State of the server...

[VanDerProtofsky Profile]

This has been discussed quite a lot amongst other users recently, either in-game, on IRC or on mumble or elsewhere but I feel it should be put down on record and discussed here. What is going on with TWiTCraft in the long term?

The server is very neglected on the administrative side of things. We have had regular 10 minute crashes over the past few days (fixed 2nd May). There is a two-weekly pattern of the server eventually lagging to a crawl and requiring a restart. The server is out of date and still has various, some potentially game-breaking, bugs. There are various configuration errors that have needed fixing since day one of the reset. Community-requested changes such as midnight-reset ATM script have yet to be implemented despite the assistance offered. Resource and creative world reset is late by three months now. The IRC-TWiTCraft bridge is still down, despite available solutions. This is all I could remember, or could list without compromising server security.

On the moderation side of things, the past month or so has seen an influx of new players. During that time, I have only seen two moderators handling cases since then and they have done an exceptional job of keeping on top. The past week however I have heard of two cases where players have exceeded their modreq amount because of the staggering increase of griefing. The above server issues I imagine are not helping the handling of these cases any. Two active moderators just does not seem enough to handle this.

All this is pretty demoralizing to a player, like me, who wanted to dedicate their time to building projects and enjoying Minecraft on a server with a sizable community. I have to wonder, is it worth spending any more time playing on this server when it feels abandoned by administration?

It is my hope that by posting this, that there other players who share the same concerns and that hopefully somebody up there will take notice. I do not want to invite speculation or rumor as to what is happening, but answers would be nice, yanno?

[Robrotheram Profile]

I agree the server is now unplayable. I Logged around 1 hour and the server crashed 9 times with an average of a crash every 7 min.

Log: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ah5hm6eKL71XdDFVY0RRTnRYZ29RcGI5SjRzaUVPSEE&usp=sharing

[Jaggwagg Profile]

I do agree, is the server on it's last legs?

[Robrotheram Profile]

If the main issue is that Curley is not able to manage the server then can we appoint a second person to help manage the server. The person does not need root but may be just permission to reboot the server. I know there are several people including myself who know how to ssh to a server and use linux commands.

[thetechman454 Profile Website]

If the main issue is that Curley is not able to manage the server then can we appoint a second person to help manage the server. The person does not need root but may be just permission to reboot the server. I know there are several people including myself who know how to ssh to a server and use linux commands.

There are at least two other people that have access to the server(in terms of administration). It's not just curley, albeit curley does most of the work.

[abigail Profile]

Curley is the one that does all the testing and debugging for the updates on plugins and such. as well as the guy who will react to tweets as far as the server goes

Im glad someone else can restart the server. but this restarting is something that soulnds like curley should look closely into it

[VanDerProtofsky Profile]

Curley is the one that does all the testing and debugging for the updates on plugins and such. as well as the guy who will react to tweets as far as the server goes

Im glad someone else can restart the server. but this restarting is something that soulnds like curley should look closely into it

With due respect to Curley, it just seems his interests are elsewhere these days. A single tweet does not seem to suffice. But this is why I'd back up the idea of more administrators (who/where are the other two, anyway?) because, as somebody who manages a VPS or two myself, I would not blame Curley if keeping an eye on the server is overwhelming or off-putting.

[rjlan82 Profile]

From a smartphone, I can ssh into a server and do a reboot. This shouldn't be a difficult thing. Even drunk. But I agree, we could use some more admins, who are active on the server

[rjlan82 Profile]

Update: getting disconnected about every 3 minutes now with about 8 players

[NgtFlyer Profile]

Agreed. As an avid supporter, heavy builder and frequent player, the change has been quite noticeable. The frequent crashes make it unplayable. I wish some of the original moderators were still involved and I wish there were a few more active mods to help relieve Vantes and Asim0v. However, being the only mods, these two have been doing a fantastic job handling the load.

I know Real Life (tm) gets in the way, interests change and such, but this to me is more than just Minecraft. This is a community where not only do we build and interact, but where many friendships have started and grown.

I for one would love to see Twitcraft continue and prosper for a long time to come.

-Ngt.

[DiegoRodriguez10 Profile]

I agree, the server was a lot of help to me when I first got minecraft last year. The builds you see next to the roads will kind of give you an idea for becoming more successful at building things. The server will also need new mods in order for the players to be more protected and safe from griefers, is addition, not a lot of people are coming back (for example me) I'm starting to not come on the server again. If no one comes on the server ever again, TWITCraft as we plan to builds its future, will not be available anymore and will cause great impact on me and others.
-DR

[DragonofHalo Profile]

I haven't been here for quite some time due to my laptop problems, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I have felt since mid/late February that the server has been getting some neglect. Resource world has been reset weeks and months after schedule and reboots have been pushed back. Even our first resource world after the reset was a month late. There have been Town Hall propositions that have received majority vote and mod approval that have not been implemented and issues (such as passive mob spawning) that have not been resolved.

I want to go ahead and say now that our active moderators are doing a fan-friggen-tastic job of keeping on top of things. I can't be in game to look around, but I can show up in mumble and IRC. From what I can tell, they're doing a great job as always. As for the less active moderators, I'm not trying to insult you guys. You get busy, you get bored, you're human.

On an administrative level, I don't want to start yelling at Curley, either. Again, busy, bored, other interests, etc. I do it all the time with the Netherroad and other projects that I should be doing. The only thing that I'd like to see is somebody that is more active on the server to be able to do simple things like rebooting.
In addition, it would be awesome to get one or two more moderators to help lighten the load. Summer break is coming soon, and there will be more players. More players == more griefing, more requests to place lava, more region requests, etc., etc., etc. And again, while Asim0v and Vantes are doing a great job, stuff is piling up already.

All in all, these have been issues for a while. This is the server that I met a good number of my best friends and where I first started Minecraft. I don't want to see it staggering along like this.

[Dio Profile]

So glad you posted this Vander, I've been wanting to bring up some of the exact same things for a while now. The server feels abandoned and dying.

In addition to all the issues you've stated, I'd also add that the we've been on the same resource world for like 3 or 4 months now. Also, the PVP portal in the lobby has been 'under construction' since since the map reset. This would be so easy to set up and give players so much more to do (and we've been asking for it for years).


There are a lot of people dedicated to Twitcraft that know how to administer a server. I'd hate to see the server and the community die off because of this.

[DiegoRodriguez10 Profile]

My final word: TWITCraft needs more mods now due to summer that is coming up soon, work is almost over for most adults and the summer break is coming very soon, 5 more weeks left for the kids. All we need is to make the city of TWITCraft and get some great mods in touch of the server. If this bug does not stop, TWITCraft will NOT be here again. Roads would be empty, shops with cob webs, and Leoville will just be a ghost spawn, with ghost players, horses, dogs, cats,etc. we've have lost lots of our best players, but there are still some of them still here, not trying to mean, but we need noobs and pro.

Yesterday I got 3 awesome news in real life, but only 2 bad news on TWITCraft, I will not tolerate this bug and that players are rage leaving, We Need More Admins/Mods

[asim0v Profile]

...work is almost over for most adults and the summer break is coming very soon...

That's not how things work when you're an adult. Most professions don't get a summer break. Now people usually take vacation time during the summer, but it's not the same thing.

The server did get a restart last night at some point.

[DiegoRodriguez10 Profile]

I'm sorry for my mistake. I meant that some people may go on vacation and still play minecraft, for example me, I'm going to visit my old town in NY.

[geo131313 Profile]

I am also glad this topic has been brought up. It saddens me that the community is dwindling because of a lack of upkeep.
The main reason i play on Twitcraft is because of the community. I feel with proper maintenance, the server can be back the way it was with a strong community. The only thing is actually taking those steps and not letting the server just sit and wither away.

[ToucanMonkey Profile]

Happy to see the TWiTcraft mods are now deleting posts in this thread! Watch what you say, kids!

[rjlan82 Profile]

I don't want to interrupt the discussion here, but... the lag is back

[NgtFlyer Profile]

Since the night of May 4 when Curley did maintenance, things seem to be running much more smoothly. I only got a chance to play for a short while, but I saw no sign of lag or other issues when I was on.
I plan to do some building this week/weekend so we'll see how things go.

I'll add that the job of administration goes thankless most of the time. Yes, the hosted server has been free, but there is high value in time and effort. I'd like to remind and recognize the mods for the time and dedication they put towards this community and to Curley for all the time and effort he does put into this. We all get busy and sometimes have to focus elsewhere at times. I know first-hand myself.

Thanks for the good work, guys!
-Ngt