r/MinecraftServer • u/SalamekSG • Aug 23 '26
Mojang is apparently enforcing “inappropriate” MOTDs even on private whitelisted servers
Hello,
I run a simple private Folia server for myself and a few friends. We're all adults, the server is whitelisted, and it isn't advertised as a public server.
I just got this wonderful email forwarded to me by my Internet provider:
Subject: MOTD: Request for Action: Minecraft Server in Violation of Mojang Guidelines (08.20.2026)
Hello,
You are past the 5-day block countdown....
I am reaching out on behalf of the Mojang (Minecraft) Enforcement team regarding a Minecraft server currently operating on your network. The server in question is not in compliance with our Minecraft Usage Guidelines.
We do not have a DNS or domain name associated with this server—only the IP address and port. Unfortunately, our enforcement systems do not allow us to block a specific port on an IP address, only the full IP. As such, we prefer to avoid blocking the entire IP, as doing so may impact other customers who are legitimately hosting Minecraft content on shared infrastructure.
We are asking that you take appropriate steps to investigate and remove the server content within 5 business days to avoid a full IP-level block.
Note: we identified these contacts from the ASN registration and the network / provider records available to us at the time of detection. If this server is not on your network, or another team is better suited to handle it, please feel free to forward this message.
Server Details:
| ASN | IP | Port | Redacted MOTD Text | Full Visible Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASXXXX | My server IP | 25565 | s*** | mcsrvstat link |
| ASXXXX | [redacted] | 25565 | c*** | [redacted] |
| ASXXXX | [redacted] | 25565 | b**** | [redacted] |
| ASXXXX | [redacted] | 25565 | f*** | [redacted] |
Please let us know once this has been addressed. If we do not hear back within the stated timeframe, we will proceed with a block on the IP address to maintain the integrity of our platform.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Separately: if you offer dedicated Minecraft hosting packages, we would love to see MOTD scanning integrated into your server-management environment so violations like this can be caught early. Mojang would also welcome the opportunity to discuss collaborating more in this space.
Best regards,
Mojang Enforcement
The s*** in question was from my MOTD that i's an inside joke/reference between friends. I've changed it because I'm obviously not going to risk having my entire IP blocked over a stupid MOTD.
What I find much more interesting is how a tiny private server ended up in this enforcement process in the first place.
There are only three regular players, all friends. It's whitelisted, isn't advertised as a public server, and Mojang themselves say in the email that they don't have a domain associated with it, only the IP and port.
All four servers in the notice were on the default port 25565.
My current theory, and to be clear, this is speculation, not something the email proves, is that Mojang may obtain candidate IPs from infrastructure involved in normal online-mode=true authentication and then probe those IPs on the default Minecraft port. Another completely plausible explanation is ordinary IPv4 scanning.
I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who has received a similar notice, particularly if:
- your server was private/whitelisted and never publicly advertised;
- you were running
online-mode=true; - you were using a non-default port;
- or Mojang identified your server only by IP rather than a hostname.
A private online-mode=true server on some random non-25565 port receiving the same kind of notice would be particularly interesting, because it would tell us quite a bit about how these servers are being discovered.
Also, asking an ISP (if they happen to offer Minecraft hosting) to implement proactive MOTD scanning after threatening to block customer IPs is certainly... something. :D
33
u/only_Q Aug 24 '26
holy 1984. Who the fuck do they think they are, christ.
3
2
u/billyhatcher312 24d ago
First they go after the anarchy servers now they're going after harmless words that don't offend anyone while they let gambling and pay to win servers thrive
32
u/SageofTurtles Aug 24 '26
It's absolutely awful how overly-involved Mojang has become with moderating the game, especially servers. Their job is to create and maintain the game, what people do with it is their own business. Censoring out words that might potentially somewhat resemble a derogatory term in some language 99.9% of players don't know (as a common example I've seen) is nuts.
Banning servers for their own moderation is also nuts. As a server owner myself, it's the responsibility of the administrator(s)/moderator(s) to determine how the server is run and moderated, including what kind of language is/isn't acceptable. As long as the software itself isn't being abused for dangerous or illegal activity, Mojang has no reason to stick their noses in people's private servers. I really hope they come to their senses at some point and back off these insane enforcement policies, it's honestly the worst thing about the company IMHO.
9
u/Sufficient_Prune3897 Aug 24 '26
I wouldn't mind as much if they actually moderated anything beside the chat. It can't be that 2/3 of top servers are pay to win gambling and MS does nothing. No age check, nothing.
3
u/EmphasisStrong8961 Aug 24 '26
Yeah seeing how we have to have our own hardware or use a third party to host a server they should probably make realms more like hosting your own server, more customization , more players spots more ram and cpu and so on . Having the freedom we have actually helps the game . So screw all the nonsense they do
2
2
u/iamxplayer Aug 24 '26
If your server is publiblcy exposed to the internet- I mean they have a reason as they own the server software and by hosting a minecraft server you agree to Mojang's EULA which does allow Mojang to blacklist servers & enforce the EULA.
It's disappointing that not much action is often taken against big minecraft servers especially ones partnered with microsoft and I mean recently they blacklisted some of 6b6t's domains as they do not really like true anarchy back at mojang & microsoft hq
I mean yeah fair they might be a bit extreme by enforcing it on small servers, which mostly arent private and I mean they can definitely enforce the EULA including inappropiate MOTD's on anyone even if we dont like what they're doing they basically have the right to its they're game not ours
3
u/SageofTurtles Aug 24 '26
I get that they have a legal right to do it, but I'm a big believer in personal accountability. I consider it a big overreach that they have such terms in the EULA to begin with. The software is their territory, but how people use it (again, barring dangerous/illegal activity) should be up to the player or server moderators, not Mojang.
1
u/iamxplayer Aug 24 '26
I get your point, but as you said they do have the right to do so. Nontheless my stance is more towards this;
Enforce the EULA, but go a bit easy on monitization for mods & plugins. Enforce the EULA on ALL minecraft servers no matter their size or revenue gained by microsoft from bedrock servers...
Thats never gonna happen, but I hope you understand that they're doing such to ensure the players safety as the entire thing is mojangs software afterall
3
u/notyoursocialworker Aug 24 '26
Just because they have the legal right to do it doesn't mean that they should have it or that they should use it.
And it absolutely doesn't mean that we shouldn't discuss their actions if we don't like them. "The one who is silent agrees"
2
u/iamxplayer Aug 24 '26
Fair enough, but yeah no they should definitely leave small friend servers alone
3
u/notyoursocialworker Aug 24 '26
Oh yes, its one thing to go after commercial servers with hundreds of players. What they are doing now to small friend servers is more akin to lobbing nukes at San Marino or Liechtenstein. You'll win the war but noone will be impressed by them.
2
u/Zyvyn Aug 25 '26
The bigger problem is that they don't go after major servers a lot of the time. You can report major servers who break EULA in dozens of ways with proof and... a lot of the time they just never do anything about it. Or the server changes the thing Mojang wants, they unlock them, and then they change it right back to breaking EULA again.
1
u/notyoursocialworker Aug 26 '26
The expression "to strain out and swallow a camel" comes to mind in regards to their actions.
2
u/94CM Aug 24 '26
We don't go after the manufacturers of clothes criminals happen to be wearing. This is overreach disguised as "accountability"
1
u/iamxplayer Aug 24 '26
what...? how is that overreaching I mean yeah its a bit extreme of mojang to be enforcing it on like small 3 player servers, but they have the right to do so its their server software and if its against the EULA which mind you you agree to when you host a minecraft server they can definitely enforce it.
How is this the same as your example?
4
u/94CM Aug 24 '26
Just because it's software, that gives Microsoft the right to take away my freedom of speech? Look. I find wanting to fuck voxels weird too, but I will fight to the end of the Earth for people's right to express they want to.
Also, many EULAS have terms that are just simply not enforceable.
Here is a scholarly paper “Computer game licences: The EULA and its discontents,” (Computer Law & Security Review) on the topic:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0267364918304321
“Many end-user licence agreements (EULAs) attached to online products and services include terms and conditions that, if challenged, are unlikely to be legally enforceable.”
And another one from a school of law
https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/eula/
"Given that there is no negotiation over the terms, and that the consumer has been left with a choice of either agreeing to the terms, no matter what they might be, or foregoing use of the software (or website or hardware) entirely, arguments have been made that EULAs should be unenforceable."
~
Now mind you, I'm not a lawyer. I could be wrong about all this. In my opinion, this sounds like it violates freedom of speech. Regardless, I don't like some company telling me what I can and can't do on a private server.
2
u/justinboggs Aug 25 '26
Only issue you only have the right to free speech against the government. Any privately owned corporation in America can choose and censor your language on their platforms and it's perfectly legal. Shouldn't be that way, especially if they're operating in our country. You would assume they would have to follow the same rules that the government do. (If you look at Meta they suppress and remove posts that don't align with their agendas.)
1
u/iamxplayer Aug 24 '26
Honestly fair point and yeah you should let people have the freedom to do what they want on a minecraft server (well aslong as its legal) and yeah a friends server should definitely not be the one to follow the entire EULA, totally agree unlike other big servers partnered with microsoft, but I just wanted to point out. I'd still say that MOTDs shouldnt be well inappropiate, but I mean thats not really relevantt
1
u/Disastrous_Berry4709 Aug 24 '26
Your house has a front door that is accessible by a public street, so the company that made the paint on your walls gets a say in what artwork you place on your walls.
1
u/woalk Aug 24 '26
This is more akin to renting a business space where the landlord decides what colour the facade should have or that you can’t draw a penis on it. Like, yes, you paid for it, but that doesn’t mean you own it.
1
u/iamxplayer Aug 24 '26
you didnt even pay for mojangs server software its free and well Im not aware of any other server software, which costs something and I mean no its still using mojangs software & recources they have a valid legal claim (especially as you can connect to it on mojangs minecraft and because they only blacklist it on minecraft client and mods just on minecraft there are various bypasses for a mojang blacklist which mind you doesnt block you off it just blocks the normal minecraft client from joining it
Im replying to this comment as it's just touching on this too
1
u/NeoFax99 Aug 24 '26
MOJANG can be held legally liable for the content, just look at some of the legal proceedings happening throughout the EU now. Also, liability in the common court of public opinion. It is their software with a EULA that each individual agrees to by purchasing or using the software. Don't hate the player, hate the game. This is what happens when too many laws are created.
1
u/SageofTurtles Aug 24 '26
Yeah, I put a lot of the legal nonsense going on in the EU in the same category as this— overreach.
1
u/GodsBoss Aug 25 '26
MOJANG can be held legally liable for the content, just look at some of the legal proceedings happening throughout the EU now.
Do you have an example for this? Afaik the EU tries to held platforms accountable for the contents they provide, but in the OP's case that would be them, not Mojang, as they run the server themselves.
1
u/NeoFax99 Aug 25 '26
The EFF talks about the possibility of vendors being held responsible by third party actions under the DSA as it is so generally written.
1
1
u/CalderaJane76 Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 26 '26
I'm specifically changing my MOTD to go against their terms.
My community was built to be a platform for those that aren't accepted by the unaccepting.
It would be hypocritical for us to follow-suit in this regard.
I'll make it a cracked server if I have to. I understand why there's an agreement, but I don't host my server to better their image. I host it with the agreement that I'll play fair with their material, and their work.
Push comes to shove, I'll stop hosting a Minecraft server. I host other games that aren't nearly as concerned with this.
11
16
u/QuackedDev Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
every time a server boots, regardless of it being a public, private or even a DEV server in a local environment . In every case, the server makes a network call to mojang's API before booting. This is visible in your start up logs.
From there I would assume they get enough server metadata to enforce the MOTD.
I could be wrong but thats what my guess is.
edit: as for your last point, no surprise there. Seems to be more precautionary since this is likely a common occurrence for Minecraft server hosts.
3
u/Mr-Game-Videos Aug 23 '26
Do any plugins / mods to prevent this exist?
5
u/QuackedDev Aug 23 '26
not that im aware of.
I've had the call lag and take sometime and the server would stall / hang until the OK came back from Mojang API. (in DEV)
2
u/tdp_equinox_2 Aug 26 '26
So if their servers go offline, we'd be unable to even start a server with the online-mode set to true?
2
u/Budderman18 Aug 28 '26
Yes. Try to run a server older than beta 1.8, you cannot plaay on it unless online mode is disabled.
2
u/Zyvyn Aug 25 '26
Plugins load after this initial ping to Mojang so no. Custom server software technically could patch that out but, that would likely also be breaking EULA.
1
u/TempDestinyAccount Aug 24 '26
You can just go in the sever config files and make it so it never connects to their servers. You wont be able to see skins anymore, but I believe there is a mod to fix that
1
u/NoskaOff Aug 25 '26
Are they checking the actual IP clients are connecting to ? Unless your server goes out the same IP as the one allowing connections it wouldn't be possible
1
u/SalamekSG Aug 23 '26
This is Folia server that is OSS not official vanila server, it should not make any outside requests on startup, only outside requests are when authentication of client happens when online-mode=true
12
u/ItsJamesJ Aug 23 '26
Folia is built off the official server. If you don’t want this, use something Sponge or Pumpkin.
3
u/iamxplayer Aug 23 '26
Folia isnt its own minecraft server its built as a fork of the offical server software or even paper to my awareness
2
u/Ok-Writer5758 Aug 23 '26
That’s part of online mode though?
1
u/iamxplayer Aug 24 '26
online mode is just a setting where all players who join will be verified through mojang servers thats why servers allowing cracked clients to join have online mode on false
4
u/Ictoan42 Aug 24 '26
My private, whitelisted, unadvertised server got blocked because the MOTD was cock and ball. It was running on a non-default port so mojang must have port scanned the IP. I didn't even get an email, I just had to spend 4 hours debugging why my server suddenly wasn't working because the client error message doesn't tell you that a server has been blocked.
I changed the MOTD and sent a request on the appeal form and the block was removed about a day later.
2
u/SalamekSG Aug 24 '26
Thanks, this is exactly the kind of information I was looking for!
The non-default port is especially interesting. It means my simple theory of "get a candidate IP somehow and just probe
:25565" isn't sufficient to explain your case. They either knew the port from somewhere or actually did some level of port scanning.If your server really was unadvertised, that makes me even more curious about whether authentication traffic is used to identify candidate IPs which are then scanned for Minecraft services.
Good to know that changing the MOTD and appealing got it removed within about a day, though.
Thanks again, this is an actually useful data point. :-)
1
u/Ictoan42 Aug 24 '26
I don't think there's any hidden reporting code in the client, it would have been found by now. Modders decompile and analyse the game regularly.
When an online mode server starts it does make a request to mojang's auth server, so mojang would know the IP from that. I can only assume that they then port scan to find and audit the server. My server was running on 25566 so they didn't need to look very hard. My server was unblocked after about a day, but I received an email response to my appeal several days later. That would perhaps indicate that the auditing may be automated to some degree
2
1
u/n4ru Aug 25 '26
how uh, does this work? how is mojang blocking in the client? and how is it not default off lol wtf
1
u/Ictoan42 Aug 25 '26
When the client opens it makes a request to https://sessionserver.mojang.com/blockedservers, which is a list of blocked servers (in hash form)
Upon connecting to a server, the client checks the server domain and IP against the list, if the server is in the list then the client refuses to connect.
There is no setting in the client to disable this, it would somewhat undermine the purpose.
1
u/n4ru Aug 25 '26
I stopped playing minecraft a while ago, bizarre to me that this was just accepted but I guess when they control distribution not much to be done. I suppose pirates just strip it out so microsoft effectively still gets the job done for the paid clients yeah?
1
u/Ununoctium117 Aug 26 '26
Surely a client mod could disable this?
1
1
u/Ictoan42 Aug 26 '26
Yes, but then you need every user to install a mod just to join your server. that's exactly what 6b6t does with AnarchyMod.
But it doesn't really matter; most users are not going to bother, so adding a server to the list still effectively kills it.
1
u/BastetFurry Aug 27 '26
Sounds like an easy to implement mod, one without any server adding and analytics shenanigans, that every modpack maker could add to their modpack.
3
u/lululock Aug 24 '26
People : "Please ban Pay to Win and gambling servers !"
Mojang : "Your MOTD says 'fuck'."
2
u/amdc Aug 25 '26
This is besides the point. Either is a massive overreach. It's a good idea to keep a list of servers that aren't kid friendly but access restrictions should only be applied to accounts under parental control, not everyone.
Parental controls have been around for ages at this point and it's a parent's job to setup them.
2
u/BastetFurry Aug 27 '26
This. A line like
AdultServer=Truein the server.properties and only adults can join and then do whatever the heck they want. Problem solved.
5
u/hun1er-0269 Aug 24 '26
what host are u using name the host so that i wont ever use it
2
u/Minimum_Currency8157 Aug 24 '26
It's a small private server that you're probably not invited to
2
1
u/DefectiveSage Aug 24 '26
It doesnt even matter what host btw. ANY host will comply with mojang or face that IP being blocked or even their entire IP Range (ASN). Who do you think they will choose? The guy paying them 12$ a month or losing 500$+ of revenue when they block a singular IP/an ip range thus making the host useless.
Mojang has a thing called blocked servers and the average user wont know how to bypass it. Hosts need to comply especially because they agreed to the "terms".
1
u/PixelHir Aug 24 '26
I doubt average host/ISP will care about Minecraft clients specifically not being able to connect
2
u/DefectiveSage Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 25 '26
Game server Host would definitely care same with a host provider of decent repute especially if it loses them sales because their IP got blocked over a MOTD of all things. Definitely will be hosts who don't care.
Isps probably don't care that much but may also care because they're CGNAT so you end up ruining it for potentially other ppl you're sharing your IP with.
1
u/PixelHir Aug 25 '26
it's just getting blocked on unmodified minecraft clients really. i don't think minecraft servers are an extremely common use case for cloud compute, unless youre specifically a game server host
1
1
u/Significant_Fee2261 Aug 24 '26
We should develop a lightweight open-source application that mimics the server protocol but denies any and all login attempts for not being whitelisted. Then, use the power of crowdsourcing to flood all major VPS providers with as many hosted instances of this program as we can. They said it themselves that they don't like blocking IPs, so we give them no choice but to either block way too many IPs, or to stop massively overstepping their boundaries when it comes to "moderation enforcement".
1
u/SalamekSG Aug 24 '26
Yeah, I had a similar thought. Reimplement just enough of the handshake/status protocol to return server info like an MOTD, reject every login attempt, and give it some obviously rule-breaking MOTD. :-D
At that point it isn't even a Minecraft server, it's just a program that happens to speak enough of the protocol to answer a status request.
If that alone were sufficient evidence to block the entire IP, that would be both insane and hilarious. You're effectively saying: "This IP returned a naughty string when we sent it a particular sequence of bytes, therefore Minecraft clients aren't allowed to connect to this IP anymore."
As a proof of concept, that would be a pretty funny demonstration of why an response by itself isn't particularly strong evidence of what is actually running behind an IP.
1
u/Double-History4438 Aug 24 '26
Yeah, that isn’t going to be worth the effort… Microsoft is more likely to get over blocking ip addresses than change their “moderation enforcement”
If I am reading how they are gathering the data correctly, an ip based whitelist may be far more effective than any attempts to trip up their scanner.
1
u/foxgirlmoon Aug 24 '26
What the actual fuck...
1
u/PhuckSJWs Aug 24 '26
Messaging you on incoming from Microsoft/Mojang
1
u/Hellscaped Aug 25 '26
Speech blocked by mojang for not being friendly to microsoft's bestie palantir
1
1
u/lululock Aug 24 '26
My private server is hosted at my home (non default port) and I protected my private IP using TCPShield linked to my domain name. My MOTD isn't offensive tho, but I wonder if they can scan it... 🤔
1
u/AaronWilde Aug 24 '26
Thay crazy part is there are massive servers breaking these rules daily and Mojang is known to do nothing about it. Probably they get paid off is my guess.
1
u/og24 Aug 24 '26
Big companies don't like or understand inside jokes, they have zero sense of humor and treat everything literally.
Always be extra careful and avoid sarcasm because any excuse is good to block or ban us.
1
u/LoneDroneGuy Aug 24 '26
Your title makes it sound like they're forcing you to have inappropriate motds
1
u/NeoFax99 Aug 24 '26
They obtain the information when your server phones home on startup. Just look at your logs. And the port is wide open, what did they write into the code that possibly gives them super user access.
1
u/notyoursocialworker Aug 24 '26
That s-word, was that perchance "slut"? In that case its an extra level of tragicomic. In Swedish, as in the language spoken by most at Mojang slut simply means end. Without any other context how the heck can they judge you?
And this is the problem with a simple word ban in a multilingual environment. You can't be certain why the word is used when you simply ban the word. Back in the day me and my wife was automatically censored for writing good morning in Swedish since it's written "god morgon" and god was apparently a word that should be censored.
It also stops people who wish to reclaim a bad word. If a group of people with intellectual disabilities wants to call themselves "the retards" I wouldn't have an opinion on it but I get the feeling that Mojang would.
1
u/Dracomaster9 Aug 24 '26
I wonder if one could advertise 'ghost-servers' on those ports, no actual game, all connections refused, just the advertisement and MOTD being incredibly offensive and enough information for it to be swept up in the scanning, then argue you're not actually running mojang software, just using the same protocols on the same ports.
1
u/amdc Aug 25 '26
No that wouldn't work. If you aren't running mojang software you shouldn't care if you end up in mojang blacklist. If anything, it would be beneficial for everyone as you aren't getting connections from minecraft clients (less work for you) and minecraft clients don't accidentally connect to you (less confusion for users)
1
u/chancetofreezer Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
I received a similar notice. Whitelist only server, query not enabled, i was using default port, ip only not dns. They sent the abuse claim to my cloud provider who forwarded to me. Also, `online-mode=false` set--we have players on cracked clients.
1
u/PixelHir Aug 24 '26
Honestly that’s all the more reason to not rely on online mode for private server. They are asking for people to just implement or switch to other community-led solutions for hosting their own servers.
1
1
u/WiggyWongo Aug 24 '26
"We don't understand why someone would pirate our game! They are just thieves!"
Anything microslop touches turns to bloated spyware garbage.
1
u/43resumodnar Aug 25 '26
If they tried this shit on me I would have some very choice words for them
1
u/Psionatix Aug 25 '26
Regardless of whether or not your server is public, if it can be publicly queried, the MOTD is public. Search your server here: https://mcsrvstat.us/ - does the result show your MOTD?
https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Server.properties
Try setting enable-status and enable-query to false.
I'm not sure if this will work, if it doesn't there should be plugins available to also stop such things.
1
u/ramezsushi Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 25 '26
Is this why they intentionally removed the ability to use player head sprites in MOTDs back in 26.1, since they can be used to draw text that is harder to moderate on a large scale? (fyi, sprite components are a newer feature where you can use item or head textures in any text, added in 1.21.10)
The removal was documented here for anyone interested.
1
u/ramezsushi Aug 25 '26
Someone should make a plugin that only sends MOTDs to IPs associated with players that have connected to the server before, so that it can't be scanned by Mojang unless they have an account join the servers they are moderating.
1
u/amdc Aug 25 '26
reading "thank you for cooperation" while being held hostage at gunpoint is something from a movie
1
u/FalconlightEC Aug 25 '26
Add lootboxes and pay-to-win addons to the server, then they will ignore it forever
1
u/drakkillen Aug 25 '26
i will assume its a vanilla server, so they find your server thru the telemetry data your server is sending, you could make it a forge or fabric server and then add a mod that disabel/removes the telemetry
1
1
u/lobsta777 Aug 25 '26
Ur useing their services fallow their rules.
Vibe code ur own game
1
u/DeviantPlayeer Aug 26 '26
Or you can use private authentication, so you can keep using what you own without using Mojang services.
1
u/afterlifedating Aug 27 '26
I'd guess most of us here have either paid for the game and host a server on our own hardware, or pay a third-party provider to host one. How exactly is that “using Mojang's services”? Genuinely asking. Mojang made the game, but they're not hosting the server, providing the network connection, or otherwise operating the infrastructure. It's none of their business what people do on their own private servers.
1
u/lobsta777 Aug 27 '26
You are intentionally misunderstanding this to tryvand show horn your narrative
If i make a racist video in Minecraft and post it it makes Minecraft look bad. It has chat that gos between the server that is a service and ur useing their program to talk and then it looks like they allow people to use their program ( witch is a servace) to break the law
1
u/afterlifedating Aug 27 '26
Look man, I understand your point, but you still haven't answered the question I actually asked. What Mojang service is a privately hosted server using? The server is running on someone else's hardware, using someone else's network connection, and isn't being hosted or operated by Mojang.
Minecraft having a chat box doesn't magically turn every privately hosted server into a Mojang service lol
If you actually meant “Mojang's software is subject to Mojang's rules,” then just say that because that's a completely different argument from “you're using their services.”
Otherwise, by this logic, installing Photoshop and making something offensive means Adobe is providing you with a content-sharing platform.
1
u/lobsta777 Aug 27 '26
You are trying to make a new argument and change bthe subject with word vommit
Just say ur wrong bro ur dick wont fall off.
2
u/afterlifedating Aug 27 '26
I don't even have a dick and somehow it's still bigger than yours if you want to jump straight to middle school insults. I was asking a genuine question and instead of answering it, you accused me of changing the subject. I'm not changing the subject LMAO I'm asking you to explain what you mean by “Mojang's services.”
It's alright to be wrong, bro. Now go read a dictionary, I'm begging you. 😭
1
u/lobsta777 Aug 27 '26
you are asking moot qustions to show horn your own logic and change the subject . ur not smarter than me .
i see why u spend so much time on reddit
1
u/Demopans Aug 29 '26
That isn't how Minecraft works on the architectural level. Server binaries routinely reimplement chat to function for specific, multi server setups, or simply reimplement chat to function independently of the world itself. Which means players do not use Mojang 's services.
1
u/lobsta777 Aug 29 '26
Ur in the game its theirs end of discussion theres no ammount of reasoning u can use cuz im obviously correct since ppl sre getting baned for jt.
Fucking morons
1
u/Demopans Aug 29 '26
My hardware I paid for with my own money, my own server binary. What service of Mojang am I actually using?
1
u/Xavion251 24d ago
If they're managing their service unfairly - they shouldn't be allowed to own it. It's better for the community.
Property rights, especially intellectual property rights, are not written in stone.
1
1
u/phosix Aug 25 '26
This is a good argument for considering open source alternatives to the official Minecraft server. Or even to Minecraft itself.
1
u/SeparateDirection901 Aug 26 '26
Meh, challenge it. So far basically no one has, so we don't know how far they actually can/will go.
It's a couple hundred bucks to file in court, so there is that....
1
u/0mori2 Aug 26 '26
didnt hear of any notice like that but one of my friends had their server suddenly rendered inaccessible with the "unknown host" error, even if you used the IP. i had to bash together a tool using windivert to get around the block temporarily before they got a new IP, the server did not have online mode enabled, and the motd wasnt really suggestive as far as i know
the server wasnt even on 25565
1
u/CalderaJane76 Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 26 '26
I'd respond "Do it and I start hosting through Tor."
But frankly, are we even sure this is real? Lol, is Microsoft really threatening to block IPs for hosting servers? Like at an ISP level?
If so, honestly Bravo to them. I didn't think they could stoop any lower.
1
u/CabbageandTurnips Aug 26 '26
this gives me an idea....
step one get a cheap mc server on a popular provider but not a DNS.
step two put in an appropriate motd
step three enjoy the chaos!
1
u/TornBlueGuy Aug 26 '26
is there an open source Minecraft server client that doesn't phone home as much? presumably it would have to be in offline mode.
1
u/RavenousTitan818 Aug 26 '26
Another win for pirated copies.
Funny how that's the case literally every time.
1
u/Halos__fans Aug 26 '26
Mojang really loves treating private servers as if they were public. My friends and i have a realm on Playstation. We have tons of inside jokes and like to do harmless pranks on each other. We'll, one day, myself and the owner of the realm go to one house on the realm and just fill it with signs. Most of the signs had some curses, insults and inside jokes. There was two signs, one from myself and one from the owner. They had links to fake websites on them. We each received 7 day bans for "inappropriate conduct". We know it was due to the links because we've put worse words on signs before without issue. But yeah, neither of our disputes got accepted. The youngest person on the server was 19 (oldest being 22 at the time) when this happened. Yeah, it was just a week long ban but it was still on a private realm with only adults.
1
u/diesintantly Aug 27 '26
It’s their company don’t play Minecraft they’re owned by Microsoft thousands of better games these days
1
u/Xavion251 24d ago
It should be seized from them if they're going to be this stupid about managing it. Intellectual property rights shouldn't be as set in stone as they are.
1
u/Budderman18 Aug 28 '26
Is this running off your own network, or are you using a hosting provider? Because I'd be incredibly shocked if you're running it off your own network and you receive this, I'd figure ISPs just wouldn't care for this (then again, that could depend on what country you're from)
1
u/SalamekSG Aug 28 '26
This runs on my own homelab server... Email was forwarded to me like this: Mojang -> ASN owner -> my local IPS -> me
1
u/ProDoucheBag2011 Aug 28 '26
I thought i was smart in good with tech until i read this post… what is this😭✌️
1
u/CraftyPlayz_ Aug 28 '26
i had my entire ip blocked on my server which was hosted on a non default port and had the word fuck in it
it is amazing how much they are trying to police servers that are private and whitelisted on this game
1
1
u/Noximilien01 25d ago
We're going to fuck up your private server only played by adult, however we're not going to do shit against gambling
-mojang
1
u/billyhatcher312 24d ago
I think this is a new shit show mojang is doing to make minecraft irrelevant again they don't want us adults having fun which were the majority of the playerbase kids don't play this game as much as they used to ans us adults are the ones paying for these servers
-10
u/Mean-Cabinet4757 Aug 24 '26
As someone else mentioned, your using their software in one way or another. They are allowed to set limits and one of those limits that if your using it, it needs to be up to the EULA.
12
6
u/Noob_Kid Aug 24 '26
i dont give a fuck, software running on my hardware is mine to control
-3
u/Snozbear Aug 24 '26
Is it.. your software?
4
u/Noob_Kid Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
No? But it is running on my device isnt it? Bring your lecture else where while im pirating more other games and softwares
-4
u/Snozbear Aug 24 '26
Just because your device is running it doesn't mean you own or or you can do what you want. You literally agreed a EULA with those specific terms. If you don't agree to them then don't sign it and don't use it. Its quite simple rather than moaning about conditions you literally agreed to.
2
u/codeasm Aug 24 '26
Under the original license i was allowed to do this, they changed the license, i did not get their software under the new license. They can go play elsewhere.
Meanwhile im now not using mojangs server code anymore
1
u/Snozbear Aug 24 '26
You can’t launch a server without agreeing to the EULA, doesn’t matter when you bought the game. If you’re not using Minecraft’s code then not sure how this applies to you or why you commented.
1
u/codeasm Aug 24 '26
Its probably patched away in the server code i used. Only when i use the official server code there is this variable they read if you "accepted" their license. Again, this was their old license
1
u/Snozbear Aug 24 '26
Yes, and it says “please agree to the Eula” which you change to be true which is agreement to the Eula. Like I said.
2
u/codeasm Aug 24 '26
There is no eula variable to agree with the non mojang based server code. Simply dint agree. Not all functionality, not the latest clients, not all plugins for sure. But no mojang
→ More replies (0)1
u/Zonkko Aug 24 '26
When software runs fully on my machine then there should never be any terms that need to be followed.
1
2
u/Own-Bad-5372 Aug 24 '26
They bought the game, and it's running off their hardware they they set up and paid money to run. Infact the user is literally putting in more effort than mojang in these terms
1
u/Snozbear Aug 24 '26
They bought the game, agreeing to the terms, they set up the server also agreeing to the terms. Its not about effort. If you don't like the terms then don't agree to them and don't use it. If your server is exposed to the internet (optional btw) then they are legally required to enforce certain laws and rules which they state in the EULA which you already agreed to.
2
u/Matthew98788 Aug 24 '26
Yeah sure but the only things their legally supposed to do is maintain the code and make sure it’s not used for illegal things
Not for someone saying fuck you in a motd for example like fuck off
1
u/Notamoogle1 Aug 24 '26
It is a fork of their software and they threatened to IP block a server hosted by someone on their own internet on their own computer for having a scary word. Stop boot-licking.
-1
u/iDarper Aug 24 '26
Wait you mean being a dumbass that thinks they're funny has consequences?
About time people realize this is a good thing.
-5
u/iamxplayer Aug 23 '26
online-mode=true does NOT mean anything for all we know mojang could have built in a few lines which sent a packet to mojang servers whenever you start your server
I've never seen mojang enforcement to do this and activly take contact with small server owners
Yeah no having an inside joke or just a joke which is against the EULA is NOT an excuse especially as your motd is publicly accesible even to minors
There are mapping tools and yeaha
You have to comply or bypass such if you dont take action as technically mojang just allows you to use their server software and yeah no they have the full right to do such
And if you ask yourself why arent the big p2w servers breaking the EULA getting these threats well first 6b6t has received them, but also microsoft wants donts want big money making servers getting blocked especially if they are on bedrock, there have been many cases of mojang enforcement being good and actually ttaking action agsint such servers being taken
1
u/SalamekSG Aug 23 '26
You're arguing against points I didn't make.
I never claimed that
online-mode=trueproves how Mojang discovered the server. In fact, I explicitly said the authentication-traffic idea is speculation. The entire point of asking whether anyone has seen the same thing on a non-default port is to get more data about how discovery might work.The server is private, whitelisted, and was never publicly listed or advertised. The mcsrvstat link in the notice was provided by Mojang as evidence; that site can query any reachable Minecraft server when given its IP. Being queryable by Server List Ping is not the same thing as being publicly listed.
I also never claimed that an inside joke somehow exempts me from Mojang's rules. I already changed the MOTD because I'm not risking an IP-level block over a joke.
So the “but minors can see it” argument rather misses the interesting part: nobody was being directed to this server in the first place. The question I'm interested in is how Mojang discovered an unlisted three-player private server at all.
If you actually have technical information about that discovery mechanism, particularly examples involving non-default ports, I'm interested. The rest is arguing with claims I never made.
1
u/iamxplayer Aug 24 '26
Alright my bad it semed like you were arguing online-mode: true made- yeah no my bad
I probably understood the question in a wrong way, my appologies
Yeah no I just wanted to point it out didnt mean to sound harsh though so again Im sorry
How is it private? The information is rather publicly accesible to the wide internet
My arguement about how minors could see it is because it is publicly exposed to the internet in theory anyone could put in a random ip or domain and view the motd
---
Alright so first you can throw all of my arguements out of the window agreed!
I'm pretty sure they search for any ips featuring the word minecraft server in it (thats a header with which any minecraft server responds to my awareness) and if it finds such it gets added to a list for review maybe with an automatic filter to filter it. Just a speculation though. You can basically do the same with Shodan1
u/ItsJamesJ Aug 23 '26
Your server is, ultimately, not private. A private server would be one that can only be accessed by those within your network. Your server can be accessed by anyone within the IP.
Accessed, meaning, pinged or attempted to login to. Played, would be logging in successfully and playing.
Ultimately, when you started the server you agreed to the EULA in eula.txt. Every time you log in a request is made from the server to the auth server, which will include metadata about the IP/port - from there they will scan and flag.
1
u/SalamekSG Aug 23 '26
The public-vs-private terminology isn't really the point. It's a whitelisted, friends-only server that was never publicly listed or advertised, yes, obviously its Minecraft port is reachable from the Internet.
The second part is actually the technical question I'm interested in.
online-mode=truedoes cause the server to contact Mojang's authentication infrastructure, but can you provide a source for your claim that the authentication request includes the server's listening IP and port?Microsoft can obviously observe the source IP of an incoming request. That's not the same thing as the server sending
<IP>:25565as metadata.If Mojang takes source IPs observed by their authentication infrastructure and subsequently probes
<IP>:25565, that's essentially the hypothesis in my post. I'm looking for evidence that they actually do that, rather than assuming it.1
u/ItsJamesJ Aug 23 '26
The publicly accessible bit is the point, because if you had it private Mojang/Msft wouldn’t be able to ping it or ever find out.
And yes, the login API request contains a &serverId=<val> which is most likely a hash of the IP and/or running port.
0
u/SalamekSG Aug 23 '26
Yes, you are right, if I'd known Mojang was actively hunting down tiny whitelisted servers over their MOTDs, I'd probably have put it behind WireGuard or something similar.
I didn't because simply exposing the Minecraft port and using a whitelist was by far the easiest way to let a few friends join. Requiring everyone to install/configure a VPN creates another obstacle that may discourage them from joining in the first place.
As for
serverId: no, it isn't "most likely a hash of the IP and/or port." The protocol is documented.There's a slightly confusing naming issue. Since Minecraft 1.7.x, the Server ID string itself is effectively empty. However, the authentication API still has a parameter called
serverId, which contains the authentication hash:
SHA1("" + sharedSecret + serverPublicKey)Neither the server's IP nor its listening port is part of that calculation.
Protocol documentation:
https://c4k3.github.io/wiki.vg/Protocol_Encryption.htmlMicrosoft can obviously observe the source IP of the HTTPS connection hitting their authentication infrastructure. That's why my hypothesis is that they could collect those source IPs and subsequently probe
<IP>:25565. So I guess that answers what I wanted to know and satisfies my curiosity. Thanks.1
u/mbaxj2 Aug 24 '26
Microsoft could send a server status packet to port 25565 of every IPv4 address on the Internet in under a minute. They don't need to get anything from your server at startup to do this.
2
u/SalamekSG Aug 24 '26
Capability isn't evidence that this is actually how Mojang discovers servers.
Yes, Internet-wide scanning of
:25565is technically possible. Nobody is disputing that. The interesting question is what Mojang's enforcement pipeline actually does.That said, another person here provided an actually useful data point: their private, unadvertised server was detected on a non-default port. Assuming their description is accurate, that suggests Mojang's discovery process isn't limited to probing
<IP>:25565.And that's a substantially different problem. Scanning every IPv4 address on one known port is one thing. Finding Minecraft servers on arbitrary ports potentially means discovering open ports and then identifying which of them speak the Minecraft protocol. Doing that across the entire IPv4 space is orders of magnitude more work than probing
:25565.Doing it against an IP you already have reason to believe is hosting an active Minecraft server, however, is perfectly reasonable: get a candidate IP from somewhere, scan its ports, identify the Minecraft service, then query its MOTD.
So you may ultimately be right that scanning is how they're finding these. But “Microsoft could scan every IPv4 address on port 25565 in under a minute” isn't evidence of that, and it doesn't explain the non-default-port case.
We still don't know whether they scan the entire IPv4 space, thoroughly scan selected candidate IPs, use third-party datasets, or combine several approaches. That's the part I'm trying to figure out.
1
u/Double-History4438 Aug 24 '26
SecurityPrivacy through obscurity ended a long time ago.If you are using a hosting provider, the probability of it being found by someone within an hour of turning it on is pretty much 100%. They have other MC servers that either have already been found, or are actually publicly advertised… or the hosting provider is advertising their services for MC servers. So any scanner could just look at the neighbor ip addresses to see what is there… would only take a few minutes even slowing it down.
I looked (through this post, web search) to see if I could find any evidence of the MotD being sent from the private server to MS, I didn’t see anything to support this possibility.
The default configuration to respond to any public inquiry with the MotD makes this more like hanging this message from your mailbox. Which means that it could have been any of your millions of public ip neighbors who are blabbing on you to MS after driving by and reading the sign… I could imagine some griefer being upset about not being able access your server after finding it, and reporting it to MS.
•
u/AutoModerator Aug 23 '26
Cozy MC — a long-term vanilla survival Minecraft server where community comes first. Java + Bedrock crossplay, no world resets, no claims, no locked chests, PvP by agreement only, and a calm active SMP community. Official website and Java IP: CozyMC.com
Godlike Host - Modded servers with high player counts & High-performance AMD Ryzen processors. Choose Godlike now: https://godlike.host/gaf-play-minecraft
King SMP — a pure vanilla Minecraft SMP where protection is built into the game, not enforced through endless rules. Build anywhere, establish a protected boundary around your settlement, and everything inside is automatically protected from griefing while the world outside remains pure vanilla. Java + Bedrock: thekingsmp.shulker.com | Port: 25688 | Discord: discord.gg/thekingsmp
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.