Minecraft 1.12 was not a big update, but a small change in spigot's directory broke many long-used plugins. A number of these long-used plugins had not been updated in years, and we had to look to find replacements. Pretty much all of the new plugin's data is incompatible with old.
1. Homes: Our old homes plugin stored it's homes in a database. Our new one stores them in files for every individual player like
this and is incompatible. It's update though, and contains variable home limits with ranks (something that the few other updated home plugins today don't have)
2. This is actually a known issue with clans, and has been happening for a long time, but unfortunately there is not much we can do other than refund lost clans (which you have already been). We'd like to eventually find a replacement, but since the plugin didn't actually change any functionality or break, there was no need to replace the same plugin that Minetown has used for clans for years.
3. Our old name changer plugin worked fine, and allowed for symbols too. It also was last updated in May 2013. We replaced it with our current plugin. Our current plugin worked, allowed for symbols, has a semi-active developer, and doesn't interfere with NameColors, and didn't appear to have any issues when testing (the color codes only appear when nicking someone else, not yourself). Once the color code issue appeared, we contacted the developer (who at the time was active, but since has not responded), but are still awaiting a response.
As for petitions, it was a great plugin. It worked, despite not having officially been updated since September 2013. Unfortunately, this was the update that finally broke it. However, it did not completely break it. It started in 1.12 and did not throw any errors. So when we updated, we discovered that we could not comment on any petitions (not a huge issue) and close them (big one). We looked for a new plugin, and while there were many different plugins out there, it's amazing how they either were: broken, paid, or did not work when the player was offline. Our replacement did not fit either of these categories, had an active developer, and is cross-server compatible (so when Creative, Aggy, and Classic are updated it will be placed on there). However, any changes to it require restarting the proxy, which is not something we can do just on a whim like with most plugins. The ?# is a result of the developer's "standard color codes work" meaning standard & color codes, not the actual standard § common with many other plugins. This will be fixed this weekend, but as mentioned before requires restarting the server proxy. Other than this though, the plugin works great, and we can actually contact an active developer if we have any issues.
So if you were wondering why we replaced the great plugins of the past with these "inferior" ones, there you have it. I'll also add that our log block plugin and warp plugin was replaced as a result of the update, but those look like the old ones so there is little change whatsoever. Trust me, I don't like changing plugins either, but when a plugin was last updated 4 years ago, we're not going to keep frankensteining it to keep working. It's also somewhat difficult when we also don't have any developers, and no apps by active players who know a coding language other than "English*"
*If you're an active player and you do know how to develop plugins, please apply"
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