The majority of people laugh when I tell them that I own and manage a game server, especially a Minecraft server, if they know what Minecraft is. You see many people view playing games as immature, a waste of time, and a threat to the sanity of man kind. I’m not here today to be on the offense or the defense of playing games, I just want to let you know why that laugh was only funny for the first millisecond because there is more than what meets the eye.
If you know what Minecraft is, then skim over this paragraph but for those who don’t know then please read this. Minecraft is a huge sandbox video game made up of all different types of blocks where you can build any and everything that you want. Then at night monsters (or mobs) come out at night and hurt you, thus at night you want to be in a sheltered place that is lit up. There is also multiplayer where you can play with other people on servers and almost each server is different. How are they different yet it’s the same game? Well, first the maps are different and the “spawn”, or place where you first arrive at, is different and has different functions for the players. Secondly the servers have different plugins, some public and some private, that enhance the game play of that server. Thirdly and probably the most important is the staff of the server, and how they’re organized, and the community that the server has.
I’m not going to really talk about the spawn of the servers nor will I focus too much on the plugins, but I’m going to focus on why that laugh wasn’t really appropriate or funny. You see like I said in the first part of this “…there is more than what meets the eye.” That statement is so true, for example a plugin updated and contains bug fixes and you’ve installed it but you can’t restart the server because it is busy yet during that time someone takes advantage of the bug. Or one of your staff is online and people are asking him for help yet he isn’t responding and is ignoring it all claiming “oh I didn’t see that” to you when you ask about it and then another staff member gets on and helps the people out without a hitch or flinch. How do you handle those situations with wisdom and as an excellent leader would?
You say I waste my time on that game and it’s not only a waste of time but also a waste of money and resources. Is it really? How would you know it’s a “waste of time” when you’ve yet to be in my shoes, when you’ve yet to see and get the experience that I have received? Let me explain something to you here shortly..
What makes something worth while and not a waste of time? Is it making money off something, I think not. If that was the case then why people watch TV and movies, yet they claim it isn’t a waste of time.
What makes a good leader, is it someone who is a dictator and rules with a string hand and doesn’t encourage trust to the people under him/her? Or is it someone who entrusts the people under him/her and is not a micromanager?
How do you organize a group of people to work not only efficiently but also cooperative and as a team? A group where one person is not jealous of another because they don’t have as much power as the other? A hierarchy order in the group where the lower in the order (I hate to out it like that) know their limits and pass things beyond them up the ladder and know not to handle them and let the right person handle it instead.
Then how do you kick someone off the staff team to where there is not any hard feelings coming from both sides? How do you handle people who don’t do any work and only take advantage of their powers? What do you base your decisions on? Do you base them on just what you want or do you base them off what your players (members) want and then what you want?
How do you handle an immature player who declares you are immature publicly because you made a decision that effected him and didn’t go how he wanted it to? How do you handle a trouble maker on the server that has not only donated but also the parents of that player say this is that player’s life?
I better stop because you’re probably getting tired of hearing and reading this “junk”. So, i’ll leave you with this. Was that laugh when I told you I run and own a game server nessacary? Why do you claim to be a “leader” when you’ve yet to successfully organize something?
