Safety checks

Server Host runs a few automatic safety checks so free servers stay free and the hub stays safe for everyone. This page says what they look at and what they do. The most important rule: nothing bans anyone automatically. A check either does nothing you would notice, raises a flag for a person on our team, or, in two clear cases, stops one server until it is checked.

When we stop a server for a check

We stop a server on our own only for two things that harm other people:

• Crypto mining. The server keeps trying to reach crypto-mining pools while its processor runs flat out with nobody online.
• Attack traffic. The server sends floods of traffic out to other computers, or keeps scanning and flooding other addresses for a good part of an hour.

Only what happened since the server last started counts. Starting it again gives it a clean slate.

A busy server, a heavy plugin or a big farm is never enough on its own. Processor use alone only raises a flag for a person to look at.

What happens:

1. The first time, the server is stopped and you are told why in your panel and your alerts. You can start it again straight away. A person on our team looks at what happened.
2. If it happens again within a day, the server stays stopped until a person has checked it, usually within a day. Players who try to join see "This server is paused while our team checks it."
3. If the check shows it was a mistake, the stop is cleared and you can start the server as normal.

Only that one server is stopped. Your account, your other servers, your credits, your backups and your worlds are not touched, and nothing is deleted.

If you think we got it wrong, tell us where Troubleshooting says to ask, and say which server. A plugin that connects to many websites at once, or a misconfigured voice chat plugin, can look like attack traffic; say what it is and we will check it.

Things that only raise a flag

These never stop or change anything by themselves. A person looks at the flag and decides:

• connections your plugins tried that are not on your server's internet allowlist (often a plugin that needs a website added: see Files and SFTP);
• a plugin file uploaded by hand that matches a known bad file;
• heavy, steady processor use with nobody online;
• signs that several accounts belong to one person (see below);
• player reports and hits on the hub's chat filter.

Names, MOTDs and taglines in the hub

Before your server shows in the hub's server list, its name, MOTD and tagline go through a word filter. Slurs, sexual words, strong swearing, threats and personal details (phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses) keep a listing hidden until you change the text. Mild swearing and your own Discord link are fine. Servers that are not listed are not checked.

Server addresses are checked when you pick one: 3 to 20 lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens, not a reserved word (such as admin, hub, play or status), and nothing from the filter.

Email addresses and second accounts

• Sign-up needs an email address you keep. Throwaway email services are refused. Signing in with Discord works too.
• One email inbox holds one account. Different spellings of the same inbox (for example dots or a plus tag in a Gmail address) count as the same inbox.
• We keep a scrambled code for the network and the browser you sign in from, never the address itself, so we can notice when one person makes many accounts. It only raises a flag for a person. Nobody is blocked or banned because of it, and families or schools sharing a network are fine. These codes are deleted after 90 days, or when you delete your account.

Free credits you earn

Free credits from playing, streaks, invites and votes follow a few rules (see Credits and plans):

• At most 30 earned credits a day, 400 a month, and 1,000 earned credits held at once. Credits over a limit are simply not paid.
• Earned credits need a verified account, and daily play needs your Minecraft account linked with /claim.
• Some earned credits wait for a quick check before they are paid: votes from your own Minecraft account, invites between accounts that look like the same person, or votes while a server is being checked for vote farming. If the check is fine, they are paid.

Nothing already paid is taken back by an automatic check.

Reports

Players can type /report in the hub. Reports about a server, its name or its icon go to the same queue. Reports go to our team, the most urgent first: anything that looks like someone asking for a child's age, location, photos or contact details goes to the top. A report keeps the reported line and up to 10 lines around it for review only; no other chat is stored. See Rules and reports.