Has anyone else noticed?

[smithadmin]

I logged in to the server for the first time in a couple weeks and found that much of my place was destroyed.

Is there something that happened to others as well?  I thought maybe marauders, but that implies that a section was active at the time...  That would mean that someone did it intentionally.   

[3dB]

I checked the logs and there was a random person who logged in for the first time on Feb 13th. They appeared at spawn and... Well, the logs tell the tale:

2024-02-13T03:33:23,143 INFO  [server0]: tevapharm joined the game
2024-02-13T03:33:23,146 INFO  [server0]: tevapharm[/10.88.99.1:50873] logged in with entity id 287549 at ([3decibels-1.19]107.5, 66.0, 347.5)
2024-02-13T03:33:53,160 INFO  [server0]: tevapharm has made the advancement [Diamonds!]
2024-02-13T03:33:53,403 INFO  [server0]: tevapharm has made the advancement [Acquire Hardware]
2024-02-13T03:34:30,419 INFO  [server0]: tevapharm has made the advancement [Stone Age]
2024-02-13T03:34:31,701 INFO  [server0]: tevapharm has made the advancement [Ice Bucket Challenge]
2024-02-13T03:36:06,955 INFO  [server0]: tevapharm has made the advancement [We Need to Go Deeper]
2024-02-13T03:39:23,235 INFO  [server0]: tevapharm has made the advancement [Hot Stuff]
2024-02-13T03:54:37,835 INFO  [server0]: tevapharm lost connection: Disconnected
2024-02-13T03:54:37,858 INFO  [server0]: tevapharm left the game

They haven't been back.

Now, normally I would offer to restore your area from backup but I see it's been a few weeks and you've been on since your initially discovery, so I assume you're probably not interested in that. Is there anything important you lost that I can replace for you?

On a separate note, we're in an era where all Minecraft servers on the net are routinely scanned and indexed by 3rd parties who make the details available to anyone who wants to look. Public servers are sadly often visited by people only looking to cause trouble and with a small server like ours it's very difficult to catch them in the act. I also don't like the idea of imposing a static player whitelist, I'd rather be able to welcome anyone who wishes to join.

What I would like to do is create a form on the website where a player can enter their name and be immediately added the whitelist. This would keep out the random griefers because the server would show up as using whitelisting but would enable anyone who learned about the server organically to join. Griefers using minecraft search engines wouldn't be able to find the form because they only know the service IP, not the FQDN (assuming I remove it from the MOTD of course).

Since you're someone I know and a longtime user of the server I have decided to deputize you as a server OP. In addition to the normal operator tools available in Minecraft you also now have access to the CoreProtect plugin which provides block level event logging, rollbacks and restores. Use this power as you see fit.

Edit: Gave you global forum mod too. You can edit your user profile and enter your cheese of choice under "Custom title"

[smithadmin]

Thank you sir.  I hope I am found worthy of the responsibility. 

As for the restoration of things...  PinkFaust and I were working on several things that got lost, but I don't think anything is lost that cannot (eventually) be rebuilt or mined.  I've relocated to a random(ish) location that should mitigate such things happening again.

Thanks for checking up on that whole mess.  I appreciate it.