Tutorials/Playing on servers

Minecraft is a single player game. You survive by yourself and your only friends are the animals that you will probably cook for food! Yet you might want to roam the world with friends. Just experience it with other players and more mobs that you can shake a Creeper at. So servers have made a mark in the Minecraft world of blocks. Here is a lowdown on them:

Joining a Server
1. Find a website on the Internet that lists servers.

2. Read the descriptions and pick one you like. Find its IP. This is often a number displayed next to the name of it, or a domain.

3. Boot up Minecraft, click Multiplayer and click ADD SERVER. There should be two boxes, SERVER NAME and IP ADDRESS. The server name does not matter a bit. Call it what you like. Now remember the IP and type it into the bottom box. Confirm your entries.

4. You should go back to your list of servers. The server should appear on it with green bars on the right.

5. Click this server, click JOIN SERVER and you're good to go.

POSSIBLE ERRORS

Things will go wrong at some point, so here are some error messages and what they mean. I do not know them all,so add others+make major edits. These messages appear when you click JOIN SERVER.

1. Disconnected by server. Outdated server!

If you've updated your Minecraft recently, you might get this error message. This means that you might be running on 1.1, but the server is still on 1.0. You will have to wait for the server to update, this may take more or less time depending of the server owners' reactivity.

2. Disconnected by Server. Bad login!

There are many reasons for this, often because you clicked "Play offline". Simply reset Minecraft, connect to the Internet and try again.

3. Cannot connect to server

This appears next to the list of servers. There are many reasons for this: You might not be connected to the internet, the server may be offline or there is a problem. Click Refresh. If nothing happens, then wait a bit.

What happens on the server
Servers can be daunting for some. There are people chatting, maybe trading, Ops broadcasting changes and players entering and leaving. So this section shall help you get started.

1. You will spawn in the server's spawn point. Depending on which one you are on, you will spawn in a room. It is called the spawn room and is purely used where people spawn. The server may make it look lavish, with gold blocks and diamond as well as lava and glowstone.

2. On the left hand side of the screen is the chat log. Players will be talking and things will be announced, in different coloured text. You can chat and bring it up by pressing. Then enter what you have to say and press enter. Do not swear, it could get you banned on most servers

3. There will be a rules board. This is just lots of signs that say how the server operates. Here are some common rules:

No griefing: This is where you destroy constructions or place rude structures.

No cheating mods: You know what mods are. Well some servers ban them. This is because they can make it easier for you to grief, or to ruin fun for others.

No swearing or offensive comments: I'm sure you know what is right to say.

4. Sometimes you might have to register online to play on a server. If you really want to play, then create an account. Personal choice? Just move onto another server.

5. Other times you will need to agree to the rules. Type in "I agree" or something like that. Then you will become a builder or the door will open.

6. What you do next depends on the server. There is a full list under Server.