The world is too big

Our world file is about 1.3Gb, which is quite huge. Along with that there is the world map, which is significantly larger. Hopefully soon the server will have a new drive to use and will be given a new operating system (debian) with no other junk on it. While we figure out if the world being to large was  indeed the problem we will be disabling the dynamic map, as that is huge as well. However you should all rest easy knowing that all of your builds are safe and secure, backed up in multiple locations.

- Asher

As a side note, the player who is helping repair the server has requested that gunpowder be re added to the game, so if we can figure out a way to disable the destruction of all blocks in a claimed area we will be bringing back gunpowder, tnt, and creepers.

New Admin and Broken Drives

Due to the amount of work I have I have decided to step aside from the management of the server and focus only on the writing of the plugins. Lincoln Noggle will be taking over the management of the server, this is updating the bukkit version, fixing shop prices, and settings or plugin configurations, like dynmap. On a side note the server will be down for maintenance as we now have a new admin the server must actually be maintained correctly instead of horribly by myself. While taking it down to fix the configuration I noticed that the harddrive was having some difficulty and ultimately looks like it will fail soon, however it may just be software. The server should be back up by this weekend with new configuration settings and up to date minecraft versions. Thanks all of you who have been playing over the years. Hopefully the server will last a little longer.
- Admin Asher

Code and Updates

Hello Travelers,
The server is still online for the time being and has not been updated to the newest version of minecraft. Sometime in the future I will be updating the server to the current version of minecraft. I am very much looking forward to the day in which minecraft itself has a modding API and we no longer have to deal with the delays of Bukkit having it's own codebase. The position for assistance is still open and is needed now more then ever in order to help update the server. I would also like to mention that Jim (IbramGaunt00) has created a book to introduce people to the world of Demeter. I hope to soon see this book spawn with every new player who joins the server, but in the meantime you can find a copy in the giant treasure chest in hombase.
- Admin Asher

Winter Solstice

It is that time of the year again and I am quite happy with everything that is going on in life. As most of you have a nice long winter break to look forward to I will remind you once more of the position available to help moderate the server as a sys admin. Also let me inform you that no java experience is required you only have to know how to ssh into a linux machine, and use a text editor. Everything else you will learn as you go. Good Luck and Have Fun
- Admin Asher

We need another sysadmin

Over the past week or so I have been working on writing new plugins for the server, and they are coming along just fine. But the part that I am realizing more and more is that we need someone who is able to learn the configuration settings and the setup and maintenance of the plugins that are actually on the server. I am not able to single-handedly configure and fix all of the problems with the plugins on the server as well as write new plugins or features for plugins that exist. This new sysadmin will be in charge of the final touches of the server.

Certain things they will be in charge of include:
Making the nether render properly on the dynmap
Updating / Upgrading the dynmap

Taking care of mundane features that are not implemented yet:
Renaming plots
Combining plots
Deleting whole plots
Modifying Shop Prices
Adding new items to the shop / maintaining the shopfront
Helping to figure out what current plugins break with each bukkit update

Benefits of taking this job include a salary of $0 an hour, ssh access to the demetermine server, full admin rights on the server, and a yourname@demetermine.com email address.

To apply for this position, comment or send me a short description of why you think you would be a good fit for all or part of this job. Knowledge or willingness to learn about how dynmap works is a requirement.

- Admin Asher

Nice Party of 9

The other day we had a nice group of nine people playing on the server, it brought me much happiness  to see people all together, we were just 6 short of having 15 people playing on the server at once. The server is up to version 1.4.5 for those of you who do not know. Also I would like to announce that the price list bounty has gone up to 2 Million Chips (ingame money). You must price out the entire item list in minecraft for the server to use in the future version of the economy system. Each item needs these three criteria:

Item Name
Sell Price - How much can a player sell it to the shop for
Buy Price - How much can a player buy it from the shop for
Different values may be needed for blocks with different meta data, for example half slabs made of wood should not cost the same as ones made of stone brick, while they have the same block id.

Lastly a warning, item frames are not blocks, they are entities and as a result they can be broken within a protected area. Do not store your valuables in item frames if you fear that others will be able to destroy the frame and take the items. The safest place to store something is in an ender chest.
- Asher

1.4.2 Dev Build Released

Hey players. Bukkit has released a dev build of 1.4.2 which means that the server will be updated soon. However it is quite difficult to continue to maintain the server. Thus I give you, the players, the ability to keep the server alive. With the last round of updates the plugins reached around 5.5 thousand lines of code. I will continue maintaining the server if either one of these things happens:

1) 15 people comment on this post
2) A screen shot of 15 people playing at the same time is posted as a comment
3) $64 is donated to the server (the remaining cost of the servers hardware)

If two of these things happens I will also implements some new plug-ins that people have been asking for as quickly as possible, including bringing back creepers and TNT with no explosions.
Happy crafting
- Asher

[Update]
The server is currently down for maintenance, it should be back up by Monday

[Update]
The server is now running 1.4.2