The Updated Rules

[Spongiform]

• hitting, destroying or taking blocks/items that aren't yours or neutral
• entering buildings that are locked or have a 'keep out' sign near the entrance
• modifying others' property in the wilderness by placing or removing blocks

First I'd like to point out how this server is advertised on the main MC forums.

Herocraft: 100 slots [Hardcore+Towns+PVP/PVE+Spells+Coin]

Secondly, a bit deeper into the main forum post.

Wilderness/wasteland:
• Items can be stolen from chests by outlaws and other players. To prevent this from happening to you, join an official town or get a 10x10 Sanctum City plot with a protected chest.
• Players can get killed by others and their items looted. Join a town's citizens and residents to mine and gather together if you don't want this happening to you.
• Traps are allowed throughout the wastelands. Watch your step!
• None of the above grants permission for grief and mindlessly tearing down buildings in the wastelands or mass terraform and mess up areas in the wilderness.
• To protect yourself in the wastelands, either join a township that offers protection, become a T3+ donator, hide your items, set traps or stay in Sanctum City.

Here's my take on these and how they affect the game.

Entering buildings that are locked or have a 'keep out' sign near the entrance

Why bother spending the massive time and effort involved in forming a city when nobody can bother you anyway? Why bother with donated tiers to form realms or cuboids when nobody can touch your stuff without being banned? It's redundant.

Items can be stolen from chests by outlaws and other players. To prevent this from happening to you, join an official town or get a 10x10 Sanctum City plot with a protected chest.

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• entering buildings that are locked or have a 'keep out' sign near the entrance
• modifying others' property in the wilderness by placing or removing blocks

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• To protect yourself in the wastelands, either join a township that offers protection, become a T3+ donator, hide your items, set traps or stay in Sanctum City.

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• Each citizen in Sanctum may request a chest be protected for them if they have a 10x10 plot in Sanctum City. Please use our ticket system and request your chest to be protected with LWC.
• Sanctum City will be a safe haven from PvP, theft and grieving.

Now we have a conflict - How can you steal from a player if you cannot enter or modify the building containing the chest. The simple answer is you cannot, you will be banned.

So again, why bother with the protection of an expensive sanctum plot, cities, realms, cuboid, and so on when it's redundant and unnecessary?

As a side note - we are pushing players to join townships and want to protect their goods. In addition to the mobs wanting to kill you, we believe it necessary to have opposing players who don't like your face, for whatever reason, want to murder you too. Don't want to partake in PvP? Join a town that is neutral or allied with others!

All you need is a dirt hovel out in the wilderness with a sign saying keep out and you are 100% safe from pvp or theft. Nobody can touch it, modify it, enter and because you are inside you are safe.

1 stack dirt, 1 door, 1 sign, 2 torches.

Example 1:


Example 2:


Too my understanding the most expensive sanctum plots are 1500 coins. At the current market value of 45c per diamond block I could build a small cabin out of diamond blocks in the wastelands and nobody could touch or mess with it.


Everything else I'm 100% behind.

PS:
If anybody noticed that annoying as hell flashy box thing in the middle of my screenshots, feel free to help me fix it
http://www.minecraftforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=103898

 

[Ilsyde]

Hmm true enough, this "• entering buildings that are locked or have a 'keep out' sign near the entrance" needs "in the wilderness" added.
Other than that, although stealing in towns prohibited, it can still be done. Even if we catch the thief and ban him/her, you'll never get your stuff back. Thus you'd greatly benefit from protection, especially if you have a private home outside official towns or you're starting up your own settlement.

 

[Spongiform]

Hmm true enough, this "• entering buildings that are locked or have a 'keep out' sign near the entrance" needs "in the wilderness" added.
Other than that, although stealing in towns prohibited, it can still be done. Even if we catch the thief and ban him/her, you'll never get your stuff back. Thus you'd greatly benefit from protection, especially if you have a private home outside official towns or you're starting up your own settlement.

I thought you logged everything? So if someone griefs your house, steals your walls and you report it, they get caught right?

Or are you saying that they have to be caught in the act?

 

[Ilsyde]

The server logs all actions of course, but it's a lot better to catch someone in the act: when he's still online and preferably while doing something naughty. That way he doesn't have time to do any more damage. What I meant is that even if this happens, we don't reimburse losses (e.g. thief was able to hide/burn the items).
This is why protecting your belongings is so important. We even ban players who are trying to steal e.g. hacking at valuable (but cuboided etc.) blocks and the like. Or those who force themselves into restricted places like a house with its door locked.