What's Going On With Mojang's Servers

You can check on the status of Mojang's servers here: http://help.mojang.com or here http://xpaw.ru/mcstatus/

Expect a lot of this over the coming week. Why? Lots and lots of server owners are really upset about the changes to Minecraft's EULA that are going into effect on August 1. As that date gets closer, people are getting more angry and more nervous, and it's almost inevitably going to lead to them attacking Mojang's servers with DDoS attacks or other ruthless attempts to get their point across.

While I do not like the changes that Mojang is implementing, I wholeheartedly disagree that launching attacks of this nature against them is the right way to go about changing it. There's one major group that is planning an "Operation Blackout" on August 1, where loads of very popular servers will shut down as a protest against the changes to the EULA.

As far as why you, as a player, should care:

Many of the plugins, code features, ideas, builds, etc., that you find on The Sandlot and other Minecraft servers were done by individuals outside of Mojang. They were done in their free time, and with nobody paying them to do it. Many of these plugin authors, mod authors, server networks, etc., like to be compensated by charging for their plugins (a few of which I have paid for and use on The Sandlot) or charge for VIP packages that include perks. All of this is being made "against the rules" on August 1. No longer will people be able to charge for their plugins. No longer will large server networks be able to generate enough income to pay designers to make all of those fun game modes that you have come to expect from them. It's totally possible that the huge networks out there will no longer be able to generate enough income to exist.

You can read more about it here: http://operationblackout.net/

 

Very interesting. Would it be against the EULA to continue donating, regardless of perks, to the Sandlot? In that case...
Do you think Sandlot will shut down on August 1st?

 

Yikes.

 

This is bad. Very bad. If Mojang isn't making profits out of servers, they could run low on funds. That could mean less Mojang staff and the implementation of lower-tech hardware. That could lead to fewer updates and not as extensive ones at that. This could possibly lead to less Minecraft players and less customers, eventually putting Mojang into bankruptcy because Minecraft was their most popular game. It's all very unlikely (my calculations say 0.017% chance) but if we're extremely unlucky, this could mean the end of Minecraft itself...

Nah.

Also, I believe Hams makes a good point.

 

Okay just saying but When you said "Operation BlackOut" It reminded me of a event on a game i play called "Club Pugin" Don't worry, its a kid freindly game

 

i agree its just wrong to attack because your mad.

 

im just nervouse that minecraft or sandlot will be gone forever we need to stop these attacks.

 

im scared

 

Please stop spamming. Its kind of hard to read if there are 3 short messages from one player in a row.

 

By the new EULA; Donating is fine, paying for "perks" is not. Although this is normally fine for most games, the community of Minecraft is, in my opinion, the only thing that keeps Minecraft as cool as it is. The people that put hard work into things deserve money, and in American culture, the likelihood of someone donating out of free will for no reason other than to help the developer is not very high. The reason why this is going to be bad for Minecraft is that this was not the original situation. Many people have come to expect making money off of their software, even when it was being used for the game. Now, I'll be honest here, I don't know much about this, but I feel the need to rant on about it anyway. Now, the big thing... I've noticed that they came out with "realms". Realms is kind of cool in a way, but it makes me think that Mojang wants to make money off of their little realms thing. The reason for this assumption is that realms, by itself, is basically just a vanilla server that has a few different configurations that you have to pay for. Oh, and it only has a tiny maximum capacity compared to a server. So why would Anyone want to use it? Because Mojang just decided to implement a rule stating that only Mojang can charge for anything in their game. Now, I don't want to say that they are completely messing up the Minecraft experience, but if they get rid of paying for plugins and mods, they will greatly decrease the quality of such content, because developers will make them on whim, and have no reason to continue development if they get bored. Most of the bigger servers require donations to stay afloat. Now, Mojang has said that they are willing to allow pay to get in servers, but the issue with those is that most servers rely on a large player base, with most of that player base non-paying members. Now in whose better interest would it be to mess up the big servers, with their fancy plugins, and that huge player base... I don't hate these changes, but I'm thoroughly convinced that Mojang has a greedy motive. I don't like it when greed interferes with someones ability to see the beauty of leaving things as they are.

 

The developers of Minecraft are set for life with all the money they made off Minecraft. Not to mention merchandise, Minecons, and other events of that sort.

 

The main problem I have with it is that they only left cosmetic items as something you can offer in VIP packages, but they left no way for developers to actually make new cosmetic items. If we could make cool hats, capes, or other custom items, it would make more sense.

Every server now will just be offering the same particle effects, pets, and /hat because that's all that's left.

 

The new banners might become a popular VIP benefit. But other than that I agree with you. It's hard to come up with more vanity items.

 

And just to reassure everyone,

The Sandlot is not going anywhere.

 

You know what? After reading some of the stuff that notch uploaded, I shall resume my previous opinion of neutral. Because of how easily my opinion was changed, I've decided that I don't know the full story and therefor will not state my opinion anymore.

 

I'm still not 100% sure on what can and cannot be a VIP benefit of a server.

Normal in-game items like Diamond armor and weapons, xp, and or other boosts for money--- against the EULA because they give things added by Mojang away for money and create an unfair playing environment, correct?

Cosmetic items like "hats" and particle effects --- ok because they don't give an advantage over anyone.

It says " you must not:... try to make money from anything we‘ve made"

Doesn't Mojang own the particles and "pets" used in mods that they are said are ok to use for VIP benefits?

But what if the items are made by an outside mod?

Would cosmetic hats made from a mod be ok to give to VIP members if the owner had permission from the mod maker?

But then it also says "Modifications to the Game ("Mods") (including pre-run Mods and in-memory Mods) and plugins for the Game also belong to you and you can do whatever you want with them, as long as you don‘t sell them for money / try to make money from them. We have the final say on what constitutes a tool/mod/plugin and what doesn‘t."

Wouldn't added particle effects and hats count as mods if they can't be done through the normal minecraft?"..., as long as you don‘t sell them for money / try to make money from them." Aren't servers using mods as a way to set effects on players and give them things like pets for exchange for money? Wouldn't that be against the EULA? (Or is this allowed in the EULA because its cosmetic and i just can't find it?) So now mod makers are going to have to spend their time making a mod that servers can use free of charge and they can't be paid for it?


I'm confused because this was said on Mojang.com on June 12th 2014
"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."

Has this changed and now nothing is allowed? Does Mojang even know what is allowed?

So if I have it correct.... Only cosmetic items are allowed to be sold by server, and the mod makers cannot make money from it. Or if what they said on June 12th is now not true... Nothing can be sold by servers accept for access to the server and mod makers can still not make money... At first I thought this an ok thing for minecraft, but after looking into this is just a mess and a horrible thing for mod makers :/