Interesting :3
This got me curious xD In what way do especially _new_ players steal items?
Also wondering how that sounds similar to real-life
Any reasonable nation nowadays forbids self-justice (aka "protecting" and "exacting revenge"), there are laws and courts for that. And while a police officer may not buy you a new car your insurance and/or the culprit (or his insurance) may have to, depending on the laws, availability of insurances and if the culprit is arrested and sentenced.
I apologize if I wasn't clear, though I'm glad that I peaked someones interest. As for new players stealing items, your first question was rather vague. I was implying new players that have recently joined the server, not new to Minecraft. I have found most commonly if someone plans to steal items from a player, they would do so shortly after joining the server to begin with, when the frustration of starting off is at it's worst. other than that, by protecting your own property, yes I expect everyone to do their best to protect themselves. Just as you would not leave the house without locking the door so to speak.
When it comes to exacting revenge, It seems I had a rather poor word choice. While the concept of specified punishment or enforcement officials is ideal, starts to fall off when there are only 16-20 people in an area. For instance; I live in Colorado and back when a tiny town was only 20-25 people, if someone stole something from you, you where expected to try to get it back first. If you did not try, the local Sheriff would see it that it was not of value to you to get involved further.
And yes, while insurance or the culprit is responsible in the end, that assumes that an insurance system exists. While moderators and admins seem to fit a "Government" role so to speak, insurance such as home owners insurance or life insurance (Here in America) is not the responsibility of the government as it is and should be payed for by the insured (player). Which we do have the technology for. I would be absolutely overjoyed if someone started an insurance company on the server so to speak. Wrote up contracts on a ComputerCraft computer, printed out copies and stored in a personal safe or something. That would be awesome.
Oh also, please don't take this as being cocky, snarly or thick headed. I love the constructive questioning, as questioning something often leads to betterment. I simply feel that English is a very ambiguous language, and requires the writer to take clarification into consideration. =)
