So you might be wondering how we run things in the IDP development team, right? I'm pretty sure a lot of members would like to know just how the owner manages the stuff that makes their server unique. I'd like to explain some of the things behind the decisions that owners do. I hope you're interested in what I have to say!
Most server owners will choose from a library of plugins available on the bukkit website in order to make their server unique. If you look around on the internet, you might find some guidelines to make an effective community (such as popular plugins that might give you a good amount of users). Some communities have many plugins, maybe 40+ or so, while others have a few. It all depends on the aim of the community.
Of course, these communities are only as good as the plugins that are running on the server. The owner only has enough control as available plugins to suit his/her needs. If they require something, it is required of them to get the plugin that performs whatever function they needs Most plugins will be only suited to one thing, but others may have multiple uses.
One such example of what a server owner would need would be permissions. They come in many different forms. One may be better than the rest in one area, but fail in another. It all depends on what a server owner would need. Generally, though, any permission plugin should do what one wants. Everyone needs permission in order to do some things. It's only natural.
This, of course, requires that some plugins be updated to new Minecraft versions. If a community uses 40+ plugins, it might be likely that quite a few plugins will have to be updated, and the time in which that happens can vary. It's not quick either, so don't look for your server to be up and running on a new Minecraft version so soon.
That represents one type of server owner. The other type is one that writes their own features. This is an entirely different ballpark. Here, the control lies with the owner, since they're the one that is in full control of things. They control what goes on when they want it to go on. They are no longer restricted to having to search a library of plugins that do different things. Whatever they want, they can implement it into their plugin. That is how we work. And you guys are the ones that help us, by giving us good suggestions that sometimes land on our redmine, later to be added to our plugin.
This is primarily why we don't wait a long time in order to update. The few plugins that we do have that aren't ours (WorldEdit, Votifier, for example) tend to get updated not more than 2-3 weeks after a major Minecraft version has come out. That's pretty good news. It means you don't need to wait a month to play the newest version. Who can complain?
Without you guys, we wouldn't be around! Thanks!
