implementing an anarchy server.

Also, I get that many won't want to read this whole post. It is so long, in fact, that I had to split it into two separate posts. However, I ask that if you have an argument to make against this position, you read it in its entirety before making that argument to avoid redundancy and confusion.

I also ask that the opinions expressed in this thread be expressed with reason rather than an incomplete "yes" or "no" type response.

The problems

If you have played on the TotalFreedom game server recently, you're probably familiar with one of the biggest problems that the server has today: a lack of player interest. There have not been many people playing on the server recently, and the number of actual people playing on the server decreases to a staggering low if the inflation caused by always-online bots is factored out. Even when there are players on the server, it's painfully clear that many are still searching for a way to entertain themselves in-game. Another problem TotalFreedom has faced recently is a lack of tangible freedom on the server. Many aspects that have reduced freedom in the "Freedom" game mode came as reasonable changes, but the fact remains that much of the freedom that many came to this server for is now absent. As a result, TF has isolated the vast majority of its playerbase over the years.

Why anarchy is a good solution

Reason 1: TF's overall playerbase values the features anarchy has to offer

First off, TF had been catering to the anarchy playerbase for years before it went through more major changes that reduced freedom. This might not make sense to newer members of TF, but a while back, the game server was more "free" and was a spectacle of players constantly causing trouble that admins had to fix. I'm not saying this was a good thing in the current "semi-creative freedom" format, but in the context of anarchy, this type of behavior can generate interest in a way that is more contained than most think. Many of TF's older players found this player behavior entertaining, and even TF's admins used it as a way to find purpose on the server and connect over administrating the rambunctious players. I believe that anarchy would be a great fit for this community, and could even reignite many older members' interest in TotalFreedom. Players on the server would be able to enjoy the true freedom associated with anarchy, joining with other players to gather resources, build, and conquer the world rather than running around on the flatlands searching for something to do.

Reason 2: Marketing

TotalFreedom is sitting on a ridiculous amount of unrealized marketing potential that comes with the rich history and (almost) 12-year longevity that the server has. There is a Minecraft Forum thread from 2010 about TotalFreedom that states that it didn't have rules, nor administration that was typical of a Minecraft server. This thread is stating that in November, 2010, TF was an anarchy server. This means that present-day TotalFreedom is actually in a very advantageous situation in terms of its marketability.

Many here probably know of a very large anarchy server called 2B2T. 2B2T is one of the last sticklers of the old days in the Minecraft server scene. It has an impressive number of players on, and that number is still disproportionately small compared to their overall community due to the nature of having that many people in a single Minecraft world. 2B2T's claim to fame is that they're "the oldest anarchy server in Minecraft." The forum post explaining that TotalFreedom had no rules was actually made in November, 2010, pre-dating 2B2T by a month. TotalFreedom was the original anarchy server, and we should be marketing that fact to the anarchy community, including 2B2T's playerbase - a playerbase that is actively looking for something to do, since to even get into 2B2T, they have to wait in a queue for several hours. In the anarchy community, the age of something is incredibly important. If we took the effort to prove that 2B2T's claim that they are the oldest is wrong, we could easily cause a large stir in the anarchy community. We even have our own 2B2T style timeline of interesting and wacky events that have happened over the years on TF that could get outsiders interested enough to take a look at what's happening here. We would be able to retain interested players from this marketing strategy if we had a TotalFreedom anarchy server for them to play on.

Plan of action

1. Set up an anarchy server. While setting up a new server may seem like a daunting task to many, I would argue that it's actually not as difficult as many think. Anarchy is a rather simple gamemode when you think about it - it's just vanilla survival or creative, but set up so that users are free to play on the server without rules. Dealing with exploits and people crashing the server might seem like it'd be an issue, but I think the TotalFreedom community is ready to tackle the issue. TotalFreedom has been rather vulnerable to exploits and crashers on its own for years and our admins and developers have been prepared to deal with that type of situation.

2. Marketing begins. I have a couple ideas for how we could start marketing ourselves using the "original anarchy server" statement. One way to start would be contacting an established member of the anarchy community. For example, a super chat on one of FitMC's livestreams showing him the original TotalFreedom anarchy post would be likely to catch his attention, as well as the attention of his followers. Another way to market ourselves would be to spread the word that TotalFreedom is the original anarchy server in social media communities where anarchy players gather, like 2B2T or related subreddits and discords. A third way would be to create our own promotional video material about TF's history. It'd also be important to market to TF's historical community through our own platforms - many would be interested in seeing the return of real freedom on the TotalFreedom game server. Spreading the word of TF's originality in the anarchy space is key.

3. Revisions and adaptation occur. If our community grows as a result of the anarchy server, we will be able to better respond to feedback and make changes, and learn about how the community builds on itself and attracts interest. Using this information, TF will be able to adapt to the growing playerbase and move forward in a continual process of growth rather than being stagnant like TF is now. Additionally, since TF is more flexible than larger servers, we would be able to experiment with server software that makes it possible for more players to be on one world at once.

The time is upon us. Microsoft has initiated the Pissening (they piss all over their own game.)

We must peemain strong and unite to overcome this peediculous chat moderation "peeature." Vote now on the Minecraft Peedback pissues in the following link:

https://feedback.minecraft.net…/search?query=chat+report

Also, while I'm at it:

Quote

↩  Allink No, 1337 hackers cannot haxx into the Big Mojang mainframe and file billions of reports against your account, doing so would most likely get THEM permanently banned from Minecraft instead. And also, I imagine the endpoint would be heavily limited.

Yeah, but they can just forge the "reportable content" on their end. What happens when someone clicks a click event that makes them send a message that violates the guidelines?

Here's the solution, guys. Since Ryan has peecided to overstep the ownership policy, we need to start a Pee-Resignation Notice. Ryan may own the domain, but we can always peetire from this server and create a new server called "TotalPeedom."

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↩ @'Ryan' piss

Rest in peece.

What a shame. Our once fruitful source of comedy has been pissed away.

First it was grandma's balls. Now he's tampering with PISStons.....

Peesus Christ! I really want to donate, but I'm pretty sure ProBoards is peesponsible for the peediculous amount of time we have been waiting to get the forums back.....and not peeople here putting it off until later.....

Right?

Uh oh... Looks like someone has peecided it's time for another peetarded peenalization spree! Peesus Christ, that's a peediculous amount of alt accounts... whoever is behind this must be a peegenerate.

Vouch. Clearly an excellent candidate for the Peenior Admin rank.

This is pretty peetarded.

@lyicx#490 I peedict Biden will win, as Trump appeears to have gotten himself into quite the peedicament.

This pisstoric peelection is going down in the books! It's come to a showdown in Georgia, Nevada, and Peensylvania, peetween Peesident Trump and former Vice Peesident Biden.