Changes Ahead! I Want Your Opinion

There are many changes that will be coming to Mineshafter Squared over the next few months.  All of these changes are still in the planning stages so don't worry if you see something you do not like.  Voice your opinion and I will do my best to take it into consideration.

Site Revamp
I am looking into technology to recreate the site from the ground up.  New design, new look, same functionality. The new site should be much faster, which in turn will make the login process to minecraft faster as well. Also the site will be more secure.

New Features
The new site will not only make it much easier for me to add new features, but I will be building new features in from the ground up as I create the new site.  The main feature is a server list (finally) so admin's running MS^2 will be able to list their server on the site. More about that below.  I will also make it possible to "connect" accounts.  Basically, if you have multiple accounts for whatever reason you can combine them so your skins and capes will show up from all accounts in each account.  This will also give me a much more accurate reading of how many users the site actually has, all without using methods that put your privacy in danger. (yes I do use Google Analytics, but I am considering removing that from the site in the new version).

Podcast
I am considering starting a podcast.  Not a "Mineshafter Squared Podcast" more of a general Minecraft / Mineshafter / Games / Technology podcast under the site KayoticGamer.com.  It would be the "official" Mineshafter Squared podcast only by the fact that I would be doing it, but it will not be just about MineshafterSquared.  If you like this idea please let me know.  And let me know what topics / things you want the show to cover.  I do not want to be your generic gaming news podcast there are way too many of them out there.  What do gaming podcasts that you like NOT cover?  Lets try to create something different.


Forum
I will most likely be getting rid of the PHPBB forums.  I will instead find a system, or create a very simple one, that can tie into the normal login on the site. I want you to be able to sign into MS^2 and be able to post in the forums, not have to set up a separate account.

The rest of this post is about the server list so you can stop here if you are not a server admin.  (Just so you do not think TLDR.)  I would very much like your opinion on the above topics. (And the below topic if you are a server admin).


About the Server List
The server list will most likely work in this way.  If you do not like this please tell me and why.  It is simply the best way I can think of doing it, but if there are problems with specific parts I can always change it (I have not started working on it yet).
The Plan: I will build into the server proxy a "first time setup" along with a config file.  The first time setup will really just be a GUI interface to make data entry into the config file easy.  The general process will go off like this:

1. Start Server.

2. Before the server boots (on the first time for the new version only) it will ask if you want to list it on MineshafterSquared.com. You can select yes set up now, or no setup later. (Setup later will just let you modify the config file whenever you want to, Set up now will launch the GUI.  Deleting the config file will reset this question).

3. Connection
Using the GUI: Will prompt for the administrative account Username only. Then it will tell you to log into MinesahfterSquared.com using that account.  At this point the "Server List Admin" section (or similar name) will become available. In there a request to list the server will be shown.  You accept and an encryption key token is given to you.  You paste this into the prompt for the encryption key token on the server. After that, you will be able to edit your server settings from MineshafterSquared.com (Server settings being what information is displayed in the server listing).

Not using the GUI: Pretty much the same process expect you put the admin username into the config file and then launch the server.  It will start up the GUI at the prompt for the encryption key token.

4. Now the server is listed.

Features:
List if the server is currently online or offline.  List a blurb about the server, the IP or URL address along with server type and general rules, max players etc.  Also you will have the ability to force players to be premium or allow free users as well. (What this means is if you want the features of Mineshafter Squared but only want players who have bought Minecraft to be allowed in, then you will be able to do that).

Advanced Features:  I will also be writing a Bukkit plugin to get some advanced features for your listing if you use Bukkit.  Such as number of players currently online, list of server moderators, what plugins you have running, etc.

All features will have the ability to turn on or off, so you are not forced to show anything more than you want. If you just want to list the server IP that is okay, if you just want to list the IP and its status (online or offline) that is okay too, if you want to list everything, that is awesome.

Everything I have listed is about as far I have gotten with the planning (along with mentally having an idea of how to implement all of this) so if you want specific features included from the get go, please let me know.  I want to make this a great tool and a definitive server list for Minecraft. (I plan on growing this service into something similar to MCMyAdmin, except more open and free).

General Note:  If I can do something easily without bukkit, I will not use bukkit. So people are not forced to use it if they currently are not.  Some features are just orders of magnitude easier to implement in a bukkkit plugin, so when I have to use bukkit to make sure development time stays low I will.