This had to be said somehow...

[Xeadin]

I read this article from the Team9000 Classic forum, and the way he had put it pretty much reflects many other large Minecraft communities (I see this happening here as well). I don't think I would've said this any better, so here you go.

Ranks: An editorial by Crane (from Team9000)

[clawstrider]

I don't see how this is relevent here, as what he is saying is that engi is an important rank. That is not valid here, as we have no engi equivelent.

[Xeadin]

Right, but generally we have been seeing a breakdown of how ranks should be portrayed and what the reality is as of right now.

The meaning of the work 'rank' is starting to change because of the change in the community. More people are starting to devalue the purpose of what the ranks should mean and are doing stuff because they are 'required' to do it for the rank.

We have seen some great builders out there, but defacing the value of the rank is just something I don't want to see.

People should just play like they normally did and just have fun with it. Ranks should not come first to a person's mind all the time

[Mr.Monkey]

Even though it's another server, I can recognise some of the problems. I'll just try and take out the important bits.

I've come to the conclusion that it's less about collaboratively building, and more about showing off your work.

Of course it is about showing off, but it sucks to do big ass projects on your own. And yes, I prefer to work with people that got a clue of what they are doing. I want to build, not supervise others to do stuff I could do better myself. I do enjoy giving others advice though and it's great to see people actually grow in their skills.

I feel like that the way things are going though people are no longer building for the sake of building. They aren't building because they enjoy it any more, they're just building to get to the next rank.

I don't see this as a problem. The point of the building for a higher rank is to develop your skills. Look at it like a mathsproblem. At school, they always first learn you how to do it, then after you got the hang of it they tell you the shortcuts on the calculator.
The only problem there is when people don't get feedback on their buildings. They will keep on working with their limited knowledge of 3d, only to be rejected again after lots of work. This will eventually result in them leaving the game out of frustration, or them putting some research into it, but since most players are of younger age, I think the first option is more reasonable.

With immense projects like the SoL and ND, of course there is a point where you get bored, but it feels so good when you finally finish a part you've been thinking about for ages how to do and it's lots of fun to have arguments over certain sections. I really hope more people will go for crafter in the future, because I really enjoy seeing a project grow and even more to see their builders work on their skills, because after all, the fun only starts when you reach crafter

I think the title "Builder" is actually pretty ironic these days. Most of the builders that I see aren't very interested in building. They kind of just go around helping people. I'm not trying to rag on helping people, but I feel like a lot people don't do it because they want to, they do it because that is what they are supposed to do to get to the next rank.

This section isn't very applicable to opticraft. If this is true for other servers, I must say I'm very proud of what we achieved here on opticraft, with a pretty large group of players who actually do enjoy the building.

I think what makes us very different from the other servers is that we have our crafter-rank and moderating ranks separated. What I make out from the rest of the post is that the engineer is basically the same as the crafter, but with the job of actually helping out on the server instead of being free to do whatever they want. I think the decision not to do this here is what makes the crafter such a desirable position.

At engineer+ you are no longer given privileges, you are given responsibility. It is your responsibility to make sure that the server is kept clean and griefer-free. It's no longer about you, it's about the community.

I think this is something builders should be very aware of before applying. I still have the feeling some builders see operator as an easy way to get all the cool commands.

[clawstrider]

Just some background info:

Engineer rank does not reflect building skill. You get it from being a helpful builder. I think the problem on that server is that people only get engineer if they are seen being helpful. Because that is not the case on Opticraft, people actually have time to build.

[Mr_Mr_Mr]

You know what I think? Just play the damn game any way you want.

[Nick3306]

I could not have said it any better than monkey did.

[DeeKay]

You know what I think? Just play the damn game any way you want.

This^

[Relkeb]

tl;dr

Only kidding. That really is a well thought out "essay". Now instead of sitting here rambling on about what I agree/disagree with, I just have one thing to say... cool story, bro.

I might reply with something more well thought out later... or indefinitely.

[Spamarian]

I couldn't read it because a message about security comes over it, and a video. So, I didnt.

[clawstrider]

I couldn't read it because a message about security comes over it, and a video. So, I didnt.

That is because Team9000 have shut their website to protest over SOPA and PIPA.

[Nick3306]

I couldn't read it because a message about security comes over it, and a video. So, I didnt.

That is because Team9000 have shut their website to protest over SOPA and PIPA.

That is kinda dumb. I understand sites like google and craigslist shutting down but no congressman is going to say "team9000 shut down their website, we must vote no"

[Redchecks]

Team9k... Who gives a fuck...
This is a separate server and what happens is Opti's choice. Not T9K

That's all I have to say

[Nick3306]

Team9k... Who gives a fuck...
This is a separate server and what happens is Opti's choice. Not T9K

That's all I have to say

You are missing the point. He is not saying that we should do what t9k does, he is saying that what that person wrote on their forums could apply to our server. Don't be so quick to shoot down that he says just because of t9k.

[clawstrider]

I couldn't read it because a message about security comes over it, and a video. So, I didnt.

That is because Team9000 have shut their website to protest over SOPA and PIPA.

That is kinda dumb. I understand sites like google and craigslist shutting down but no congressman is going to say "team9000 shut down their website, we must vote no"

Agreed.

Team9k... Who gives a fuck...
This is a separate server and what happens is Opti's choice. Not T9K

That's all I have to say