What is TrustManager?
Managing a large Minecraft community server can be a full-time job, especially when it comes to promoting trustworthy players. Manually assigning ranks based on trust becomes impossible as your player base grows. TrustManager is a clever plugin that automates this entire process. Instead of staff members constantly monitoring behavior, your community itself helps decide who deserves a higher rank. Players earn trust points from others, and once they hit a certain threshold, they automatically move up the permission ladder. It’s a democratic, self-regulating system that rewards positive contributions while keeping griefers stuck at the bottom.
Key Features of TrustManager
This plugin brings a fresh approach to permissions management, blending social proof with automated rank progression. Here’s what makes it stand out:
- Players can give or take away trust points from each other, but each person can only vote on a specific player once.
- Ranks are fully customizable: define names, colors, and the exact number of trust points needed to reach each tier.
- A special “staff” rank lets admins bypass the trust system entirely, so moderators never lose their privileges.
- Admins can apply a trust handicap (positive or negative) to any player, instantly boosting or penalizing their standing.
- Optional restrictions prevent players from voting on someone of the same or higher rank, stopping newbies from gaming the system.
- Offline player support with full UUID compatibility ensures name changes don’t break trust records.
Commands and How They Work
TrustManager keeps things simple with a handful of intuitive commands. Whether you’re a regular player or a server admin, the plugin gives you the tools you need.
Player Commands
- /trust <player> – Give one trust point to a player. If that pushes them past the next rank’s threshold, they’re promoted automatically.
- /untrust <player> – Remove a trust point you previously gave. Falling below a rank’s requirement triggers an automatic demotion.
- /distrust <player> – Apply a negative trust point. This command can be disabled in the configuration if you prefer a positive-only system.
- /trustview – Check your own trust level, current rank, and progress toward the next tier.
- /trustview <player> – Peek at another player’s trust stats, provided you have permission.
Admin Commands
- /trustmgr staff <add|remove> <player> – Add or remove a player from the staff rank, shielding them from the trust-based rank changes.
- /trustmgr handicap <player> <amount> – Set a trust handicap. Use it to fast-track a trusted builder or punish a troublemaker with a negative value.
- /trustmgr register <player> – Manually add an offline player to the trust log, so they can receive votes before ever logging in.
Permissions Setup
Granular permissions let you fine-tune who can do what. The core nodes are straightforward:
- trustmanager.trust – Allows trusting, untrusting, and distrusting (if enabled) other players.
- trustmanager.trust.offline – Permits voting on offline players. Revoke this to restrict votes to only those currently online.
- trustmanager.view – Grants access to view personal trust info.
- trustmanager.view.others – Enables checking other players’ trust levels.
- trustmanager.admin – Full admin access to manage staff ranks and handicaps.
If you’re setting up TrustManager for the first time and want to avoid manual file juggling, you might appreciate how easily this mod can be installed via the foxygame.net launcher — a convenient, flexible, and modern Minecraft launcher where you can download mods right from the menu. It streamlines the entire process, letting you focus on tweaking the config rather than wrestling with server directories.
Configuration and Rank Customization
The real power of TrustManager lies in its config.yml. You’ll find several global settings at the top of the file:
- allow-distrust – Set to false to disable negative votes entirely (default is false).
- vote-on-offline-players – Toggle whether offline players can receive trust points (default true).
- vote-on-lower-ranks-only – When true, players can only trust someone of a lower rank, preventing newbies from boosting each other to the top (recommended).
Ranks are defined under the “ranks” section. Each rank must be named r1, r2, r3, and so on, with r1 always being the default rank and having a trust point value of 0. For every rank you can set:
- name – The display name like “Newbie”, “Trusted”, or “VIP”.
- points – The number of trust points required. Higher ranks need progressively larger numbers.
- group-id – The exact name of the GroupManager group that corresponds to this rank. TrustManager will move players into that group on the default world.
- color – A numeric color code (0-15) for rank messages.
- broadcast-message – A server-wide announcement when someone reaches this rank. Set to “none” to disable.
- player-message – A private message sent to the promoted player.
Note that the staff rank is special: it has no trust point requirement and can only be assigned via command. You can even create a negative-trust rank (using r0) for truly untrustworthy players, adding a whole new layer of social accountability.
Upcoming Features and Known Issues
TrustManager is still evolving. The developer has promised PermissionsEx support in version 2.0, along with an import command to sync existing GroupManager ranks, split data files for better organization, and improved multiworld handling. For now, keep in mind that usernames are case-sensitive for offline players because the plugin relies on the Mojang API, which demands exact casing. Online players don’t have this limitation thanks to Bukkit’s fuzzy name matching.
Conclusion
TrustManager turns the often tedious task of rank management into a community-driven experience. It’s perfect for survival servers, creative plots, or any large network where trust is earned over time. By letting players vouch for each other, you create a self-policing environment that naturally filters out griefers while rewarding loyal members. The setup requires a bit of configuration, but once it’s running, your staff will thank you for the automation. Whether you’re running a tight-knit whitelist server or a massive public hub, this plugin brings a refreshing layer of social dynamics to your Minecraft permissions.