Welcome!
It's a whatever you want server, really. Towns are just groupings of players that have houses together, often managed by a single player that owns the town and rents/sells lots to other players. We also have factions, which you are free to join, but these don't coincide with towns in any particular way. As far as joining either, just look around and see who's advertising, and see how much they want for a town lot or something; join a faction is usually free to my knowledge, but I'd imagine they expect you to contribute towards whatever projects/activities they are participating in. Factions are just grouping of players that help each other and work together to do various projects. There are building factions, pvp factions... factions based around anything you want, really. They're just a group of players united towards a common cause.
As to credits, the easiest way to get credits is by voting each day. You get about ~1150 credits for that if you vote at all the websites. The second easiest way to get credits is by selling stuff to other players, and having them pay in credits (gold ingots and diamonds are also considered valid currency on this server). Another way you get get credits is by winning contests. There are build contests, pvp contests, and other skill contests, some of which have credit rewards. Win one! Lastly, you can get credits by donating. People generally don't do this for this reason, as it doesn't give a whole lot of credits, but many people *do* donate to get the perks, which make life in Minetown easier. We do have a very active and living economy here, so I tend to make my credits by selling things in my shop.
I hope you have a fun time here at minetown <object class="emojione" data="
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![[E] ZzFallen_AngelzZ](https://mc-heads.net/avatar/Steve/128)