Anti Thorns 255 Dissertation
I am of the opinion that thorns 255 armor being given out to non staff players is degrading the server. I've been slandered for having this opinion, labeled a corder, grieftr00n and whatever other unsubstantiated allegations my intellectually impotent opponents could muster up.
To begin with, I believe the availability of Thorns armor degrades the player interaction on the most basic level. punching someone is a ubiquitous way of getting someone's attention, pushing them, kicking them off of your property, getting them to stop doing something etc. But with Thorn 255 this interaction is completely taken out of the game, with any transgressions, accidental or not, being instantly punished with death.
Some (one retard) say thorns255 make for a "polite" society. Reasoning that in a society where you can't hurt anyone you would be forced into politeness. This is a butchery of Robert A. Heinlein's quote "An armed society is a polite society" which also continues "Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life". While it may seem inconsequential, whether someone is fatally armed or armored makes a world of difference. Armed society is a polite society because you risk your life by being impolite, in an armored society no one risks anything, On the contrary! You are no longer risking your life, so instead of politeness it breeds impoliteness and spite. Totally counterproductive.
To further this point, consider the inequality caused by this. No longer are players equal with the only discrepancy being player made, but now we have demigods with defacto immortality. What motivates those to "be polite"? You can't level with someone you can't even touch. What manners does someone like that have?
Well maybe it's a potent defense against griefcord? Which griefcord? The one that joins naked and empty handed? Is bad boyite armor not enough to defend against the almost non present griefcord? While it may seem intuitive to call it a cord countermeasure, it's nothing of the sorts. Even if it was, would it be worth the sacrifices it comes with?
So if not all this, what are we giving up hitting eachother for? Not dying? Is there a rule against all killing? We may as well give everyone absorption 255 and just give everyone creative mode while we're at it. This is a survival server, survival is a part of it. There's barely ever killing on the server anyways, even amongst the non thorns users. Random killing isn't an issue on the server. Thorns are allegedly fixing a completely nonexistent problem. But even if they were, why should we outlaw murder?
Conflict is the fun that gets everyone excited. History, on 'craft or otherwise, in real life or fiction, is about conflict. People write about wars and dramas, the wiki itself is full of it. Why should we give up on the thing that is the most fun, it being random conflicts and bad boywars? The server is overmoderated enough, we don't need widespread immortality. It's easy enough for people to stay out of conflict if they wish to, no one needs immortality to avoid being killed if they wish to be left alone. Thorns 255 only serve to degrade interactions and tip the scales of said interactions.
In conclusion, not only does Thorns 255 armor degrade noncombat interactions, but also takes away an entire dimension from the game. There is NO REASON to have thorns 255 armor and I am beyond confident in this notion, I welcome any and all attempts to refute this position
