I've seen a lot of people making suggestions on how to stop griefing. Accounts, IP banning, additional build restrictions, more admin tools, ban lists, ect. Unfortunately, a lot of these suggestions are really easy to work around and they make the game a lot less fun and accessible for everyone else. No one wants to have a bunch of extra bullshit added to the game just to combat griefers.

However, there hasn't been a lot of discussion on implementing invite-only servers.

Here's how I think they should work:

1. There should be the option to make your server "keypass protected": password protected servers would require a keypass in order to access the map and play on the server.

2. Each individual player would have their own, unique keypass given to them by the admin. The keypass could either be randomly generated or be custom set by the admin at the request of the player. By giving each player their own keypass, there won't be a risk of a password leak causing a mass influx of uninvited players.

3. Only one person can play using the keypass at a time. If two people try to log on to the server using the same keypass at the same time, they will be rejected and the admin will be notified. This is to further ensure that there isn't a mass influx of uninvited players.

4. If the player breaks the server's custom rules and they are votekicked by the players on the server or kicked by the admin, their keypass is deactivated and they can no longer get on. Once deactivated, the player would have a chance to appeal their ban, and the admin could choose to either reactivate their keypass or not.

I feel like the game should remain free as possible, and the creation of invite-only servers would be the way to do so. The admins of these servers could come up with their own, unique ways to vet the people applying to join their server, and would thus be able to create a fun game environment for everyone on their server. Hell, if they wanted to, they could charge a small membership fee to join the server.

So what do you think?

Would you play on an invite only server or do you think this idea is doomed to fail? Also, do you have any ideas on how to implement this (admittedly rough) idea better?

After hearing suggestions for many new ways to prevent trolls, griefing, etc, some good, some bad, I gave up and am now shouting from the rooftops the real way to stop the skiddies from ruining your server.

They're called admins. They're actual people who actually supervise things. They can make calls better than any software, assess a situation more accurately, and they're harder to abuse than a public votekick.

However, most server hosts don't monitor their servers very well. This is a problem. Some hosts check on their servers frequently or maintain their presence (or save and close servers when they're away) to keep things under control, and their servers are consistently the best I've been on. It's crucial to hosting a good server that you keep an eye on things to destroy the trolls and protect the people that just want to play a fun game without constantly having to votekick Deuces.

The only feature for vanilla AoS server software that REALLY needs to be implemented is a way for server hosts to appoint admins, and possibly moderators, with the power to kick and ban at will (or just kick and tempban, in the case of moderators). The exact features would need some consideration (can all admins make admins, or only the host? What about making moderators? Could other mods do it or not?), but the overall idea would go a long way to making a better game experience.

All a host would need to do is gather up a friend or two, give them the appropriate powers, and start a server up. This would also strengthen the community (players that have gained a positive reputation might end up moderators on a plethora of servers, meaning that they can play in a bunch of different places and still remain helpful to the other players. If every single member of the AoS community who was trustworthy enough for the job was given it, griefers wouldn't stand a chance. They'd be kicked by five people at once) a bit overall. Servers could potentially have a moderator or admin online at all times, making things very hard indeed for griefers.

So hosts, PLEASE supervise your servers better, and Ben, can we get a feature like this? The system doesn't even require registration to work... server hosts could set a password a la PySpades.

ok hear me out, i know you guys think perm blocks are a bad idea, but not if their implemented correctly. im thinking of the ultimate anti-grief measure, to keep people from destroying vital map structures (i.e. the bridge in bridge wars). tell me what you think.