One of the goals of Thumpstone SMP is to create a world that feels alive, dynamic, and shaped by its players.
As the server prepares to welcome more players, we’ve been reviewing some of our rules to make sure they’re practical, easy to understand, and sustainable as the community grows.
What’s Changing?
Previously, it was against the rules to break blocks or take items that didn’t belong to you, even if they were located in completely unclaimed builds.
While the intention was good, this rule became increasingly difficult to enforce. Determining whether a build was genuinely abandoned often required staff investigation, and as the server grows, that simply isn’t a realistic use of moderator time.
From today, unclaimed builds and containers are considered fair game.
If a player has chosen not to protect their base with claims, other players are free to explore it, loot it, salvage materials from it, or repurpose the location for their own use.
In fact, we see this as a legitimate part of survival multiplayer gameplay. Discovering abandoned settlements, recovering forgotten treasures, and uncovering the history of old players can create interesting stories and help keep the world feeling active.
Protect Your Stuff
This change makes land claims more important than ever.
If you want to guarantee that your builds, farms, and storage remain protected, make sure they are claimed. Claims are easy to create, inexpensive to expand, and provide complete protection from other players.
Remember: if it isn’t claimed, it isn’t protected.
Claim Expiry Extended
To balance this change, we’re also increasing the claim inactivity period.
Previously, claims expired after 30 days of inactivity.
This has now been increased to 60 days.
This gives players significantly more time to take breaks from Minecraft without worrying about losing their land, while still ensuring that genuinely abandoned areas eventually return to the community.
Why We’re Making This Change
This update supports three important goals:
- Clearer rules — Players no longer need to guess whether an abandoned-looking build is protected by a server rule.
- Less staff intervention — Moderators won’t need to investigate ownership disputes involving unclaimed structures.
- A more dynamic world — Forgotten builds, hidden loot, and abandoned settlements become part of the server’s history rather than permanently frozen in place.
As always, claimed land remains fully protected, and the server’s rules against griefing, harassment, cheating, and exploiting still apply.
So get out there, explore the world, and you never know what forgotten treasures you might discover.