When I was in a beginning economics course, our professor took us through the economic patterns throughout American history. One lecture in particular stood out to me as he highlighted the differences between the North and the South in post-war USA. Citing Slavery and American Economic Development by Gavin Wright, he taught us that the North and South each experienced different economic outcomes because of in what they invested their wealth. If you are looking for ways to improve activity on your Minecraft server, look no further for instruction than the results of the American Civil War.
The biggest factor in how the North and the South ultimately ended up was in what they invested their resources. While the North invested in improving amenities such as roads, schools, education, and factories, they attracted more and more people, thus adding value to their land. If a person moved to the North looking for a job, chances were they could find one in one of the many factories. Opportunities were generally open to all. Meanwhile their children could learn and grow in more well-funded schools, all the while traveling safely on well-built roads. The North invested in amenities. The South, on the other hand, invested in slave labor. Slaves were a valuable commodity. If you had them, you could send labor to places where hired workers would not be willing to go. This opened more opportunities for slave owners to make money and invest it back into the slave market. There weren't as many opportunities for others because the land was more concentrated into the hands of a few. The South invested in slave labor.
When war broke out and the dust settled, the South found that with slavery now abolished, their wealth (and therefore their investments) had gone with the wind. Up North, their wealth was still secure. Roads and schools were still around, giving value to the community. With an influx of people newly released from servitude, the value of their lands continued to grow.
So how does this affect a Minecraft server? Well, if you're as geeky as me, you may have already caught the lesson. To attract people, improve amenities.
I recently got to put this to the test as my friends and I set up a new server and began playing. I was one of the first two to log on, and I immediately built a quaint little hut in which people could spend a night or two in before beginning their trek to find an area they wanted to settle. There's nothing more frustrating than logging into a Minecraft world for the first time only to be attacked by monsters. This starter hut gave players a chance to stay safe during the night while they gathered up whatever resources they wanted to before finding a permanent home.
The next thing I did was to build myself a machine that could produce iron. Iron is a valuable resource in Minecraft. It's the staple for many play-styles, and one simply cannot produce nearly as many resources without it. When crafted into armor and tools, iron gives a distinct advantage over cheaper gear that is more readily available when first starting out. With my iron farm up and running, I was able to immediately equip players with iron tools and armor to start out with instead of inferior stone tools and leather armor.
By nearly erasing the dangers of dying as soon as one begins their journey and by providing better quality tools and armor, I created amenities on our Minecraft server. I made sure to get some feedback from my fellow players about the starter hut and the tools. They loved it! When these amenities were immediately available to them upon arrival, they felt like they were able to get right to work on their ambitious plans and ideas. So far, nobody who has joined our server has left.
The system works. If you're trying to attract people and increase activity on a Minecraft server, in a city, or what have you, try improving your amenities. It worked for the North, it worked for our server, and it will work for you, too.
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