Tutorials/Griefing prevention



Griefing is the act of irritating and angering people in video games through the use of destruction, construction, or social engineering. Popularized in Minecraft by teams, griefing has become a serious problem for server administrators who wish to foster building and protect builders.

History of griefing
Griefing is far from a new phenomenon in video games. It dates to the late 1990s, when it was used to describe the willfully antisocial behaviors seen in early massively multiplayer online games like Ultima Online and first-person shooters like Counter-Strike. But even before it had a name, griefer-like behavior was familiar in prehistoric text-based virtual worlds like LambdaMOO, where joyriding invaders visited "virtual rape" and similar offenses on the local populace. Frustrated users or mal-intentioned gamers have oftentimes tried to cause grief among other players in multiplayer servers they join, but many griefers just "do it for the laughs", or just out of plain boredom. An increase in organized griefing occurred with the creation of teams producing their own videos which popularized Minecraft griefing. After the popularization by teams such as Team Avolition, many griefing groups were created and brought a large fanbase for the topic. Fortunately for server administrators, the increase in griefing has pushed the creation of numerous anti-griefing tools and techniques.

Basic griefing methods and prevention
There are other forms of griefing, however they are simply variations on the ones listed above. Essentially, if moderators are attentive and the server is equipped with the necessary plugins, a server can be very secure from griefing.

Griefing clients
While modifications to Minecraft clients are fairly popular with legitimate mods, griefers also often employ client modifications to aid their efforts. Common client "hacks" include:


 * Aura or Forcefield: This automatically attacks anything from players to mobs within striking range.
 * Build: Build hacks are simply modifications that instantly place blocks in a predetermined pattern. Common builds include cubes, pillars, swastikas, and platforms.
 * Dupe: Duplicates items. Multiple tools with the same durability and/or enchantments can be evidence of this, and dangerous amounts of TNT can be created. This is usually patched, but some versions of Bukkit require an anti-duplication plugin in order to prevent this.
 * Fast Place: This modification eliminates the normal delay when placing blocks.
 * Flying: Not necessarily used just for griefing, this hack gives the user the ability to fly similar to as if he or she was in Creative mode at adjustable speed levels. However, it can be used to easily find a place to vandalize.
 * Freecam: This mod allows the user to separate him or herself from his or her body and fly around to scout out areas. Since infinite reach was patched, the user of this mod cannot affect any blocks outside his or her reach radius.
 * Fullbright or Night-Vision: This hack lights up all blocks as if they were in direct sunlight, even in pitch blackness.
 * God: This makes the user invincible. Almost all versions of this hack have been patched.
 * Jump Height: This allows the player to jump higher than normal. This is usually used if servers disable flying.
 * No-fall: This hack prevents damage from being taken when falling from high areas.
 * Nuker: This destroys all blocks within reach radius automatically.
 * Sneak: This allows griefers to sneak indefinitely and move at a faster pace. This will keep their nameplates hidden behind walls just as if they were holding the sneak button.
 * Spam or Flood: This allows the client to send a huge number of chat messages to the server.
 * Speed Breaking or Instant Mine: This allows for griefers to break blocks at a much greater speed than normal.
 * Step: This modification allows for the user to simply walk up blocks and small cliffs (up to 9 blocks high) as if they were half steps.
 * X-Ray or Wallhack: Stops the rendering of any block besides ones desirable to the griefer. This hack is often used to find chests or valuable minerals such as diamond. It can be partially prevented using server plugins that disguise ores and chests that are not adjacent to transparent blocks.

How to prevent griefing
While there is not much that can stop a determined griefer, there are ways for a server to mitigate the risks of being griefed. The following is a list of steps server owners can take to try to keep their server protected:

For a much more in-depth (and anti-grief biased) analysis, see Crayboff's thread on the topic.
 * Protect the server with appropriate anti-griefing plugins.
 * Do not let administrators abuse their power (this can incite anger in users and bring about griefing). Also, be cautious in choosing who to give administrative permissions to begin with.
 * Be careful what permissions to which people have access. Owners can limit access with Server modifications.
 * Be careful where the server is advertised. While more exposure means more members, it also means griefers can find it just as easily.
 * Become familiar with what griefers are capable of doing. There are no hacks "to gain op" or "delete the server". If one takes the time to learn what is possible (by watching griefing videos from popular teams and reading griefing forums), you will be more able to counter it.
 * Change servers so that only friends (or owner) can do things big and even grief if they want to.
 * Use a "public whitelist"; that is, add anyone to the whitelist who sends an email to the administrator requesting admission. Griefers are usually too impatient to send an email, but legitimate players will take the 30 seconds to send the email. Griefers' email addresses can also be submitted to spamming websites if caught.

Anti-griefing server modifications
While there are many people creating grief-friendly client modifications, there are equally dedicated programmers creating server plugins to foil their attempts. Using the popular and extensible Bukkit server software and other Server Mods, programmers have made numerous add-ons to enforce correct client behavior. There are plugins that allow administrators to log and rollback all edits done on an individual basis, employ jails to trap griefers, and even protect certain blocks or entire chunks.